Indusfood Insights: Managing Stress, Leading Teams, and Creating Impact

Greetings everyone, just got back from Indusfood 2024, a mega F&B trade show that is organized annually by Trade Promotion Council of India. This year, the team ramped up the scale of the event significantly in terms of numbers, and also successfully took up some highly impactful initiatives towards the promotion of global F&B trade.

What is it like to be part of an organizing team for an event? Quite mixed, and dependent on what stage of the event you are on in the particular moment. The excitement builds up steadily as the day approaches. Months of planning, working with internal teams as well as with external vendors, reaching out and facilitation for event participants from India and overseas, exhibition space planning, travel agencies, hotel bookings, event promotions, branding collaterals, planning of all the programmes, knowledge papers, working with government departments… lots of diverse and disjointed responsibilities go hand in hand. 

At the very brink of D-Day, you feel the rush of anticipation, the dread of possible mishaps, the exhilaration of flow when the event is in full swing followed by the air of confidence and assurance as it progresses towards a successful close.

In this edition of the newsletter, let me bring out some very pertinent learnings that I gained from this event:

True character is shaped by challenges.

A sailor’s worth isn’t just measured in terms of the number of hours he sailed. It is better ascertained by the number of storms that he/she encountered during those hours. We know from an understanding of neuroplasticity what all those storms do to us.

These experiences don’t just give you the skill sets to manage the next storm better. If you are consistently aligned to the growth mindset, it also elevates your perspective and belief enough to raise your ambitions for the next one. That belief in going bigger, and pushing the boundaries, ultimately makes bigger and better things happen. And if the leadership carries that mindset, it has a good chance of percolating across the organization.

Larger than life purpose

As human beings, we are constantly striving for something larger than ourselves. We would love to go beyond the humdrum of day-to-day life – our wants and desires, frustrations, short term gratification, individual achievements, fear of failure, our equations with other people, etc.

Organising a trade fair like Indusfood is, from my perspective, is connecting to a higher purpose which drives and binds the team as a strong and resilient unit. There is a patriotic interest of course at Indusfood, to provide the Indian F&B industry the kind of exposure, connectivity and business growth opportunities it deserves.

The India-Global Culinary Exchange we organized this time was aimed at promoting Indian cuisine and bringing it to five-star hotel menus across the world. I am sure this kind of cause is something that every Indian will resonate with!

The sheer scale of business that gets generated through the event provides a certain sense of fulfilment and connects you to a larger-than-life purpose. Somehow in my experience, it gives you the kind of satisfaction that achieving your personal goals cannot!

The gift and curse of stress

In your regular work life, you will be exposed to challenges and targets that align with your skills and experience and you have a pretty good idea of how to manage them in the time frame provided. In an event, the time frame for such deliverables shrinks alarmingly, and you start feeling stress. Moreover, it is common for multiple deliverables crashing on your desk at the same time.

When the stress relates to situations you can still control (application of your experience and expertise, putting in some extra hours, etc), it is considered beneficial stress or eustress. Achieving those tasks in a shorter but still reasonable time frame gives you a sense of motivation and fulfilment.

In an event, the true test of management would be to ensure that the team is in a state of eustress to the extent possible. People can sustain the pressure of tighter deadlines and larger targets for a while. But they should not come under chronic stress, which is persistent and prolonged and makes people feel the challenges are beyond them.

It is also important to note that people differ in their ability to handle challenges, which only gets better with time. Challenge them enough to excite them but not too much so as to overwhelm them!  

The hour produces the hero

In an event, you need multiple teams – in-house and outsourced. And by extension, you need more leaders. It is a great time to test the leadership and managerial capabilities of your team members. Give them complete ownership of projects, but also empower them with all the necessary resources and people they would need to get the work done.

If leaders maintain tight control over too many projects, they get difficult to manage. It is important to have people you can trust to take them up and lead them to their logical conclusion.

Have open and honest conversations with these new leaders about the scope of the project, its purpose in the success of the event and the management’s specific expectations from it. Then you should discuss with them the resources they would need. Also guide them from your perspective, about the possible exigencies they should be prepared for so that they are not caught by surprise.

If you guide, mentor and equip them properly, people can indeed surprise you. Emergent leadership is a concept in leadership studies that refers to the spontaneous and dynamic process through which an individual rises to a leadership role within a group or organization.

Unlike traditional leadership models that emphasize appointed or designated leaders, emergent leadership recognizes that leadership can naturally emerge based on the needs of the group and the qualities of individuals. And an event is the apt place to observe who can demonstrate such leadership qualities.

Know your chemicals

During a high stress engagement like an event, various neurotransmitters and hormones are released in the brain and body in order to prepare the individual for a response to the perceived threat. It is part of our evolutionary mechanism and involves the activation of both positive and negative pathways.

Negative Responses:

Cortisol: Known as the primary stress hormone, cortisol is released by the adrenal glands in response to stress. It helps the body mobilize energy and modulates various physiological processes, including metabolism and immune function.

Adrenaline (Epinephrine): This hormone, released by the adrenal glands, prepares the body for the "fight or flight" response. It increases heart rate, redirects blood flow to essential organs, and provides a burst of energy.

Norepinephrine: This neurotransmitter acts in conjunction with adrenaline to activate the sympathetic nervous system, increasing alertness and preparing the body for action.

Positive Responses:

Dopamine: While commonly associated with the brain's reward system, dopamine also plays a role in the stress response. It helps regulate mood and motivation, potentially providing a sense of reward or accomplishment after successfully navigating a stressful situation.

Endorphins: These are natural painkillers produced by the body. During stress, endorphins are released to help reduce pain and induce a sense of well-being. Exercise, laughter, and certain activities trigger endorphin release.

Oxytocin: Often referred to as the "bonding hormone" or "love hormone," oxytocin is released during social interactions and positive experiences. It can counteract the negative effects of stress by promoting social bonding and support.

Stress during an event can be more effectively managed in a number of ways as shown in the video below.

The uncanny experience of loss and learnings

When thousands of people congregate for a positive cause, there is an undeniable rush of energy that you feel. Call it team synergies, companionship, community, or collective vibrancy. It can drive people to the extent that magic happens. Once an event starts, it seems to be moving on auto pilot, precisely because of this energy in my view that consumes everyone.

But when it gets over, there is a sudden feel of emptiness and loss. The chemical reactions that we just discussed are dying down and so is the sense of purpose we all felt just a few hours ago. You will also feel a natural sense of disconnectedness from the shared energy. Suddenly, from that high-paced environment, you are supposed to move back to the regular pace of your daily life.

Go through the slowdown phase, relax your body and mind. But do remember, your work is still not over!

Peter Drucker, the renowned management consultant, once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." In the aftermath of a successful event, this lull can be seen as a pause for reflection – an opportunity to assess what worked and what can be improved upon.

Bruce Tuckman's stages of group development – forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning – provide insight. In the adjourning stage, teams experience a sense of loss as the project concludes. Patrick Lencioni, a management consultant, emphasizes the importance of acknowledging this post-event 'loss' and celebrating the accomplishments of the team.

To gain deeper insights into the event's impact, it's crucial to reflect and evaluate. "Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful," warns Margaret J. Wheatley, an organizational management expert. This phase of reflection is an opportunity to gather feedback, analyze metrics, and identify areas for improvement.

Events provide a rich learning ground. As Peter Senge, a systems thinking pioneer, notes, "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival." The biggest takeaways from events are the lessons learned. These lessons not only enhance the capabilities of the team but also contribute to the organization's adaptability and resilience in the face of future challenges.

You cannot sustain the kind of adrenaline rush you get at an event for long, considering its negative consequences. Rest and recuperation is important. But how do you bring even a fraction of the energy that you radiated and work you delivered at the event in your day-to-day life?

That in my view is a very important part of the learning process as well. The fact is that an event like Indusfood significantly transforms your perspective on what is, and what isn't possible. But it is up to you to decide how you take that paradigm shift and apply it to your life going forward.

Article written with the help of inputs from ChatGPT