Building Community Through Events

Women's equality matters on the other 364 days of the year too. I have a love/hate relationship with awareness days. They serve to bring well needed attention to issues and bring us together to celebrate progress. But they are often co-opted and used as a PR campaign by organisations who aren't really doing the work. But the most disappointing thing for me is often the aftermath. The feeling that when the day/month is done, the issues are done. And we move on to the next. IWD is over but 1 in 5 women will still experience sexual abuse in their lifetime. 80% of the gender pay gap is still attributed to the motherhood penalty. 137 women around the world will still be killed by a partner or family member every day. And, still, only 9 of the FTSE100 CEOs are women. For the men in my network, here are 5 things we can do to advance women's equality, beyond International Women's Day: 💡Join your organisations gender balance and parenting networks exec teams and get involved in arranging initiatives 💡 Commit to listening and learning by reading books, listening to podcasts and attending events about feminism, gender equality and the motherhood penalty 💡Assess who you are sponsoring at work and do more to amplify women's voices in your organisation 💡Donate to, and support, organisations who are doing the work, such as Pregnant Then Screwed and UN Women UK. 💡 If you are a dad, Parent Out Loud at work and be an equal parent at home. Request flexibility, take all the paternity leave available and be unapologetic about your childcare responsibilities at work. A more equal world is good for ALL of us. Let's take continue to do the work all year round. #InternationalWomensDay #GenderEquality #MotherhoodPenalty #ParentingOutLoud

The excitement around the #UEFA Women’s Euro here in Switzerland is palpable. But while women’s sport has never been more visible, the playing field is still far from level. 🔹 Top male football players earn on average $1.8 million per year while top female footballers earn just $24,000. 🔹 Only 3 of the 31 largest international sports federations are chaired by women. 🔹 Maternity leave is still overlooked. Media coverage remains uneven compared to men’s sport.   LGBTIQ+ women, women of colour, women wearing headscarves, and women with disabilities often face discrimination. Many —especially women of African descent— are frequent targets of hate speech, and abuse, both online and offline.   Sport has the power to drive social change and promote fairness and inclusion— but only if all of us, including governments, federations, businesses, and media are willing to confront the systems that continue to hold women back.    We must dismantle the patriarchal barriers that still define the world of sport — and build one where women and girls, in all their diversity, are equally visible, valued, and paid.   It’s time to level the field. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eewG-zvF

I'll never believe you can build a strong culture in a Zoom room. It doesn't work. We're accustomed to it. Remote work builds efficiency, and sometimes speed. In-person meetings build TRUST. Last week, we ran our first Docebo marketing offsite since I joined in April: 40+ people, 2 days together, 1 goal... build an experience, NOT a slide deck. What made it work: >> Group activities: workouts (OrangeTheory), a game show, and real laughs (no FAKE LAUGHING). Shared experiences beat another presentation. >> Start / Stop / Continue: simple, only powerful if you follow through. >> Breaks: real downtime, which will always create the best conversations. You can't force it. >> Working styles: personality profiles (DiSC) so “collaboration” becomes concrete. Our agenda was simple but effective: connect, align, plan, commit. Day 1: kickoff, alignment sessions, Start/Stop/Continue, working-styles workshop, social evening. Day 2: reflections, GTM/ops/product marketing deep dives, Q4 priorities + 2026 vision, execution breakouts, clear commitments. Dos and don’ts that kept us sharp: > Do keep sessions short and interactive. > Do balance strategy with connection. > Do make space for reflection. < Don’t overstuff the agenda. < Don’t make it a one-way broadcast. < Don’t skip the follow-up. You don’t build culture through emails and Zoom calls. You build it by showing up and hanging out together. Twice a year isn’t a luxury for a remote team. It’s the cost of building one worth being part of.

𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻. 𝗕𝗘 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.  Every year, I will be approached by several companies to deliver keynotes or facilitate workshops for IWD events. While I value these opportunities, it’s clear that organizations need to rethink their approach to International Women’s Day initiatives.  Here’s what I’ve observed:  👉🏼 𝗜𝗪𝗗 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀.   👉🏼 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 - without any reduction in their regular workload.   👉🏼 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 “𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿” 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.  The message this sends?  "We don’t value the contributions of our female workforce enough to allocate a budget to celebrate them. Their time, and the time of external speakers, isn’t worth compensating."  If your organization truly values equity, here’s what you should do instead:  ✔️ Don't use words like "empower", "celebrate", use "hire", "promote", "fund", or "invest in" - from the brilliant Cindy Gallop ✔️ Share specific strategies to close the #GenderGap in your company.   ✔️ Make real commitments, backed by action, that demonstrate how your organization plans to uplift women and achieve equity.  Without action, these celebrations are not only ineffective - they’re counterproductive.  𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.  What’s the one thing your company is doing this year to truly #AccelerateAction"? If you are looking for an unconventional approach to accelerate your IWD event this year, dm me!

