2.0 The Conference Organizing Group

Organizing an event is one thing you should not do alone.

Experience shows that having an organizing team of 3-5 people is best for a small conference. When choosing an organizing team, the number 1 trait to seek out is RELIABILITY.

Ideal Organizing Team candidates:

• Are Reliable and accountable
• Can drive themselves to plan and accomplish tasks
• Speak up when they need help
• Are willing to assist teammates with their tasks

Ideal Organizing Team Leaders:

• CAN DELEGATE
• Can assist when needed to make decisions
• Can resolve conflicts among organizing team members
• Assign themselves some tasks but mainly ensure everything is on track
• Essentially function as the Event's main POC and Project Manager

Even organizing a small local conference takes a substantial amount of time, especially for the first instance of an event. All prospective team members should be certain they can invest the time needed and be available before committing.

Organizing an event is a lot like your day job- with tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines. It can be tempting to choose friends for your organizing team, but consider whether your friends can dedicate the time needed and if you can count on them to complete assignments. (Consider those questions for yourself as well!) Also consider that there's a likelihood that disagreements will arise. Also, you may have to enforce assignment completion if necessary. These circumstances can cause difficulties in friendships that aren't strong. That said, sometimes having a friend on the team to keep morale up if there are difficulties can be a real benefit.