Last week was a fantastic one for me. I am not an avid conference goer, but Rapid7 is a big supporter of the Massachusetts Conference for Women. Each year, I am in the incredibly fortunate position to be able to offer the opportunity for a large number of women from our Boston office to come together to attend this event. With incredible keynote speakers like Malala, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek and Megan Rapinoe this year, there was at least one topic that would be guaranteed to resonate with each attendee. And yet, even with big names to draw the crowd, the day (and its opening evening) is really about 12,000 women – and a handful of brave men - enhancing their learning, building new relationships and networks, and a whole lot of inspiration. It’s an awful lot of preparation to manage the event for us, but when I sit down with the tables of other Rapid7 women, put my technology away and really just listen, I share in the joy with my colleagues. An attendee and speaker for a number of years now, I have never walked away without having increased my knowledge and outlook.
To know me is to know I’m not awed by much. I don’t get starstruck, and I truly walk through the world believing that people who have found success and perhaps some fame in their chosen field isn’t because they are more incredibly brilliant than the rest of us. To me, there are very few people like Steve Jobs or Lin Manuel Miranda who have the ability, the vision and the never-ending passion to forever change our world. More often, I feel it is someone who has a great idea who has been able to translate it in a really relatable, consumable way and harness a following as a result who can also make a huge impact on the way we think about a particular topic.
Perhaps it comes from a belief that no one individual is truly more special than anyone else - and that everyone has a little greatness in them - that this past conference struck a chord. For the past several years, Rapid7 has been a sponsor of the conference’s opening night. Once targeted at younger women at the start of the career, Opening Night has become a mini version of the actual conference day and becoming its own draw. This year upped its game with some extraordinary speakers. I had the privilege of being able to represent Rapid7 by saying a little bit about the work we are doing, and how it connects to the topics of the speakers and the theme of the night. That opportunity allowed me to be able to hang out backstage that evening, and make some interesting connections. For someone who isn’t wowed by much, I drove home that night on a high.
My first interaction was with Brene Brown. Several years ago, I started writing based on what was effectively a dare. It’s a long story, but in short, I went on a date with a writer. And while the date itself was not one I was excited about, his counsel ultimately did get me thinking. Having recently gone through some fairly big life changes, he asked if I kept a journal to chronicle my thoughts each day. I laughed that notion off. I was the kid in school who wouldn’t pass notes for fear than an unintended party would find a piece of paper with my private thoughts on it. As I drove home that night, I challenged myself as to why I had such a negative reaction to writing things down. Sometimes it takes me awhile to discover it, but once I identify I’ve got a gap, I jump on it pretty quickly to try and address it. And given I’m an “all in” type of person, I can often overcorrect. This situation was no different. That very night, I decided to move past my unwillingness to capture my thoughts in writing the only way I knew how. Just do it. But just do it by committing to doing it for 365 days. And then publish it on social media so people could read along and go on the journey with me. I know; insanity.
I wrote like no one else was reading; it was the only way I could hold myself accountable to be honest. Because I took that approach, I actually did find people reading along, and connecting with what they read. No topic was off limits. And somehow, in sharing more of myself - my successes, my failures, my excitement and my downs - I ended up connecting with an incredible variety of people in a way I never had before. During the course of the project, a number of people told me my writing reminded them of the work of Dr. Brene Brown, an incredible shame and vulnerability researcher, famous for one of the most watched TED Talks of all time. Not wanting to be influenced by outsiders, I waited until my year of writing was over before I explored her work. I quickly got it. What I had just done was exactly what her work talks about; putting yourself out there, and “daring greatly” to live your absolute best life. It deeply resonated with me not because I needed help and guidance becoming more vulnerable; it was because for the first time, I felt like someone actually got what I just did.
Last Wednesday night, I got to meet her backstage. In the few minutes I got to chat with her, I didn’t tell her about my project. Instead, I babbled about how much her work connected with me, and how upset I was that she wasn’t available to speak at our upcoming global kickoff. She was warm, funny, and just as relatable as she is when she’s on stage. And then later, as I snuck into the front row to listen to her speak and hanging on her words like I was at a pivotal seminar at school, I became a forever fan when she shared her ultimate hero was Maya Angelou. Mine too.
The next day, I listened to Malala’s story, which made me emotional and so inspired by her bravery and passion to fight for the education of women. I was taking notes like a fool as I listened to and then briefly met, Simon Sinek, as he talked about The Infinite Game. I shared in 12,000 women coming together to experience the girl power messages of soccer star and national treasure Megan Rapinoe as she shared her views, laughing the entire time. My biggest takeaway, however, wasn’t the content of their talks. It was the common thread of their passion. Whether it was fighting for women’s rights, or exploring a new business concept or using a public platform to give a glimpse into her life, each of these phenomenal speakers was noteworthy in that they took what was important to them, and made it relatable and meaningful to every listener.
I love learning and expanding my view of the world and the people in it. I was never a great student in school, as my style of learning never came from a lecture. However, any time I am around people who are passionate and can bring me a little bit of understanding about their world, I become a captive audience.
This holiday season, I have an awful lot to be thankful for. Horrified by the retelling of Malala’s story, I am incredibly grateful to live in a part of the world that doesn’t just support education for women, but actively encourages us all to go out and seize the world. It’s up to each of us to take advantage of that gift and make the most of it.
Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator.