Kellye Mazzoli (00:34)
Hello and welcome back to Unmuted. We have another episode for you today where we're talking about why you need to get out of town. As a city manager, what's the real value of conferences and city management? So you know that feeling, Charisse, whenever you've been stuck at the same council agenda, pack it, looking at it for six months straight and you start wondering, is your brain actually just gonna calcify? I think that's your cue to pack your bag.
Charisse Deschenes (01:03)
Yes, pack your bag and go on vacation, right? Or not. Maybe it's pack a bag and we're going to a conference for some energizing discussion and meeting with our peers. So maybe we're talking about going to ELGL or ICMA, the local Washington State Conference, WCMA, or the Northwest Women's Leadership Academy, the kind of conference that you're
Kellye Mazzoli (01:06)
Or not.
Charisse Deschenes (01:29)
you know, if you're in city management, it's not just a nice to have thing. It's your lifeline.
Kellye Mazzoli (01:36)
Yes. So I want to say we're not actually against a vacation, but let's talk about these different types of conferences because we want to tell you and talk to you about why it's actually critical that you get out of your own town and how to make these conferences worth every penny. And maybe even a couple of off the wall tips that you won't hear in just any old session guy.
Charisse Deschenes (01:40)
you
Kellye Mazzoli (01:58)
So let's start with why are conferences actually worth the time and the money? And I'm gonna say that number one for me is that it's the connection factor. So when you're the leader of an organization or you're in any kind of leadership position, it can feel really lonely.
You know, they say it's lonely at the top, but that's really, really true. You're handling and making so many decisions and you have to be the person to make that decision. You're the only one who can make it. You take in a lot of information from all the people on your team around you. But in the end, you're the one that has to sit with that decision. You're the one that has to have the responsibility of the decision. So.
The role itself is really lonely, but whenever you go to conferences, that's like one of those places where you don't have to translate that reality. The people around you actually get exactly what's happening while you're sitting in that seat, and they feel that same loneliness.
Charisse Deschenes (02:59)
Yeah, Kellye, I agree with you. I mean, if I'm picking the number one reason why I go to conferences, it's definitely that connection piece. And I mean, there are other opportunities as you experience the conference for sure, right? Like fresh ideas and taking something new back to your team, especially when you realize when you go to the conference that every other city or county or organization is dealing with something very similar to what you might be dealing with. And I've had that experience of
there's an innovative idea or here's the light bulb, right? Maybe we can do something with that, right? We can put that into play in a different way, but you get that inspiration.
Kellye Mazzoli (03:32)
Ding, ding, ding.
Absolutely. Those fresh ideas are so important. I would say also too, another thing that comes to mind is that on a more serious note, it's a safe place to have some of those hard conversations about what we deal with in city management. And I would say whenever you're amongst
peers and colleagues at a conference, you can actually be really candid in a way that you're not really able to be at home, even with your own leadership team, no matter how close you are or with your own council. I think like really you could share things at a conference that I mean, you would never say in a council meeting and you might not ever even say in a team meeting, right? Yeah.
Charisse Deschenes (04:19)
Right, right.
Yeah, no, I think you're absolutely right. I don't know how many times that's been so beneficial. It's refreshing to have those conversations. In a way, it's, you you think about the unwritten like curriculum that you're, you know, that you experienced when go there. There's so many times you are talking about an important issue over lunch or you meet somebody in the hallway and you just
pull aside and have a discussion that's so important. Maybe the most important one you have at the entire conference happens when you run into somebody in the hallway or at the bar or, you know, there's no session like description that lists like the experiences you have in those moments where you're just meeting someone and having that connection. So thinking about our conference experience, what's one conference moment that completely shifted the way you lead?
when you get back home.
Kellye Mazzoli (05:12)
Ooh, that's a good question, Charisse. I think for me, the one that comes to mind was it was actually a pre-conference session that I did with my management analyst at the time. And we were both in the session. It was really great. We had to do the, I think it was called the Standout 2.0 assessment. I'm a sucker for any assessments, right? I love them.
In fact, we should probably do a future episode about assessments. But anyway, so this one in pert... Yes, all right. So that's coming to you audience. But I think that what I got out of that was more than just a better understanding about who I am personality wise, but it was also more about like how we interact as teammates.
