CEMA Summit 2023 Insights: Unleashing Your Team's Potential

At CEMA Summit 2023 Atlassian’s Andrea W. Senior Team Lead, Event Strategy Measurement, and Amy Walter Head of Global Event Strategy & Shared Services, offered thought-provoking perspectives, and tactical advice on goal setting, open communication, embracing change, and measuring impact to unleash your team's full potential:

 Optimize Your Team Structure

Shared services and close agency alignment allows us to be so successful because those people know our business in and out.

• Adopt a shared services model that centralizes subject matter experts. This allows for economies of scale and collaboration across the event portfolio.
• Fully integrate external agencies into the team. Treat them as true partners through open communication and equal access to tools/information.
• Organize cross-functional workstreams with clear roles and accountability to align on objectives.

 Embrace Open, Collaborative Practices

Having everything in one collaboration tool allows us to work openly and consistently.

• Make information open and accessible to all through platforms like Confluence and Trello. Promote transparency.
• Set team norms that enable diverse perspectives, like listening to two perspectives before giving yours, and the "yes, and…" build to expand ideas.
• Block focus time and limit meetings to protect productive working time.

 Adopt a "Train vs. Try" Mindset

We need to train ourselves to think — how can I innovate? How does this impact the broader organization.

• Set daily intentions to reinforce new behaviors and thought patterns.
• Use tools like Post-It reminders to prompt curiosity and questions.
• Align on shared OKRs to connect individual work to big-picture goals.

 Measure What Matters

Not all metrics are created equal. You need to know what's most important to the business.

• Categorize metrics: primary success indicators, performance metrics, and "track and measure."
• Align stakeholders on definitions and what constitutes success.
• Capture all requests/work in tools like Jira for visibility.

 Create a Feedback Loop

Feedback is the biggest gift. If we're not talking real to each other, why are we here?

• Debrief regularly: before, during, and after programs.
• Synthesize attendee feedback into categories and share themes openly.
• Proactively gather stakeholder and customer perspectives through roundtables or focus groups.

 Over-Communicate, Over-Communicate, Over-Communicate

Every chance you get to share your story loud and proud, do it. What we do matters.

• Equip the team to represent your story through FAQs, canned responses, etc.
• Spotlight successes through compelling post-event reporting tailored to various audiences.
• Err on the side of excessive communication through multiple channels.

 Keep Strategy Front and Center

Strategy really is the long game. It wraps up everything you do all year round.

• Revisit strategy frequently — it's not a once-a-year exercise.
• Connect strategy directly to team mission, objectives, and portfolio management.
• Lead with strategy in the process, allowing it to inform plans and guide work.

These insights provide a blueprint for allowing teams to collaborate, innovate, and produce their best work in service of company goals. While every organization is unique, keeping people at the heart of the work, embedding helpful practices, and rallying around a shared purpose can unlock tremendous potential.

 What lessons around teamwork resonate with you? What strategies have helped your team thrive? Share your insights in the comments!

CEMA Members can check out the full session audio here for more valuable insights and strategies for unleashing the potential of teams. 📚 And if you’re not a member, check here for #WhyCEMA

 #CEMASummit2023 #TeamPotential #OpenCollaboration #MeasureToSucceed