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Building a More Neurodiverse Events Industry
24 Plays1 month ago
Laura Rosinska, Founder of Event Exec Ltd joins Tanita to discuss the need for more neurodiversity in the industry
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Transcript
Introduction to Eventful Encounters
00:00:00
Speaker
So hello and welcome back to Eventful Encounters, the podcast where we sit down with the brilliant minds shaping the events industry from the inside out. I'm your host Tanita and today we're talking about something that doesn't go, it doesn't get nearly the attention that it needs and something that we're very passionate about here at the East Side Rooms, neurodiversity.
00:00:16
Speaker
ah What that means for new event design, different experience events, Events are really high energy, they're fast-paced environments, bright lights, busy networking space and packed agendas. For some people that's quite exciting, but for others that can be really
Meet Laura Zinska: A Trailblazer for Neurodiversity
00:00:29
Speaker
overwhelming. So the question is, how do we create events that truly work for everyone?
00:00:33
Speaker
And to explore that, I'm joined by Laura Zinska, founder and MD of Events Exec, and who is a passionate advocate for making events industry more intuitive for neurodivergent professionals and delegates. So welcome, Laura. Thank you so much. Great to be here.
00:00:49
Speaker
Great. i Have you? So let's start with an easy one. But anyone hasn't come across you, who are you? where did your own begin? And how did you get into the events industry? So, so I founded Event Exec 11 years ago now, and I've been in the industry for over 25 years. And I started out just in hospitality, um working in but yeah restaurants, that kind of thing. And I found a role in a very small agency near where I live in West Sussex. That's going back a long, long way.
00:01:23
Speaker
And I guess the the kind of shift in my career massively into the industry would be my position at Goodwood, Goodwood Estate, where they host a festival for Speed, Revival, And all the horse racing there. It's an amazing place and it's early in West Sussex near me.
00:01:39
Speaker
And I was there for about eight years um looking after event hospitality from an operational and sales perspective. And did fairly well. um And we can touch on that in a little bit. But the neurodiversity side of me um really enjoyed all the sales side and the hustle and bustle, ah the whole thing. It was just I absolutely loved it.
00:01:59
Speaker
It was brilliant. So really, really thrived. And I stayed there for eight years and left as head of event hospitality, which was amazing. Amazing. Yeah. amazingley yeah i all It grew very, very quickly. I started off doing just the admin side and was like, this is it. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, that was a brilliant and time. And actually, we're still very close to Goodwood as a preferred supplier for the hospitality side.
The Birth and Growth of Event Exec
00:02:22
Speaker
um I had a year as a commercial director at a small race course after that, and which was a very interesting... Was that a year? Not really. Really, But I learnt a hell of a lot of lessons with that and it gave me... Yeah, sometimes you need to do that. Yes, to learn he sometimes do the bad stuff is actually have still smiling. So it did really teach me the direction I did want to go in and that was setting up my own business, Event Exec.
00:02:49
Speaker
So tell us more about EventExec. What do you do? What's the culture like there? Yeah, so we specialise in VIP tickets and hospitality incentives, um usually around sport and music. And and that's on a global scale. It's amazing.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah, it really, really is. And I was started ever so small. It was just me. And I only started employing people about three years ago. So did it on your own for so I did. And it just got ridiculously busy. I just like can imagine it and couldn't. So it was kind of, it was a lifestyle business up until then. And I kind of thought, you know, go go large or go home. and I was like, there's so much opportunity out there. So I went.
00:03:27
Speaker
Well, large. I mean, when I say large, we're still a small team of four. and But it's small and mighty. So what's one of the biggest events you've got to Oh, my goodness. um Or what are the standouts? The standouts, they're all standouts. So we do all of the major artists' tours, i.e. getting VIP seats and private boxes in all the major stadions. Yeah, all around the world, you all the Grand Prixs, Wimbledon, Wimbledon. You name it, we can do it. And, you know, we've built such an amazing network now and a really safe network. So ah things are sold out. They're not. You just come to us and we say, yeah, find a way. i know. It's a great place to be.
00:04:07
Speaker
So what is it about the events industry that excites you? Because you're still really passionate about it. I mean, you've been in it for such a long time, but you still sound so passionate about it. So what is it that really gets you going? Yeah, this is it's an easy answer for me. It's amazing.
00:04:18
Speaker
I just feel so privileged because I get to give people the most incredible experiences of their lives. And it's things like also, yes, we work from a corporate point of view, but when you've got families wanting to go Taylor Swift, taking the kids and things, and do they just send me the pictures of these little daughters? Absolutely just like, oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm here. um You know, once in a lifetime experiences for people.
00:04:42
Speaker
I mean, it's just an amazing privilege to be able to be that position. To be in that position, yeah. Absolutely.