Another year, another International Women’s Day event request, this time with no budget for speakers or a "tiny budget." Women are expected to organise IWD events, often on top of their day jobs, with little to no resources. Meanwhile, the real work of gender equality, fixing systemic barriers, addressing pay gaps, and ensuring more women advance into leadership remains a low priority for the organisation. Enough with the cupcakes, the morning teas, and the token celebrations. If organisations are serious about gender equity, they must fund it, prioritise it, and ensure it delivers real change. I wrote about it (again!) https://bit.ly/4b923uV If your organisation is hosting an IWD event, ask the tough questions: • Who is doing the work, and are they being recognised? • What budget has been allocated? • How will this contribute to long-term change for women? Because cupcakes, panels and morning teas don’t close the leadership gender gap. Year-round gender equity action does. #InternationalWomensDay #GenderEquity #WomenInLeadership #LeadToSoar

Pro tip if you want to get ahead in life: build your relationships through shared, purpose-driven activities. I’ve found that some of the most powerful relationships in my career, ones that have led to real revenue and meaningful opportunities, didn’t come from a “networking mixer.” They came from volunteering, or from being shoulder-to-shoulder with others at a philanthropic event. The FIRST article I ever read when I invented my own pasta sauce ten years ago was in the Harvard Business Review (linkedin in bio) that showed that shared activities, whether it’s volunteering, serving on a nonprofit board, or even something as simple as playing a weekly sport, create deeper and more diverse connections than traditional networking ever could. It's called the Shared Activities Principle. They unite people from different backgrounds around a common purpose, rather than clustering like-minded peers in the same echo chamber. At our dinners, we would get people to work together to create the meal, essentially inventing a container for shared activities for strangers to meet, to serve others. HBR wrote that if more than 65% of your network is made up of people you introduced yourself to, your network is probably too homogenous to bring you new ideas or opportunities. Shared activities break that pattern. When you volunteer, you’re meeting other people who also have a giving mentality. They’re givers by nature. Which means when life or business gets tough, those are the people most likely to show up for you. That’s not something you often find in a transactional cocktail-hour exchange of business cards. So here’s my invitation: Instead of another “networking event,” try joining a fundraiser, a Habitat for Humanity build, or a nonprofit board meeting. Invest your time in something that matters. You’ll not only serve a cause you care about, you’ll build a network rooted in generosity, trust, and shared purpose. For the leaders reading this, try sponsoring a volunteer day for your team. An entire day where your team still gets paid, but gets paid to do good. Bonus points if you can get folks from different teams that normally don't talk, to volunteer together. That's when cross-functional creativity, innovation, and mentorship occurs. P.S. If anybody has any ideas for volunteering in NYC, my DM's are always open. Me, Andy Ellwood, and John Vatalaro love volunteering on Saturday's at a Food Pantry in nyc, but would love so many more opportunities, please!

Most offsites are a waste… Team bonding activities with no lasting impact. Here’s how I run in-person offsites for my fully remote team that go beyond bonding (to create breakthroughs, uncover bottlenecks, and move the company forward): ~~ I’ve found that the best offsites blend two things: 1. Vulnerability: Address personal patterns that hold people back. 2. Strategy: Align on the goals and priorities that matter most. We meet 3–4 times a year, and here’s how we structure them to get exponential value: == Morning: • Coffee + light breakfast. • Physical activity: Yoga or hiking to set the tone. • Mental clarity: 15-minute group meditation. • Icebreaker: Book discussion (e.g., The Obstacle is the Way). • Work focus: Full group session to plan the 1-year product roadmap. == Afternoon: • Lunch. • Execution: Breakout sessions or paired programming using tools like Notion and Asana. • Personal development: Review Enneagram results or discuss individual growth areas. == Evening: • Group dinner. • Unstructured time for drinks, conversation, and connection. This balance of work, reflection, and downtime creates space for breakthrough ideas and deeper relationships. == What makes it work? It’s personal and professional: Your team’s beliefs and habits affect their work. Address both. It uncovers bottlenecks: Personally and operationally, where are people or processes stuck? It creates trust: The right conversations can transform how people show up for each other. == If you want my full weeklong offsite playbook (including tools, activities, and templates), comment “OFFSITE”. Offsites aren’t just meetings in a new location. They’re a chance to create breakthroughs that drive real growth.