Charisse Deschenes (05:42)
I'm game.
Kellye Mazzoli (05:59)
And with my management analyst going through it too, it like selects your top two things, your top two traits, like most of them do. It's not that like different. But I didn't totally agree with the assessment results in the beginning. And my management analyst and I stepped outside and we were just, it was a break and we were having a conversation and she said, well, no, I actually do think that this is why.
this represents who you are as a person. And she says why, I think it was something, I was like the explorer. Like I was always looking for new innovative ways to do things. I really liked, and I was like, I mean, yes, but no, I'm not really sure about that. And she was like, no, absolutely you are. Here, here and here are examples. And so, and I was like, my goodness, you're right. So again, that's kind of both, right? First of all, like we were, we
Charisse Deschenes (06:42)
it.
Kellye Mazzoli (06:48)
That was a connection that we made. She understood me even better and what I was aiming for all because of this assessment and it helped me understand myself better. It was just a really great thing. And even today, I will have people take that same assessment and we'll talk about it because I find that it gives you information that some of the other ones like Myers-Briggs and some of the better, more well-known sort of personality.
Charisse Deschenes (07:02)
Mm-hmm.
Kellye Mazzoli (07:12)
assessments that they don't necessarily give you. And I like how it connects with how you actually do your work and how you do it in teams. So for me, that's one conference moment that even still, I mean, that was back, you know, 20, maybe 15. And I mean, it's like 10 years ago. And that's still I can still see it in my head as one of those times that really changed the way that whenever I came back home, whenever I understood that I was
Charisse Deschenes (07:28)
Right.
Kellye Mazzoli (07:37)
the explorer that I was the person who was seeking innovation, leaned into it and that became part of how I led on purpose, even more so in the future.
Charisse Deschenes (07:48)
That's so enriching. I love that, Kellye.
Kellye Mazzoli (07:50)
Yeah,
so I have a question for you. so sure is. So if let's say let's let's do a little sort of kind of role playing here. If you had to convince a skeptical city manager that conferences are actually worth the time or maybe it's a skeptical mayor, but you wanted to let them know that conferences are actually worth the time and it's worth the money. What's that story you would tell about ROI or return on investment?
Charisse Deschenes (07:53)
Okay.
Wow. I mean, I think there are so many you would tell. I think that I would probably list out the things, you know, for instance, the opportunity to engage with your peers and really meet people on a level where you can connect when there's a serious issue that you're coming, you know, that comes up in your community. can really easily reach out to those peers and have conversations. So you have a stronger network of people that training with
You know, the training part being important, the connection piece so much more important. And there's also the opportunity when you're, you know, maybe in a position where you're hiring, that you have a bigger network of people to choose from because they know you and they can say, hey, Charisse is looking for X. Anybody out there have that connection piece? And then the learning opportunities, of course, when you're here.
You're sitting at the table with other peers and you're working through a problem that maybe one of them is having in a workshop setting just that opportunity to divide and maybe come up with solutions that may help you as well. I mean, those are a few of the reasons there are so many more that just are lasting when you have that opportunity to like decompress go on that vacation anyway, right? We're kind of it's kind of a vacation and it's also.
Kellye Mazzoli (09:35)
Hahaha ⁓
Charisse Deschenes (09:39)
therapy and so many things that you experience that you just you just can't even measure in some ways.
Kellye Mazzoli (09:42)
Yeah.
And isn't it fun like whenever you can help somebody else solve their problem because you've gone through something and you get to share it and you're like, oh my gosh, I didn't do that in vain. So I love it. Yeah, it's fabulous. Yeah, I think for me, I mean, I would just be telling my city manager, like, I'm going to come back with.
Charisse Deschenes (09:55)
yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (10:08)
great ideas and I'm going to figure out how to do this and I'm going to be more effective and I'm going to be even more efficient because I'm going to learn about new technologies I hadn't ever learned about. I'm going to be on the forefront of what's going on in city management. That's why it's a great return on investment.
Charisse Deschenes (10:23)
or the learning of course is a great opportunity. like what comes to mind for me is always that connection first. But yeah, legislative updates, all the things that you really need to know is so important.
Kellye Mazzoli (10:33)
yeah, yeah.
I mean, I can remember sitting through very important conference sessions with attorneys who were giving the latest legal advice on whatever legislative update that had happened at the state level. it saved us from having to, know, it pointed us in the right direction on where to take maybe a new ordinance or a new policy, especially in the HR realm. Like that happened all the time, was just trying to stay.
ahead of the issues, but even just staying abreast of the changes that were coming down the pipeline was really critical and it was easier to do whenever you had that in-person conference training. So let's move into the professional return on investment, right? So there's this return on investment for the organization, for, you know,
Charisse Deschenes (11:14)
Absolutely.
Kellye Mazzoli (11:29)
for your role, for the value that you're bringing to the city, that's a definite, right? There are gonna be sessions that talk about the things that everybody's dealing with, whether it's police chief communications or AI and local government or all the HR things I was just talking about. So you've got that side of things, but let's talk about for you professionally. And let's think about the career visibility that you can get.
Right? So while it's really important that you're there for the city and the organization that's paying for you to go, and you're gonna get quite a bit out of that, but you also have this opportunity to get some additional visibility within your career. And if you choose to speak at a conference, or even if you're in a session and you ask a great question, it will put you on the radar, I think, in a way that even social media can't, like your LinkedIn profile can't.
To be in person and to have those interactions and to be up on stage in front of people will help you, even if you're not looking in that moment, it'll help you make those connections which will help you have that network that you need when you need it later in your career.
Charisse Deschenes (12:40)
Yes, yes. I agree, Kellye. And we can talk a little later about some of those experiences that we've had in that moment. But you also think about the connections you make that may turn into, like you said, job leads or you get references that you maybe wouldn't be for. And really important, I know I've used this on multiple occasions, is a quick call to somebody that you've met, that you know, that you've connected with, that's been there.
that person has the right advice that you need because many times you're not able to, you know, maybe talk with your staff on some of the issues that you're dealing with. But in the same way too, like, you know, I'm talking about from like the city management perspective or assistant city management perspective, but your team is able to do the same thing when they attend their professional conferences as well. They have that network, they're reaching out, just makes you stronger with those connections, I believe.
Kellye Mazzoli (13:35)
I agree with that 100%. And let me add one final piece, I think, to the professional return on investment. For you personally, it is a morale recharge, right? Like just realizing that you're not crazy. That there are others.
Charisse Deschenes (13:50)
⁓ yeah, yeah.
Right.
Kellye Mazzoli (13:59)
who are dealing with the same level of crazy that you are. You're not actually the crazy one. That this job is hard. It is hard. And guess what? There are others out there living it too. There are others out there doing it too. And it's a reminder that you can do it, right? Like there are people who are successful. There are people who go through hard things. You also can do hard things. So I think it's a huge morale recharge for people to go to these conferences and to...
see that and experience that with their colleagues and peers. Let me ask you a question. I want to ask you a question. Okay, so I want to know who like have you met somebody at a conference or made a connection that has helped you.
Charisse Deschenes (14:31)
Yeah. So I was going to ask you a question. I was going to ask you a question. OK, ask me a question.
Kellye Mazzoli (14:47)
foster a connection that you otherwise wouldn't have, right? Like how do conferences or who have conferences put you in touch with that you otherwise wouldn't have relationships with?
Charisse Deschenes (14:58)
So I'm going to ask or answer that question. I think in a different way a little bit. I wouldn't say that there's one person that I met at a conference, but throughout my career, I've been on like many boards and committees and you've meet them, you know, back in the day it was like audio conference calls and you didn't see their face. And then more recently zoom calls and we're at some energizing things, but it wasn't in really until I really got the opportunity to go to
the conference, do work with them, meet them in person, go play, go to a baseball game, you know, something that is a little bit different where you're bonding in the moment, then you really know who those people are. And I've met a number of people from around the country that I've, like I said, been on those boards or committees with, and had we just stayed stagnant on the phone or, you know, on Zoom, I don't know that I would.
still reach out to them and have those conversations. And even years later on down the road when you haven't talked with someone, they're still there in some way and we can reconnect. And so it's been more of a meaningful connection piece to me to meet those people that I've been doing business with from afar. But how about you, Kellye? Who have you met at conferences and what connections has helped you foster, you know, those connections?
Kellye Mazzoli (16:01)
Mm.
Heh.
Yeah.
Well, I'm going to second the work on the committees. I find that to be one of the most rewarding things that I do, which is to volunteer. So I've served on so many committees throughout my career from I was on the Texas City Manager's Ethics Committee and I got to meet we I mean, it was serious work that we were doing and it was it was difficult work. But in getting to sit with those city managers and having to determine and decide if the
complaints that were lodged were actual ethical violations. And then what was the appropriate disciplinary action, if any, that we needed to take. Having that work together really helps you bond and connect with those colleagues. And so, and that was a while back whenever I was in Texas, but I was on the Northwest Women's Leadership Academy. I got involved with that on the ground level all because they held a quick little session at a conference.
that said, hey, we're thinking about starting a women's leadership group in Washington state who would like to raise their hand and volunteer to help us create it and organize it. And I raised my hand. And so I got to be on the ground level with some really phenomenal, amazing women. And I think we've done a really great thing. It's still going strong today. I mean, I think they're what they're on cohort six or seven. I mean, they're
Charisse Deschenes (17:37)
Getting ready to
start seven. Yeah. Yeah. They're moving.
Kellye Mazzoli (17:40)
They're getting ready to
start seven. They just graduated six. There's at least 30 women going through each one of these cohorts in local government in Washington, in that state alone. So really phenomenal work. And I got connected with these women who became a support system for me whenever I was going through more difficult things in my career that otherwise I wouldn't have been so connected with, right? Because we did work together.
So I wanna second the doing projects together. Yeah, I mean, it takes your time, it takes effort, and sometimes it takes a little bit away from what you're doing at your organization, but then developing those connections in that way, they're stronger bonds than you could create just by an email or just having a quick phone call. So I really like the committee.
idea and volunteering. So I've done that and continue to do that. I'm on the SheLeadsGov committee that has just been created by ICMA this past year. So I'm really excited about what we're going to do with that coming up in the future. I think it's just really important work to do that. And I think it has a real benefit for everybody who participates. But as far as like, mean,
say, like, if I'm thinking about the most unexpected person that I've met at a conference, you know, so I met Sam Tolles. He's he actually does social media. He's a consultant and does social media with local governments. And he comes from the actual technology field. He's got a really great perspective on it. And he's just a great personality if anybody's met him. But he stood out to me because he was wearing a really funny shirt.
Something about, I'm sure it was something along the lines of how social media was like sucking him dry. Like next door was like, you know, awful. I can't remember what the shirt said, but it doesn't matter because it was so funny that I felt like I could go up and I could say something to him at this conference and I did. And what has developed is a really great working relationship between us.
And we're actually planning along with another entrepreneur in the city management area. Sarah Schillerstrom, we're planning a happy hour coming up at ICMA here in Tampa, coming up in just a couple of months. So anyway, he was the shirt was so funny that I felt like I could approach him. And now I have a partner for this really fun event.
that's coming up. I'm learning from him, he's learning from me. The connections are really great there. So anyway, hopefully that answers your question. Okay, so.
Charisse Deschenes (20:20)
Yeah, no, I think that was a complete answer. I love it.
I think
in summary, it means everything to have those connections and meet people at the conferences. So really important.
Kellye Mazzoli (20:29)
Right. Yeah. Isn't
it why we do the work? Right? We do the work for the humans, for humans. Like we care about humans. We care about the people in our cities and our communities. And guess what? That translates into caring for the people who do the work in other communities and cities, like our colleagues and our peers. We care about people. And it's at every level.
Charisse Deschenes (20:53)
Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Kellye Mazzoli (20:57)
let's take just a couple of minutes to talk about some tips for making the most of your conference. So let's say, you you're like, okay, I'm in Kellye and Charisse, I'm gonna go to the next conference, I gotta make all these connections, I need all these friends. You know, how do you get there? What are some tips for making the most of these conferences that you're now gonna go to, because we've convinced you? ⁓ I'll start with one. My...
Charisse Deschenes (21:20)
Mm-hmm.
Kellye Mazzoli (21:23)
My favorite one is this idea of planning your sessions backwards. So I have been going to the ICMA conference for
20 years. This will be my 20th year in October. I started in 2005. my goodness. That was my very first ICMA conference, I believe, 2005 in San Antonio. But I didn't always follow this advice where I planned my sessions backward. I would look at the thing and say, hey, I'm interested in this topic. I'm going to go to this session. And I didn't really think about the people. But now that's what's different. I like to think about the people first. So thinking about,
Charisse Deschenes (21:34)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (22:00)
I want to meet that person and they are on this panel or I want to meet that person and their boss is speaking at this panel. So then those are the sessions I put on my schedule first and I put those sessions so that I am in their path, the people that I want to meet first. So I say, start planning your sessions backwards. Start by figuring out who you want to meet and then scheduling accordingly.
Charisse Deschenes (22:20)
Do do
Yeah.
And that's so wise. ⁓ I'd say, know, Kellye, that's really wise. And, you know, it's something that you only gather by doing, you know, attending conferences from, I think my first professional conference was in Denver in 2002 as a student. I went to the National American Planning Association and I was an urban planner first and went to a number of those over my career.
Kellye Mazzoli (22:30)
What about you, Charisse?
Charisse Deschenes (22:53)
And I was heavily involved in the Alliance for Innovation and two career positions for, you know, starting in probably 2010 with that organization and learning how to attend those conferences and what you want to take away. And then I started attending the ICMA conference in probably 2017 when I made a shift over to city county management as my primary instead of urban planning. But
As you say, it's a savvy that you become more intentional about where you want to go and who you want to meet. Absolutely the people first. But in addition to that, like let's be creative and think about the things that you might've come across, like when you're attending a conference. So, you know, maybe having that little bag that you're taking along and has some extra snacks in there, or maybe you need band-aids or the extra water bottle.
maybe something that you give to someone else at a conference. The most, I am just remembering the Alliance for Innovation Conference in Tacoma. And that particular conference, we had participated in an innovation kind of program over the year before that conference as a team where I worked. And it was a
One of the things we did was like goats. You remember the goats and it was really popular to have the goats come out and do the lawn mowing in your community. Well, we did that and we took pictures of our goats and each each one they all had a name and then we put them their faces on a stick and that goat. We had four different goats that were part of our goat team. And they went ahead and we made.
Kellye Mazzoli (24:17)
Mm hmm. Yeah. ⁓ so cool.
Charisse Deschenes (24:36)
hundreds of copies, put them on sticks and passed them out at the conference. And then we asked people to hashtag and take their picture with the goat around Tacoma. So many people were collecting the goats and taking them around. But I don't know how many people I met at that conference because we did something a little bit weird and they were like, you're the goat people. We're like, yeah, I guess we're the goat people. Anyway, it was super fun and it was something that was off the wall, right? So yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (24:40)
Wow.
Mm-hmm.
Charisse Deschenes (25:03)
So have your band-aids, have your water bottles, pick something a little bit weird, more practical things that you could do. Maybe never sit at the same table twice. Make sure that you're meeting people in the hallway, making that time when they have the coffee for 15 or 20 minutes that you're taking the time to meet new people and interact, just taking advantage of that. And then also, if you're maybe someone that's a little shy and
You're not really the one to go out and meet people. Have a wingman. Take them along. Encourage each other. You meet five new people. I'll meet five new people. We'll introduce them. Just so you meet more people, as you mentioned, that having that conversation and meeting people, it's the people, it's the soft skills, right? That really matters. So ⁓ that's what I would say. What about you, Kellye? Anything that you've tried different?
Kellye Mazzoli (25:53)
Right.
Yeah, think what's.
Yeah, so, you know, I think you mentioned kind of briefly the idea of meeting people in the hallway, meeting people during coffee. And so I just want to reiterate that that you should have if you really want to meet people and you really want to connect, have hallway office hours. So we're talking about like scheduling and planning, right? Like which sessions you're going to go to.
But can you just post up somewhere in the hallway and do some work? I mean, you'll be surprised. You might catch somebody you want to say hi to as they come in and out of a session, or maybe they take a quick phone call and then they see you and then y'all connect because it's in between sessions and they don't want to go back into the one they were in. I mean, I've had so many of those hallway conversations that I would say it's almost beneficial to have actual like hallway office hours. You might try that out.
Charisse Deschenes (26:51)
That's great. And connect on LinkedIn. When you're in the moment, have that opportunity to just meet that person. Connect right there. That's a super opportunity. Thank you for mentioning that. I love that.