Laura's Personal Journey with Autism and ADHD
00:04:49
Speaker
So moving on a little bit, you touched about i touched on it earlier, but neurodiversity. So I'd love to explore that. Where does your personal passion come from for you? Yeah, so... I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at the age of 46. I'm just about to turn 50. So not that long ago.
00:05:07
Speaker
and I really, really struggled. i see And I came from a difficult background anyway. um But school was just horrendous. can imagine. um And I think girls process it all very differently. And in fact, back then, nobody even knew what it was. Especially, yeah, without gyms. Just literally. You're just not interested. You're a disruptive child. Yes, am. It wasn't getting disrupted, but I think a lot of girls are like that. It's very internal.
00:05:32
Speaker
So, you know, with boys, they can be a lot more kind of active. They're jumping around and, you know, that's kind of a very typical boy way to present. But girls can be very internal. So it's actually what's going on in the mind. And you could just be sitting nice and still. No one would ever know there's anything wrong. But what's going on upstairs is a completely different story. Sure. So, you know, you just get branded um useless, waste of space, airhead, won't do it. I know she can, but she won't was a common theme throughout school. And I actually left school with zero qualifications, didn't get any GCSEs whatsoever. Wow. Yeah. So... um
00:06:10
Speaker
And I'm so glad that there is awareness now because that's really starting to
Backstage Initiative and Industry Insights
00:06:14
Speaker
change. yeah um I created a business called Backstage a year or so ago, particularly to help people in neurodiversity um in this industry. yeah And with that, I spent a lot of hours interviewing people because i really wanted to understand their experiences. um You know, and the people that are in their kind of like 30s-ish now, it's really lovely to see that actually schools are doing a hell of a lot more. Exactly. And there is an understanding. And people are coming out with really good grades.
00:06:42
Speaker
And it's about understanding the way that the neurodiverse person. How do they earn a still achieve? Yeah. Yeah, and it's also everyone's so different. It presents completely differently. Every single person. I know. So um I'm really glad that there's that awareness. But um in the terms of the events industry, oh, my goodness, um I think Andy Williamson from Welcome Brain, he did some statistics which say that about 20% of the events industry is neurodiverse.
00:07:11
Speaker
And I don't think that, you know, it's a perfect industry for a neurodiverse mind to work in. So that doesn't surprise me. But like you touched on, it's about um creating the safe spaces and the big institutions so that you feel welcomed and safe.
00:07:28
Speaker
So you mentioned the backstage. Was there something that you witnessed in the industry that made you think, I need to set this up, that you made made you think that something in the industry needs to change? Yeah. Yeah, basically would be my own experiences. um And why I touched on the kind of the school and the journey is that I don't want anyone to have to feel the way that I did.
00:07:53
Speaker
Yeah. um It's a really, really kind of can be a very dark place, especially if you don't know what it is you've got. do You just think there's something wrong with you or not. Yeah. um And, you know, going to events, especially exhibitions, they can be so overwhelming. I can imagine. And the symptoms are, it's physical, you know. i mean, there's been times when I've gone non-verbal, when literally, cap my he your throat closes up, you can actually feel.
00:08:22
Speaker
It's such a physical thing that comes up. And it's just, I just don't want anyone to have to go through that, really. And what is it you do with Backstage to help people?
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, for that lots of talking, lots of I'm here if you want to have a chat. i was moment with sport yes Yeah, exactly. With Welcome and Brain. I've just um got ah my qualification for a first responder, which is brilliant. So I'll be doing lot more of that. um And just being on hand, really, and consulting with the venues.
00:08:51
Speaker
um to look at where they can improve, you know, the the environment that they have to make people feel more safe and inclusive. Also, I want to start talking to all the stadiums that we know so well yeah about how they can look after their staff, um how they look after the people there and their audiences. You know, if there is kind of some, yeah, neurological, um you know, we but I'll call it a breakdown. There's probably a better term for it, but that's kind of what it can look like. Yeah.
00:09:19
Speaker
And how they can yeah just say respond to that. Exactly. So also um looking at leaders and how they manage their teams. I've had a lot of conversations with, you know, people that own their agency saying, I know I've got neurodiverse people in my team, but I don't even know how to approach it. How do I go about this? Because it can be, you know, quite sensitive. Not everyone's open to take away their hands and go, yes, so I've got neurodiverse. Exactly that. Yeah, people don't know how to approach it and they'd rather sometimes not approach it than approach it in the wrong way. Exactly.
00:09:52
Speaker
So the events industry is really fast-paced, high-pressure and quite often very unstructured. Do you think that that environment works for or against neurodivergent professionals?
