Six Beautiful Things I Learned From the Women Event of the Year
What do you get when you put thousands of women together? Hold your horses. Let me tell you in a while.
It was my first time to attend such an immense gathering, let alone be a part of the co-organizing team. And what learnings did I get? A lot!
Sharing here six valuable things I learned from the recent Women Expo and Forum 2019 “Inspired Conversations: Nothing Left Unsaid” held at the Marriot Grand Ballroom on October 10, 2019:
A Beautiful Chaos
So, what do you get when you gather 2,500 women in one place? Sounds chaotic already, right?
That particular morning, the Marriot Grand Ballroom lobby was filled with women from all walks of life — mothers, daughters, grandmothers, professionals, teachers, students, celebrities, fashionistas, influencers, survivors — you name it, they came in herds and showed their support for one another.
With endless chit-chatting, exchange of hellos, tight hugs, a genuine squeal of glee to see BFFs or former colleagues, friends, and peers catching up, tongue-in-cheek conversations, and so on — the noise was just unbearable. However, in the case of the #NothingLeftUnsaid2019 event, it was a beautiful chaos.
Teamwork is the Key
When you work together and have seamless communication of what needs to be done and how it should be done, the result will always be positive.
From the get-go, the John Clements ladies were given assignments to carry out during the event. Since we were hosting the morning events, we had a series of meetings, role plays, practices (lots of it!), and even a dress rehearsal at the venue the day before the event.
My team — in charge of registration — was responsible for making sure that there would be participants in the coaching session, career expo, career counseling, and TedTalks.
Our TedTalks, held in two halls, were both SROs. Our career expo booths for John Clements Consultants and HBR Ascend got more than 300 visitors. The career counseling team gave valuable advice to students and fresh graduates, who were not too sure what to do yet with their work life. The coaching session, with more than 50 CEOs participating as coaches, was an astounding success. In fact, we got beaming feedback from the coachees on social media.
The processes adopted by the John Clements Pink Team just flowed smoothly. We had teamwork. We made it happen. And it’s beautiful.
Honesty Is Always the Best Policy
In the world of politics, where one usually wears a mask, the guest of honor, Mayor Isko Moreno, was an oddity, if I may say. When Maan Hontiveros asked about his presidential plans, he gave a very candid answer that resonated with honesty and sincerity. He replied, “…I have, but let me work hard for it… so that when the right time comes, I will be deserving of it…”
I wanted to go up the stage and give the mayor a tight hug! You just got to hand it to the man. He’s a rare species and we all should support whatever political aspirations he would have in the future.
Honesty is not a lonely word. It’s a very beautiful word.
Note to self: Move to Manila ASAP.
Loyalty is Priceless
Some of the participants we tried to usher into the career counselling room politely informed us that their company sent them to this event and paid for their registration fees. They found it rather inappropriate to be seen inside the career counseling room, regardless of the intention or reason.
Their blunt response to our invitation was anything but disconcerting. I wanted to give them a slow clap. It made me smile and it made me renew my admiration for that thing called ‘loyalty’, a rare quality nowadays.
Those companies better treasure these loyal ladies.
Paying It Forward Has No Requirements
Paying it forward does not require anything nor should it start at a certain age or at a certain stage in one’s career. Even young girls could pay it forward in their little way.
In a nutshell, you can always make a difference by just doing what is right.
It’s refreshing to hear the panelists talk about their efforts of paying it forward; they shared their struggles and challenges while trying their best to give back to society.
One of the speakers summed up the “Pay It Forward” panel discussion with the song “Pananagutan,” a personal church song favorite. We are indeed responsible for one another. No man is an island, we should always have each other’s back.
Empowering one another should be the be-all and end-all of humanity. If we could do that, perhaps we could achieve world peace. Maybe.
Fangirling Applies to Women of All Ages
It does not matter what your status in society is or how old you are — if someone with such charisma like Mayor Isko Moreno is up onstage, flashing his boyish smile, and giving uncensored answers, we can’t help but giggle like school girls.
“Yorme” can outshine any KPop idol if you pit him against them. I kid you not.
By the way, love the silent shrieking, ladies. Love it!
Women are just like that.
We get our little dose of happiness in any way we can. We sure try to have each other’s back, no matter what. We give advice, coach, mentor, share, and encourage one another, because, hey, we believe in what Madeleine K. Albright once said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”
Who wants to go to hell anyway?
Please visit and join the John Clements Talent Community.
About the author:
Mary June, or Mj, loves traveling, collecting shoes, writing poetries, and watching reruns of CSI. She hopes to witness the aurora borealis and meet Stephen King in person someday.
