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Hello *|FNAME|*,
I felt overwhelmed, anxious, and incredibly excited all at the same time. I had no way to make sense of, let alone, focus these feelings in a productive way. I felt like the luckiest person in the world, but I was also squandering a great opportunity.
In October I made my first in-person conference appearance, since March 2020. I was an invited speaker for two conferences, where I gave multiple presentations at each conference. Before arriving at each conference I busied myself preparing my presentations and planning for the presentations I wanted to attend, as well as identifying a few key people I wanted to meet.
But, upon arrival, I began to experience all of those mixed feelings that I mentioned at the start. Those feelings made it difficult to focus and I squandered some really great professional development opportunities and acted very awkwardly in quite a few conversations, not to mention feeling like I failed after each of my opening presentations on Day 1.
Why was this happening?
The long and short of it I wasn’t prepared to make and rekindle meaningful relationships. Fortunately, after the first day of each conference, I reflected on my feelings, identified the source(s) of disappointment, and resolved to rebound.
My diagnosis was quite simple, I took for granted that with an in-person event, all I had to do was show up. I assumed that conversations would flow naturally, learning would organically take place and new relationships would develop.
I believe many educators take the same for granted and make the same assumptions. So, I am determined to not let others follow that path, especially considering the incredible number of conferences taking place over the next 3 months. I also need a reminder, which is why I wrote this article where I not only explain why you need to professionally network to professionally develop but provide very detailed guidance on how to authentically network with peers, online and in-person, with the intent of allaying the stigma and anxiety that is often associated with professional networking.
In addition to my article about professional networking, you can also watch my 30-minute video tutorial on how to authentically network to achieve professional development objectives. As always, I also include events that I hope to meet you at, as well as several articles related to this month’s topic on professional networking.
I hope that you make every new relationship count,
Michael
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If you want to share this newsletter in whole or in part with friends and colleagues please identify the author, Michael Iannini, and here is a link to the blog post: https://middleleader.com/articles/make-every-relationship-count.
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INTERVIEWS WITH EDUCATION INFLUENCERS
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Where Middle Leaders Thrive: Seeding the Culture
with Rami Madani
Rami Madani shares with me how he has established and maintains a culture of collaboration. It starts with identifying the values, beliefs, and behaviors that a middle leader and team members need to demonstrate and then is maintained through continuous support and communication.
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Tips on Networking in PD Events
In 30 minutes I will not only convince you that you need to professionally network to professionally develop, but I will provide you very detailed guidance on how you can authentically network with peers, online, with the intent of allaying the stigma and anxiety that is often associated with networking.
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IN PERSON MIDDLE LEADER WORKSHOPS
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ACAMIS F2F Program
Leading Effective Teams for Middle Leaders
Finally, a return to in-person ACAMIS Middle Leader workshops. I have been facilitating this workshop for ACAMIS for over 10 years, and each year it sells out. Due to several inquiries, ACAMIS is offering this course in 3 cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
This course will instruct participants on how to foster greater interdependency among team members by helping them understand how to manage the different beliefs, behaviors, and priorities that exist in their team. Teacher-lead teams that communicate effectively and work interdependently will improve student learning!
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Search Associates HR Training
Anti-Bias in Hiring: Practices and Approaches
March 1 | 9:00 AM (HKT) - REGISTER FOR FREE
Join me for an informal and informative dialogue about best practices for designing an equitable hiring model and process, one that is designed to eliminate as much bias as possible. We will share some steps you can take right now as well as considerations for ongoing practice. Learn more about Bias and Hiring.
Speakers: Jacinta Williams & Shelley Paul
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School Leadership Bootcamp 2023
Building Leadership Capacity with STRIDE Mentoring
March 3 | 5:30 PM (HKT) - REGISTER FOR FREE
This virtual leadership conference is FREE and has assembled incredible speakers and workshop leaders. Don't miss this opportunity for some great learning and networking. I will be offering a 2-part masterclass on STRIDE Mentoring, which will be interactive and allow you to share experience with peers.
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World Education Summit
Developing a Professional Network for Professional Growth
March 20-23 - 50% DISCOUNT CODE
I am honored to be invited back to speak at this conference. The best part is I can pass on a great deal to my audience. Use this discount code when registering for a 50% discount on an individual ticket: MIIND23. If you are registering 5 or more people, use this code: MISCHOOL23
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Non-Teaching Staff Conference
A Leader's Main Job is to Develop Leaders
March 13-24 | Virtual Bilingual Conference
The most important role that any leader has is to develop leaders. The most effective way to develop leaders is when senior leaders make their own development transparent and actively mentor aspiring senior leaders to participate in and lead whole-school change initiatives. By involving senior leaders in the development of aspiring senior leaders, they contribute directly to a continuum of growth within their school. When senior leadership is engaged, committed, and involved in professional learning, it translates into a culture of learning that sustains itself.
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Non-Teaching Staff Conference
Managing Priorities
March 13-24 | Virtual Bilingual Conference
Learn to reduce distractions and prioritize tasks based on strategies popularized by Stephen Covey. Participants will identify common challenges they faced in their role during the pandemic, in particular unexpected tasks, and new responsibilities. Michael will introduce how to ‘Manage Yourself’ and why this is the most effective time management tool. By understanding and being able to clearly communicate your priorities you can much more effectively manage the expectations of others.
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ECIS Interview
Supporting Peer Continuous Professional Development as a Middle Leader
March 15 | 9:00 - 10:00 AM (GMT) - REGISTER FOR FREE
I will introduce the STRIDE Mentoring Model and how middle leaders can use this model to support team member growth. He will evidence by way of case how mentoring has improved the wellbeing of team members, as well as fostered greater interdependency between team members.
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Learning2 - L2PubPDEU
Taking Your Team from Transactional to Transformative Collaboration
March 9 | 6:00 PM (CET) - TUNE IN @ANCHOR
How do we collaborate with team members when they may feel stretched beyond their capacity and may not be similarly bought into the prospect that you see? Tune in on March 6PM (CET) at https://anchor.fm/learning2/embe%E2%80%A6.
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Annual EARCOS Teachers' Conference
You Don't Need a Title to Lead
March 23-25 | Malaysia
Changemakers don’t need a title to lead, but they do need to feel empowered to: 1) Identify opportunities for improvement, 2) build consensus amongst peers to pursue transformative change, and 3) influence others without authority.
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Annual EARCOS Teachers' Conference
Let Teachers Choose Who They Learn with
March 23-25 | Malaysia
This presentation presents the evidence for how peer learning contributes to improving teaching and learning, as well as provides guidance on how teachers can harness the power of external networks to receive real time, targeted development.
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Professional Networking in Teaching - Establishing a professional learning network for teachers is especially important, as it helps educators expand their influence beyond the classroom, share curricula, and acquire new teaching strategies.
Top Tips for Successful Networking - Networking can help you build mutually supportive relationships with other like-minded professionals. It is a great way of sharing knowledge, ideas and expertise and building your professional profile. Following these suggestions will help you get your approach to networking off to a great start, or, if you’re an experienced networker, build on your existing skills.
How Companies Can Capitalize on Free Outside Knowledge - