A Different Kind of Professional Conference

For the past several years, I have been attending the Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference (OBTC).  It is a different kind of conference in many ways.  First, it is held on college campuses across the country.  We stay in dorms and eat dorm food.  The atmosphere is relaxed and this is not a place for big egos.  It is as easy to talk to Victor Vroom from Yale University or Karl Weick from the University of Michigan as it is to talk with anyone.

Another way this conference is different is that there is a talent show on Friday night, the last night of the conference.  Anyone can enter and do whatever they consider to be talent.  People read poetry, sing, dance, play instruments, and act.  Out of a group of about 300 people the talent is extremely good.  It is such fun and everyone learns something new about the people who participate in the show.  In fact, Victor Vroom is an outstanding jazz musician who plays the saxophone.  Dorothy Marcic has decided to devote more of her time to professional acting.

The talent show is a great way to see another aspect of people.  Why can't this be a model in the workplace?  We talk about community, but how do we actually build community?  This is a way to become comfortable with one another and to get to know them on a whole new level.  It is a way to appreciate them in a whole new way.  This is one way to create a place where people want to work.

Comments

[Brady W]

I like the idea of a talent show. We talk a lot about how leaders must make themselves vulnerable. Having a talent show, in front of hundreds of strangers, naturally puts people in a state of vulnerability but allows them to have fun at the same time. Also, if the person is not as talented as they really think they are, a talent show will give them the chance to openly receive some constructive criticism.

[Amy Schmitt]

That's really interesting that they would have a talent show at a conference like that, but a great way to have fun share different aspects of their personalities. I am interested to see what everyone will be sharing at our talent show at the end of the semester's leadership class!

[Nicole Riehl]

I tried to launch something similar to this at one of my workplaces. It wasn't so much a talent show, but the idea was that people would volunteer to share something interesting about their lives during an informal brown bag lunch. For example, one colleague went to Africa for a mission trip and created a photo slide show. He told us about the culture and how his church was working to help the community. It didn't really stick, but I like this concept of getting to know different aspects of people we work with. There's certainly more to each person than their job.