Suitability of Events Industry for Neurodivergent Professionals
00:10:02
Speaker
you want to touch on that a little bit earlier? Yeah, well, it depends on the person. Again, because it's... Yeah, absolutely. There are people that...
00:10:10
Speaker
absolutely need to have their processes. And I suppose it depends on their neurodivergence as well. A hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely right. um And there are people that just like working in a process way is just forget it. I mean, that's me. You know, I get everything done. I get everything completed. I get everything done brilliantly at the very last minute. But do you know what? That is okay. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. ah You always think it's not okay to work like that because you would have had comments with your life saying, oh, God, everything you do last minute. But, you know, it's negative. But actually, it's fine. So it's about understanding, having that conversation with people.
00:10:46
Speaker
Tell me what you need. How do you work best? Yeah. There could be a ah mismatch as well. It could be some things processed and other things not so. Mm-hmm. And how do you work within your, you've got team now, how do you work within your team with people being so different, I suppose?
00:11:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, they need to manage and cope with me, really. So, yeah, exactly. But they're all very tolerant. But it is that conversation. It's like my mind does work a bit differently. Sometimes I can be quite hectic. Sometimes I can be super calm. I do have loads of great ideas that come up. And it's like, well, you had this jackpot. There's so much stuff I want to do, but it's about reining it in and just staying in your lane. So, but yeah, no, they're really, really good. um And it's just such it's a really open conversation in our office.
Managing Neurodivergent Talent
00:11:33
Speaker
um
00:11:34
Speaker
that's scary So where do you see the events industry is falling short right now when it comes to supporting Eurodivergent talent, whether that's from recruitment or right through to when they're delivering their roles? Yeah, it's definitely on the forefront of people's minds now. There's so much work going on. think kind of over the last 12 months it's definitely been bought. Yeah, it absolutely has. So, you know, say Helen Moon, I work with, um well she's well known in the industry for um providing really good safe spaces at exhibitions and other venues. And it's just being talked about a lot now. i You know, there there are, I think, some gaps where it's not really spoken about. And the conversations I've had with some people, are they're still in that period of shame and not wanting to talk about it. Yeah.
00:12:22
Speaker
And I totally get that because you can feel like, oh, it's this again, you know. ADHD and autism, it's thrown around a lot, those terms. Yeah.
00:12:33
Speaker
I think for a while it did become a bit of a buzzword and I think now we've kind of come of back again where people are actually taking it seriously. I hope so. But I think, you know, it was some but somebody you mentioned to me recently, oh, people just use it as an excuse. And I just thought, oh, my goodness me. If that narrative stood out, I'm like, if you have any idea what these people go through that have it, you would really wouldn't use that narrative because it can be absolutely brilliant if you can self-regulate and... um kind of really look at yourself and investigate entirely how you tick, what things make you feel good and safe and what don't. And you can self-regulate and just make it work for you. It's understanding yourself, isn't it? And really getting to know yourself and so how you work. Yeah, so I think there's maybe some, maybe ignorance. I guess it would come from people that don't experience it. It's kind of hard to get your head around what it is. Without having confidence.
00:13:23
Speaker
Without yourself. Yeah. And where do you think the events industry is really brilliant for neurodivergent people? infinite The in industry history as a whole, I mean, it's there's just so much opportunity within it. You know, you have got the process side, you've got the event management side. But then there's, yeah, you never know what's going to come up, especially when you're on live events. You've got to thick think really quickly on your feet. And I would say that people with neurodivergence literally can see things from a bird's eye view.
00:13:52
Speaker
um and are brilliant at responding brilliant at fixing problems there's all of that ah so yeah the events industry is a brilliant place to be if you are neurodivergent person that's good for the listeners out there to know definitely oh 100%
Future Projects and Innovations in Events Industry
00:14:07
Speaker
yeah and for neurodivergent professionals themselves what advice have you got that can get them to navigate through the industry and perhaps if they don't feel seen or heard how they can get seen or heard Yeah, you talking about and staff? or Yeah, professional as was talking about. Yeah, absolutely. I would say just be brave. There's nothing wrong with you whatsoever. And it's about reaching out and just having that conversation with line managers or bosses to say like, hey, this is me. I'm so committed.
00:14:37
Speaker
um' i could really excel in this area. But just need to support it differently. Yeah, can you support me with this? You know, can you, um for example, if you're on a live event, you know, you wouldn't want to put somebody that's very, very active, potentially with kind of ADHD and put them on a stand or something standing there all day for six hours or or or something like a repetitive task, you know.
