Message From Nikki Benner, Director Leadership Development

What do you want to be when you grow up?
We are often first asked that question in elementary school, and it’s a question that comes up in various forms throughout our lifetime. We hear it again from guidance counselors in high school, often in conjunction with being asked to pick a college, and then in college when we are asked to pick a major. We are asked to decide a path for our professional career before we even have an understanding of what careers could be available to us, and what paths could get us there.
If one is lucky, they find a class or major or job that helps clarify their career trajectory, and if they’re even luckier they find an industry mentor who helps them navigate their career path. And even if we don’t get so lucky, maybe we find our own career and our own path.
One day, after succeeding on our own or with our internal team, we realize we’d like to know people who have the same job or who work in the same industry. We want to learn from the people who came before us. We want to grow in our job, in our career, and our industry. And if you’re a meeting planner, you find MPI.
This story is my story. 
I started my college career with an undeclared major, eventually bouncing between Advertising and Public relations to English and then eventually dropping out of college altogether. I eventually began working for the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association as a legal education meeting planner. And, it was in that job that I found my passion for event management, and eventually completed a degree in Marketing, since Event Planning really wasn’t a course of study one could earn a degree in at the time. 
So, without a formal education in hospitality or event management, and with my skills self-taught and likely not up to industry standards, I knew my next step was to join a professional association where I could learn from my industry peers and seasoned professionals. I joined the Philadelphia Area Chapter of MPI.
From my years working for professional associations, I saw firsthand that those who put more time in, not just attending events but also giving their time to the organization through volunteer service, got more out of their membership. They made connections with their industry colleagues, but more importantly they made friends. Volunteering was never in question, but which committee?
I looked at my skill set and at my resume, and I asked myself, “if I was sitting in an interview for my dream job, what holes in my resume and skill sets could they find, and how can I fill in those holes by learning those skills by volunteering?” I chose the Communications team to buff up my writing and marketing skills, because that felt like the one area where I was lacking strength. 
After less than a year of volunteering, the Chair of the committee needed to step off the board – she had gotten HER dream job, which was no longer in the Meetings industry, and she would no longer be a part of the chapter; despite not feeling personally ready for leadership, the Board of Directors knew otherwise, and I found myself editing our bi-monthly e-Magazine, and very soon after that, after just about two years of Membership and committee service, found myself on the Board of Directors.
I learned how to set goals and objectives, write a business plan, develop a budget to execute those objectives, plan a strategy within that budget, manage a team to achieve those goals, and report on incremental success. I learned how to lead - first myself, and then others. I learned how to negotiate and compromise, but I also learned when to stand firm in my convictions. 
I’ve created an 18-month marketing calendar that included a social media flight plan. I learned Google Analytics and perfected my Excel skills. I drafted standard operating procedures and job descriptions. I made organizational charts that were ridiculously optimistic, but that have slowly come to fruition.
Best of all, I have made industry partners, colleagues, and friends. I have a network of people I can call when I need a recommendation for a supplier, a contact at a hotel, a catering team in an unfamiliar city, or just a friendly ear to vent to when it all gets to be a little too much.
Soon enough I will be sitting in an interview for my dream job, and the interviewer will look at the tasks I perform in my job and they may point to a hole in my skill set. I will be able to confidently state that, while yes, I may not have performed that task in my official job, I have succeeded in achieving that skill through my service to MPI. 
There is nothing I cannot do, or learn to do, because I have opportunities to experiment, learn, and grow with MPI PHL.

Do you know someone who would be great at leading the Chapter? Nominate them today!