Kellye Mazzoli (27:03)
Yeah, yeah.
The one thing that I think people miss and they don't make themselves do because it's not always the most fun is doing an intentional debrief. So each day after you get done with the day's events to sit down and block 30 minutes to review your notes, to pick a few action steps before that like.
the conference glow fades, know, like we're just, I know I'm so energized right after, you know, a really great session. So just to make sure that you have listed out, you know, those things that you want to do whenever you take home, and maybe it's not exhaustive. So I've run into that problem where I try to make an exhaustive list. Instead, I would say what I learned over time was it was better to sort of simplify and just have a list of.
maybe one, two, or three things that I'm taking back from that conference that I wanna do. But setting some intentional time, so maybe if it's not every day while you're at the conference, maybe it's 30 minutes as soon as you get home, that very first day back in the office of the three things that you really wanna do, really, really key. Make it simple and just do at least those three things.
Charisse Deschenes (28:16)
That's brilliant, especially since you get back in all of the work that you had piled up is piled up that you keep that in your mind and make sure that you can implement because I have been there where it's like, I'm overwhelmed. I'm just right back into the moment. But if you hang on to three, that gives you opportunity for something.
Kellye Mazzoli (28:19)
Yeah.
Yeah. it'll be there.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Right,
right. Even just three, even just one, if you just pick one, that's still a win. Pick one thing, pick one. If that's all you can get done, pick one. And so, and then I mentioned too, I think a really good thing to do, you mentioned this in a way with the goat, you know, like things that you had.
Charisse Deschenes (28:43)
Pick one. OK, that's easier. I'm going to pick one next time.
Right, yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (28:59)
But it's
about wearing like one weird thing or one memorable thing. mentioned I mentioned that Sam did that and that drew me in to talk to him. But having that pin or that scarf or that one accessory or just something that sparks conversation can make you really, memorable at a conference. And so I'm going to I'm going to try to have something really fun like that at the next few conferences that I.
Charisse Deschenes (29:19)
Yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (29:26)
that I go to, I'm gonna see if I can't come up with something. Yeah.
Charisse Deschenes (29:28)
⁓ yeah. I've already rented us
some clown costumes for the ICMA conference. So if you're all about that.
Kellye Mazzoli (29:37)
I'm going to pass on the clown costumes, but maybe a big red nose. I don't know. I might do the big red nose. I'd look cute in a little big red nose. All right. So let's let's talk about the actual like process of getting out of town. I want to acknowledge that the reason why most people it's not that they don't understand that it helps.
Charisse Deschenes (29:39)
bummer.
Yep, of course.
Kellye Mazzoli (29:56)
Recharge their morale it helps them connect with people it helps them get fresh and new innovative ideas like I don't think that we're telling anybody anything they don't already know here I want to acknowledge that the reasons why we tend to not go is out of Guilt right maybe it's guilt because of the money right you really want to be cognizant of the dollars
Charisse Deschenes (30:17)
Hmm.
Kellye Mazzoli (30:20)
that your community has, especially if your professional development budget is limited or even if, for instance, I coach city managers on this particular issue whenever they don't feel like their staff has a whole lot of money available to them for their own professional development. So they feel guilty whenever they go to do theirs. The other thing, too, is guilt around your schedule.
You have so much to do and so many meetings and you're juggling professional along with personal calendar as well. And so there's some guilt there too. So that comes up often. And those are things that if you're feeling guilt about going to a conference, that is definitely something that you should seek coaching on because guilt is pretending to be necessary. It is not. What is necessary
is to understand that if you stay in your bubble and you succumb to that guilt that is there, it will lead to burnout, I think much faster, and it's gonna lead to stagnation for you. And that translates to your team. So as a leader, you really are an example. And so how can you expect your leadership team or the people in your organization
to go and to seek fresh new ideas and to recharge if you're not leading by example. So I wanna acknowledge that the guilt is there. I wanna acknowledge that we are all worried about money and budgets. I don't know of any city manager that isn't as well as schedule, but the cost of not taking the time to leave your city is burnout and burnout.
is going to rob your city of way more than the time and the budget that that conference was going to take.