Back from a successful leadership offsite. After 4+ years working remote at Meta and now at LTK I learnt that not all offsites are productive. Here is what makes a GREAT one: ❌ Booking rooms for meeting, setting up an agenda and booking dinners reservations ✅All the above are great but doing prep work will 10x the value of an offsite. Work with analytics on an overview of the topline metrics, key hypothesis and feature launch performance. Set key goals you want to achieve daily and review those as the offsite progresses. Chances are you will go off track. These will keep you focused. ❌Putting everyone in the sane room to “work side by side” ✅ Plan artificial” team building activities. Yes you can go the organic way but scheduling those will accelerate the trust building. We used the CliftonStrengths assessment this time, with an HR leader guiding us through how our strengths and weaknesses complement each other. It was awesome! ❌ Sitting down 9 am to 5pm with minimal breaks ✅On top of bathroom and lunch/coffee breaks throw in some quick stretching after lunch. It is not only a fun way to bond but it actually helps get the body back to work. We found 5/10 min videos on youtube that are perfect for the office. ❌Have everyone take notes ✅Designate a single note taker per session that then shares with the rest of the group. It helps keep everyone present. Designate another person to share next steps after each day and share with the rest when back. This second piece is essential and often overlooked. ❌”Let’s get as much work done in person as possible” ✅ Working 9 am to 5pm is enough. Balance is out with some fun. No work conversations post 5pm. This will create fun memories and your team will bond in ways that you can’t in office. This time, we went to Top Golf and took a stroll through the Stockyards in Fort Worth—great moments that brought us closer. ❌”Let’s find a time to get together once a quarter when it works for everyone” ✅The “when” actually matters, especially if you are fully remote. We scheduled this one two weeks before Q2, which was perfect for reviewing roadmaps, aligning on overlapping features, and revisiting our vision and strategy. ❌Let everyone bring their “true self” ✅Set clear ground rules like no laptops allowed when there are debates, be respectful with one another, back up opinions with data, don’t interrupt others, keep things discussed in the rooms confidential. They seem simple but reinterating them makes a huge difference in creating psychological safety. What other things made your offsite a great one?

Women’s Day comes and goes every year, but the real question is—how many companies actually invest in opportunities for women beyond just a ‘Happy Women’s Day’ email? This year at SBI General Insurance, we did something different. We brought women entrepreneurs straight into corporate spaces—not just to showcase their talent, but to drive real business. And let me tell you, the energy was electric. 🛍️ Employees weren’t just browsing—they were buying, supporting, and engaging. 🛍️ Women-led businesses weren’t just present—they were thriving, making real sales. 🛍️ Conversations turned into connections, and connections turned into opportunities. I watched as a homegrown skincare brand sold out within hours. A first-time entrepreneur who was hesitant at first walked away with her biggest single-day sales yet. That’s what real empowerment looks like—visibility, revenue, and growth. When workplaces create space for women entrepreneurs, they don’t just celebrate Women’s Day—they accelerate real change. If this kind of impact resonates with you, let’s build more opportunities like this—one collaboration at a time.

🛺 Driving Change: Cricket, Collaboration, and Campus Culture… When I took over as Director of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2017, we were gearing up for our Diamond Jubilee celebrations. With a year full of academic events, conferences, and sports, we expected a huge influx of guests from across the country. In a small, close-knit educational town like Manipal, the first people these visitors meet are often the auto rickshaw drivers-the unsung ambassadors of our city. Recognizing their pivotal role, the organizing committee proposed a unique initiative: let’s connect with the auto drivers, involve them in our celebrations, and make them feel like valued partners. We invited them to campus, shared our plans, and discussed how their support could help us create a positive experience for our guests. During our discussion, someone floated the idea of hosting a cricket match just for them on our grounds-a chance for them to unwind, connect, and feel appreciated. Despite the rain that weekend, nearly ten teams of drivers turned up, brimming with enthusiasm. Watching them enjoy a day of sport and camaraderie-many reliving their own student days-was incredibly rewarding. It wasn’t just about cricket; it was about trust, respect, and genuine community engagement. After this event, we saw a noticeable shift: the auto drivers went out of their way to help our guests, students, and residents. They returned lost items, ensured safe travel late at night, and became true partners in making Manipal a welcoming place, thanks to the drivers’ newfound sense of partnership. Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leaders: 1. Community stakeholders, however informal, are vital to your institution’s reputation and student experience. 2. Meaningful engagement builds trust and loyalty that goes far beyond transactional relationships. 3. Small gestures-like a friendly cricket match-can create lasting goodwill and support. 4. Listening to and involving local communities can surface creative ideas and foster a sense of shared purpose. I’d love to hear from other leaders: How have you engaged with your local community in ways that made a real difference? What unexpected partnerships have helped your institution thrive? #LeadershipLessons #CommunityEngagement #HigherEducation #Leadership #Manipal #StudentExperience #InstitutionalCulture