I get so pumped up getting the opportunity to run workshops for small businesses.
This one was a little more personal because it was for one of my closest mate's businesses, Gardel Electrical.
Sam runs a smooth operation, and I knew he'd be watching me like a hawk. I also knew he'd give me honest feedback on where I could improve.
That's important to me with every workshop and keynote I deliver.
I always ask for feedback because I know there are always those one-percenters I can get better at. Not just with the actual talk, either. I look at the whole experience, from the moment a business or client first engages me all the way through to when we finish up.
Walking into Gardel Electrical
When I walked into the office, there were more than 30 blokes having a sausage sizzle and a catch-up.
They had a bit of a toolbox talk before it was my turn to deliver my **Built for Pressure** workshop.
I love delivering this workshop for businesses and organisations because every single one of us carries pressure.
And that pressure isn't always coming from work.
That's why one of the first things I do is ask the room:
What pressures are you carrying right now?
I just get people to shout them out and we start putting them up on the whiteboard.
For this group, we had the pressure of finances. Long days. Trying to improve their skills. Life milestones. Family. Goals they wanted to achieve.
It's a lot to carry, especially if you don't talk about it.
I think it's important that we understand what's going on outside of work as well. Our personal life impacts our professional life and vice versa.
Getting people talking about what's actually going on
The Gardel group was super interactive.
As I went through the workshop, we'd stop every now and then for a couple of breakouts and then get people to share.
You can feel the energy in the room pick up when that starts happening.
Everyone loves the opportunity to share what's going on in their life, but we don't always create the space for people to do it.
Sometimes it's just having the opportunity to have someone listen.
That was really powerful with this group.
Because they were so engaged, we even got to go on a few little side quests.
People started talking about challenges they were facing and things they wanted to create in their lives. That gives me an opportunity to move away from simply delivering content and do a little bit of coaching in the room.
That's probably one of my favourite parts of running workshops.
I have my content and the things I want people to walk away with, but every room is different. When people are willing to engage, we can make it relevant to what's actually happening in their lives.
What Sam thought
Obviously, I'm going to say I enjoyed the workshop.
What mattered to me was hearing what Sam and his team got out of it.
For Sam, one of the biggest reminders was not trying to take on everything at once.
"The one thing that I probably was reminded of is just taking the little steps first before trying to take on a large goal."
But what stood out to him most as the owner of Gardel Electrical and Solar was seeing the buy-in from his team.
"Whenever we had a small break and everyone was chatting, as soon as Lachie opened his mouth, everyone was eyes to the front and listening, which means they're engaged and they're getting value out of the session."
That meant a lot.
Sam originally brought me in because of what I'd achieved through running 58 marathons in 58 days. But the workshop isn't about getting everyone to go out and run marathons.
It's about breaking those lessons down so they become relatable to someone's own life.
Sam probably explained it better than I could:
"Anyone from a high-level sports person within my business to someone who's not interested in sport at all will still get value out of it."
You could see that in what the guys were sharing.
A lot of their goals had nothing to do with sport.
They were talking about their kids. Buying their first home. Improving themselves. Things they wanted to create in their own lives.
That's the stuff that matters.
Why I love doing this
I'll never take for granted getting invited into a business and having people give me their time and attention.
Whether I'm delivering a keynote to hundreds of people or running an interactive workshop with a team like Gardel Electrical, I want people to leave believing they're capable of more and with something practical they can actually use.
Great business. Great group of blokes. Great opportunity.
I was stoked Sam was happy, but even more stoked hearing how much his team took away from it.
Book Built for Pressure for your team
If you're a business owner or leader looking for an interactive workshop around pressure, resilience, goal setting and getting your team talking about what's actually going on, **Built for Pressure** is exactly what I've created it for.
