Leadership experience fuels Puerto Rico’s indigenous spirit

Meet Boricua brings culture and heart to the Conquistador Resort Ballroom

The Smart Meetings Leadership Experience at Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico sets the stage for top meeting professionals to make new connections to increase efficiency and add some spice to their programs.

For three days, attendees danced, tasted and laughed at one of the world’s top resorts.

sound of victory

The celebration kicks off with an empathetic primer from Keynote Rich Bracken. He re-demonstrates his DJ skills, taps into the audience’s emotional intelligence, helps them develop skills, and relieves the stress of life in meeting professors. “Emotional intelligence is the most important skill today. More than half of your job performance is affected by your ability to create a positive company culture,” Bracken said. “Events require creativity and engagement. Emotional intelligence is the fuel that makes it all possible.”

What advice does he have on how to manage emotions in order to cope with difficult situations? Start with self-awareness. Once you understand how you feel, you can self-manage. Once you identify your initial trigger response, you can rationally decide whether sending an email or visiting someone’s office is a good idea. “Take a deep breath and control your reactions,” advises Bracken.

At an event, he emphasized the importance of practicing social awareness: giving people full attention and respect. This often requires staying away from our devices. “Simply holding our phones can make us feel idle and limit our ability to practice active listening,” he observes.

Another way that emotional intelligence helps professionals make meetings more effective is by improving boundary-setting skills. Once you understand your true priorities, then you can practice real-time management. “If you say yes to everything, you’re giving up something. ‘No’ is a complete sentence,” he reminded everyone.

This includes taking time for yourself. Create a routine that makes handling tasks easier. And—and this is a big deal—adult “periods” are introduced. Schedule 5 minutes after every 25-minute call to gather your thoughts. 15 minutes are added after every 45-minute meeting. Doing this will help you overcome the frazzled mindset you may experience after a day of consecutive Zoom calls, trying to remember the action items from each call.

Finally, harness the power of music to tap into glimmers of happy memories or empowering vibes. Think about what your accompaniment music will be that can add some confidence to your day. “You are the DJ of your life,” Bracken concluded.

Live like a local

Explore Puerto Rico There’s a saying that sums up the warm, resilient, joyful spirit of the island’s residents. This is called “living” Puerto Rican,” which refers to experiencing the place like a local. Crystal Diaz, founder of El Pretexto, a culinary farm-and-lodge in scenic Cay, Puerto Rico, embodied this in her presentation This ethos encourages everyone to embrace the beauty of where they live. As co-founder of PROduce, a local market grocery delivery app that connects food producers and consumers, she advocates for sourcing locally and uplifting small farmers and farmers. Craftsman level while putting her ideals into practice, employing 400 people in her biodiverse farming operation.

After overcoming many obstacles, Diaz has become a spokesperson for natural, balanced living around the world. She sees food as a natural way to connect people, but only one of them. When leaders are passionate, they perform at their highest level, but this requires intelligence, care, and determination. “You have to use your head, your heart and your pants or skirt,” she said with a laugh.