00:14:59
Speaker
That's just mind-numbing. And it actually does create um anxiety and physical symptoms it really can do. yeah So it's about moving that person around and making sure they're in an environment that they slide in. Whereas there'll be other people that be absolutely delighted to do that all day. So just really understanding the person and how to get the best off them. And I think that works across the board, whether you're neurodivergent or neurodivergent. Everybody has got areas that they excel in and they want to they're feel more comfortable in.
00:15:27
Speaker
Definitely. Yeah. Where do you see things heading over the next five years in the industry? That's a huge question. I'm not still a good fan of Oracle here. Oh, I don't know. i mean, I can't really talk, um you know, too much about AI stuff, but things are going very much that way. um Automated um technology.
00:15:48
Speaker
Who knows? Who knows where it's going to go? Yeah, I think the AR world is moving so far. It really is. it is um Yeah, there's just opportunity everywhere, so And taking it back a step, a little bit lighter. What projects or initiatives are you working on through EventExec and Backstage or anywhere else in your business life that you're particularly excited about?
00:16:09
Speaker
There are quite a few things that I'm really excited about. I've been really focused on the wellness side of things recently and I am partnered with an incredible business called Lucenda. Okay.
00:16:21
Speaker
which looks at retreats and wellness events, but it's actually and powered by science. So we have just created an amazing program, just launched at the Shangri-La at the Shard, where we had 50 people um C-suite CEOs come and experience that day. We had a neuroscientist there that actually put brain caps on people for the duration of the day. So arrived at Harper State, stayed till six. We had spinal energetics technicians. We had sound bars up there on the 33rd floor. we It was incredible. But the the great thing about that is that we monitored people throughout the day and the brain activity
00:17:03
Speaker
But it's fascinating to see. Absolutely mind-blowing. And this is the thing, like it is very science-led. You know, there's lots of, um like you hear it's very woo-woo, isn't it? Doing sound bars and like meditation, breathing. But it's scientific that it can actually change your brain frequency. It changes your urological pathways. And it actually like really, really, really does. really awesome, isn't Yeah, yeah. You get to ground. And this is where leaders and stuff need to be in a space to work from. These groundedness, um clarity and calmness. It's peace. That's what we had after is just being peaceful. So we are taking that program and yeah, we're going to duplicate that and we'll be doing that in other countries as well. So it's a huge, huge, huge project. I'm so excited to be here.
00:17:50
Speaker
When does that officially launch? It has. has officially launched, though. Yeah.
Quick Fire Round: Personal Insights with Laura
00:17:54
Speaker
So we're going to do a quick fire round. Okay. The event industry in three words. Bite, love, it.
00:18:01
Speaker
Fair enough. A book, podcast, or resource that you'd recommend for anyone wanting to learn more about neurodiversity? um Difficult for me to say. um I would say, you know, definitely get in contact with Andy Williamson. um Yeah, absolutely great person and offers amazing courses. He does. Yeah, yeah absolutely. ah One event that genuinely moved you either to attend or to deliver?
00:18:31
Speaker
I love music and this is a personal one for me but then again I get to kind of see how my clients feel when they attend start yeah so it's taking my daughters to concerts and things like that and doing things as a family Yeah, and on our 10th anniversary, we had a box and watched Taste of the Status, actually, and it was absolutely amazing. So I just invited kind of like 12 of my event industry best friends because that's another thing about this industry, that everyone becomes so friendly. I know, my entire circle now really is within the industry. Yeah, it's amazing.
00:19:08
Speaker
Tea or coffee on a hectic day? um Coffee, but only till one o'clock. Bit like me, but... Yeah, then it's like no sleep. What's one misconception about neurodivergent people that you wish would disappear forever?
00:19:23
Speaker
and That they are really, really hectic and all over the place and just can't sit still. What's one thing that event professionals should do differently starting Monday?
00:19:34
Speaker
Be kind. I like that. I do like Yeah. And finally, complete this sentence. The events industry will be truly inclusive when... Hmm...
00:19:47
Speaker
People listen more and empathize with others, put themselves in other people's shoes and just, yeah. I think that's the word there, empathy. Empathy. Just got to empathize with people. Exactly. Try and understand from their point of view.
00:19:59
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. There's no need for conflicts. There's no need for any of that stuff. It's just be really open to listening, receiving, helping. If you come from that standpoint, then it just dispels any like negative energies.
00:20:13
Speaker
So Laura, as we come towards the end, what do you want listeners to feel or do after having this conversation today? I want people um to, yeah, just be brave, and put their hands up, like ask for the things that they need in their work environments. And yeah, as I said, just be kind.
00:20:32
Speaker
Laura, it's been a real pleasure to have you here today to talk about a topic that is so important. We really want to get the awareness out there. So thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. And as always, to stay up to date with all things Eventful Encounters, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
00:20:47
Speaker
Thanks. Bye. Bye.