As I settled in for a writing session at my local coffee shop last week, a group of people began to gather at a larger table nearby. As they passed around a tray of pastries and began their conversation, I realized that I was witnessing a debrief session of the organizing committee for a community event that had occurred the night before.
There are so many things I loved about this meeting. First, I was impressed that the organizers understood the importance of reviewing everything about their event; what went well, and what could be improved. Second was the fact that, although they were probably pretty tired from the night before, they took the time to meet immediately after the event so that everything was still fresh in their minds.
Each member was given the opportunity to talk about their area of responsibility and what, if anything, they would change the next time around. Just as important was that members felt comfortable providing constructive analysis to each other, a healthy sign of an effective, high-performing team.
While all of these things were impressive, the most notable aspect of the meeting was who was in attendance. Seated next to the person who was clearly the chair of the event was the person who would be replacing her next time around. This group understood the importance of identifying a replacement for each key role and ensuring that they shadow the current office-holder to learn the intricacies of the job they will assume in the future.
If you are part of an event planning team, remember to take the time to review and assess after the event is over, and to identify and train replacements for key personnel. It will help you create a stronger, more successful event in the future.