Why Passion Is Important For Event Management

I’m sure you’ve heard the old cliché more times than you’d care to remember – in any industry, passion is one of the most important traits you can possibly have. Without it, nothing else really matters. No matter how talented you are; no matter how skilled and adept you happen to be at what you do, if you lack passion, it’s going to be noticeable in pretty much everything you do.

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. After all, informing someone that they just “need to be passionate” is one of the emptiest niceties one can possibly spout. It’s empty advice; there’s no real insight to be gained from it, but it sounds good to hear, right?

Today, I’m going to explain exactly why that seemingly-empty advice might well be the most important thing any event planner’s going to hear.

See, it’s no real secret that event management is an extremely active, high-energy job. As an event planner, you’ve got to constantly be on the move, with potentially hundreds of different things on the go at any given time. Without a boundless source of energy, you will eventually grind down to a halt. There’s no getting around that. 

Regardless of where you draw energy from, if you’re not passionate – if you don’t positively love what you do – you’ll eventually burn out.

Planning an event can also be a profoundly frustrating experience. Sometimes, it seems like nothing’s going right – your volunteers are making foolish (and dangerous) mistakes, several of your vendors have pulled a no-show, and one of your keynote speakers withdrew from the event at the last minute.  In order to productively overcome these obstacles – and still act with enthusiasm while doing it – it’s basically imperative that this be your top career choice.

Now, some of you might argue that it’s entirely possible to be a competent event manager without enjoying your work. I won’t argue that – you certainly can possess the flexibility, leadership, and storytelling prowess to run a great event without caring much about your guests. You can definitely possess an eye for detail without being fervent about giving people a good time. The thing is, people are very good at picking up on subtle cues – unless you’re a master manipulator, at least a few guests (and partners) are going to notice that you don’t enjoy what you do. 

It may sound like a vapid nicety, but passion really is the most important trait an event management professional can have. A deep, abiding love of their job is something all event management professionals share in common – to them; there are few things more enjoyable than putting together a fantastic event for their attendees.  Without that, everything else – their ability to engage an audience, their capacity to tackle obstacles, and their limitless energy – all comes crashing down. 

So if you’re considering a career in event management, ask yourself if it’s your dream job. Otherwise, you might want to consider a different career path.