Hi YATMers, I’m Michelle Vaughton, founder of VOLT (I’m all about positive energy).
I’m a facilitator, coach and yoga teacher, working with leaders, teams and individuals to think differently, have great conversations and navigate change.
As a child I used to ask A LOT of question and was obsessed with Kung Fu movies and Monkey Magic. Looking back, I’m seeing a few links with my career choice and yoga path!
My recommendation for you is Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh.
I’m currently devouring this book. It’s a wonderfully vivid and entertaining account of travelling the globe by rail, filled with fascinating places, unexpected encounters and a real sense of adventure.
It’s making me want to pack a backpack and go interrailing like a teenager but with comfortable accommodation!
Let's make sure we connect today.
Here I am on LinkedIn
Where I work here
P.S. On Thursday 24th September I’m hosting a webinar called, Is This It? Inspired by a friend who asked me this question. She’s navigating redundancy, her children are leaving home and struggling in her relationship.
I’m speaking with a lot of women at the moment who are questioning where they fit and wondering what comes next. I don't have all the answers but sometimes the best place to begin is with a really good question. Come and join in here.
A strong community grows when more people feel able to step forward.
Today, YATM Lunch Clubs start again around the country.
Different hosts, panels, and people will bring their experiences into the room.
We’re slowly introducing new locations once we know the format works somewhere else. It started in Poole, followed by London, Bristol and now Manchester, in October.
I love the idea that people can have a lunchtime out in their own town or city, while knowing they are part of a wider effort happening around the country.
There are now lots of people involved and whether hosting or on a panel, I won’t be responsible for making every moment happen. I’m still involved, but increasingly the value comes from other people’s participation.
For a long time, my measure of whether You Are The Media was working was connected to what I could make happen. From the newsletters to standing at the front, I thought that it was presence that mattered.
I am now seeing that the healthier measure is how much becomes possible because other people feel able to join in.
A Place To Join In
In 2024, we made a deliberate shift with Lunch Club.
Other people started hosting the events while I moved into more of a supporting role. I help create the event, promote it, bring people into the room and support the hosts.
It worked in Poole, so we took the format to new locations and met more people.
The value no longer comes predominantly from me to everybody else. More of it happens between people.
That means creating an environment where the people who join in matter to the experience, rather than the learning always being delivered from one person to everyone else. Somebody still has to initiate, but they don’t have to remain responsible for everything that follows.
Turning Up Isn’t The Same As Stepping Forward
We spend a lot of time in community talking about participation. We look at how many people attended and whether they contributed. It does matter, but attendance should not be the barometer.
I’ve started looking at it in three ways.
Belonging: I feel welcome here.
Participation: I can contribute here.
Agency: I can make something happen here.
That final step is the one I want to understand better.
Agency appears when somebody stops seeing themselves as a person who paid to attend and starts recognising that what they do can affect what happens next.
It could be a conversation that turns into work, or a collaboration or helping make introductions easier for people who step in for the first time.
They are signs that people feel some responsibility towards each other.
Leadership Is Something You Do, Not Something You Own
This has also changed how I look at leadership. We tend to associate leadership with the person at the front.
They have the microphone, the authority and the responsibility for setting the direction. Everyone else largely participates within the structure they have created.
I am recognising through the events that leadership can move around the room.
At Lunch Cub we have a section called ‘winning’ where someone shares what’s working on their side. We introduced this during our online events we had when Covid was on, where people shared the joy in their lives, with what was a difficult time for so many people.
It doesn’t mean everyone needs a title or a formal responsibility. It means more people feel able to act when they have something valuable to contribute.
My Role Has To Change Too
I don’t subscribe to the idea that the ultimate goal of leadership is to make yourself unnecessary.
I want to be responsible for the progress and protect what started back in 2013.
I care deeply about its direction, identity and what people experience when they step inside.
Someone needs to still drive the bus, maintain standards and keep providing reasons for people to gather. The founder’s role can change. Rather than being the source of most of the activity, it can increasingly become about being the steward of the conditions in which activity happens.
One of my main roles is outreach. I let people know what’s happening, invite them in and try to make them feel comfortable when they arrive.
Once people are in the room, I don’t need to be responsible for every conversation or interaction. Other people help create the atmosphere.
The stronger the community becomes, the less visually dominant I need to be in every moment.
At the same time, stewardship can become even more important.
A Different Way To Measure Community
I’ve spent years looking at the measurements we’re told matter. This could be subscriber numbers, audience retention and rooms filling up.
There are other signals to pay more attention to. Who was willing enough to step forward? Who helped somebody without being asked? Who started a conversation? Who made an introduction? Who took responsibility for making the room better?
This means it’s not about how much I make happen, it becomes how much became possible because other people felt able to step forward.
That feels like a more useful measure of community to me.
Let’s Round Up
Lunch Clubs will begin again and I still have responsibilities.
I’ll still be organising, dealing with venues, messaging people and trying to make sure everyone has a good experience.
I’m not handing over the keys, but I will also be looking around the rooms differently and at what happens amongst people and how people interact, from the front to those who attend.
The real sign that a community is growing isn’t that more people turn up, it’s that more people step forward.
You don’t just join a community to benefit from what somebody else has built. Over time, belonging starts to mean recognising that you can help shape what it becomes.
That’s what I want more together to mean. Not more people in the same place, but more people capable of making things happen.
Share this with someone else 💌
youarethemedia.co.uk/when-people-feel-able-to-step-forward/
Time Wasting
Find all the fun and weird things to see on a road trip.
|
|
|
This Week Around The Web
GROWTH, CREATION & YOUR INDEPENDENCE
AI search makes individual creators more important - from Wall Street Journal
👉 Become recognisable around a subject that humans and machines know what to come to you for.
When people know how to show up, everything else so much easier - from me
👉 People need a clear role on what you want from them
THE COMMUNITY YOU CAN BUILD
We need to talk about FREE tickets at paid events - Julius Solaris
👉 FREE tickets are red flags 🚩
Every platform wants creators, but every platform makes the rules - from Digiday
👉 Being paid by a platform is not the same as building a business.
GROWING YOUR NEWSLETTER
I'm tired of hearing about newsletter growth - Lex Roman
👉 Find the people who support what you're doing, not who you can cram in!
Promote your newsletter on your homepage - from Dan Oshinsky
👉 Make sure you promote your newsletter on your homepage. Options for you.
Let's play...
You know when an event happens in different places around the country, but each one can still feel completely separate?
We want Lunch Club to feel connected.
From today, Poole, London, Bristol and Manchester will all take on exactly the same challenge. Each city sets its score, the leaderboard builds across the year, and the overall Inter-City Challenge winner will be announced at Creator Day ’27.
It’s location against location.
We’re starting with:
Fastest time to tie three pairs of shoelaces in a bow.
Game on.
DO MORE TOGETHER
The learning year starts today...
It's time to bring people back into the room. I can't wait to start to see people from this YATM space in a few hours. I am ready to start it all again.
We've sold out Poole today, but our November event is now up to book.
If one of these locations is ok for you to get to, lets meet up around the table:
☀️ Lunch Club London is Thursday 17th September on buying into you
☀️ Lunch Club Bristol is Thursday 24th September on the right people
☀️ Lunch Club Manchester is Thursday 1st October on being you
☀️ Lunch Club Poole is Thursday 5th November on do it your way
Looking forward to making you feel at home, again.
Let's LEARN MORE TOGETHER
I went to FOUNDRY this week. Have a great Thursday your side...