Charisse Deschenes (32:14)
Yes. Yes. So, so true, Kellye. And if you're like flipping that on, like if you're feeling guilty, well, that's, you know, think about all the benefits that come along from you experiencing, you know, the conference. Like you said, you come back recharged, you come back energized, you come back inspired. But when you think about you're the leader, right? So the leader needs to be energized and recharged because that is something that
spreads throughout your entire organization. If you're feeling burnt out, your team feels burnt out. If you're feeling energized, the team can feel that energy and really that creates that innovation, that creates that ability for you to work better together. I just was thinking about, I came back from the Women's Leadership Summit and the Washington City County Management Association Conference. I just got back yesterday.
Kellye Mazzoli (33:08)
Mmm. Ooh!
Charisse Deschenes (33:08)
late last night. And
I feel energized and inspired. There were so many. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So just to give you an example, the Northwest Women's Leadership Academy, as you have created a shout out earlier in this episode, they're getting ready to start their seventh cohort. We were part of the first, I believe maybe you were part or leading the first, but I was one of the first. And this is the first leadership summit that they've had and they had it.
Kellye Mazzoli (33:13)
Perfect timing.
Charisse Deschenes (33:38)
beginning of the conference, there were about 50 women there, you know, talking about anything from confidence to the importance of soft skills, you know, knowing the people, having the people connection, how important that is, to just having roundtable discussions and getting to know those at the conference. So that was a really good experience. Then leading into the Washington City County Management Association conference the next day.
and just reconnecting with people I haven't seen in a year's time or more. And, you know, the topics are all great. I've had, a number of those conversations in the hallway or at the, you know, coffee and just chatting and reconnecting. And it was a wonderful experience and I'm excited to come around and do it again next year. And I feel like if every leader had that opportunity and felt that energy that you feel in that moment.
How would your city or town be better because you are spreading that energy?
So, yeah.
Kellye Mazzoli (34:36)
Oof, way to bring it full circle. I love it.
I love it, Charisse. So I would say, think that everybody who's listening to this, I hope that they're ready to dust off that suitcase, pick a conference and go. Not next year, this year. And I'm gonna put a plug out there because I think there's a couple of really great conferences that I know of personally that I'm gonna be at. So if you wanna see me in person.
If you want to get that hug that we were talking about before, I'll be there. So I'm going to be ELGL, Engaging Local Government Leaders, is going to be hosting an in-person conference again. I think this is the first one since COVID actually that they're coming back in person. And it's CampGovLife. It's going to be in Santa Rosa, California. Beautiful area. October 1st through the 3rd.
So it's coming up. I think you might still have time to register. What's really cool about this Camp Gov Life, it's got a whole theme and it's gonna be like we're at camp and it's gonna be city managers, it's gonna be department heads, it's gonna be people at every level of local government. This one's gonna be a lot of fun and I'm very excited to be there. I'll be moderating a session. And so I really hope that you'll come out and join.
and it makes some memories. The other conference I wanna encourage you to go to is ICMA's, it's their 111th conference. So this will be my 20th ICMA conference. And it's October 25th through the 29th. It's gonna be in Tampa. It's gonna be beautiful. This is like a great time of year from the 25th through the 29th. That's a great time of year to visit Tampa. It's gonna be gorgeous. And plus,
Charisse and I will be there and we will be hosting that really fun happy hour we were talking about on Monday the 27th. So that's gonna be just before all the state association dinners. We're gonna do a quick fun chit chat and you're gonna get to meet Sam Tolles if you wanna see some of his funny shirts. We're gonna have lots of shenanigans and you're also gonna see another amazing person who has been in local government and who is now coaching and now training.
and her background is in HR. Her name is Sarah Schillerstrom and she's doing great work up in the Illinois area. And so the, all of us are coming together to host this really fun happy hour at ICMA's 111. So keep your eye out on LinkedIn for more information about that as those details come together. Pack your bag, let's go.
Charisse Deschenes (37:09)
Sounds amazing and go see Kellye at the ELGL. That's going to be a wonderful time too. So if you see us in the hallway, please come say hi to us and we'd be ready to have a great conversation with you.
Kellye Mazzoli (37:21)
Absolutely. Because you know, leaders who stay connected stay effective.
Charisse Deschenes (37:27)
Yeah.
