Whose Event is it Anyway?

Oops, turns out it may be yours. Not in the sense of the intended audience or who the event is for but from the perspective of who is responsible ultimately for its success. In the Feats world, we call this person the event steward – the senior level individual who is accountable for whether the event meets expectations and objectives or not.

Frequently, this person can also be where the buck stops – literally. But in the current environment of shared budgets, this isn’t always the deciding factor.

Shared governance and a committee working collaboratively toward common goals is a beautiful thing. But at the end of the day, there needs to be one person with enough clout to shepherd the event successfully through the decision making process. Someone with the appropriate level of judgment to know what is right for the audience and what is authentic to the institution. It’s not necessarily someone who has all of the answers but it is someone who knows who to connect with to get them.

Every successful event needs one individual with the responsibility and authority to make things happen – and who embraces the opportunity.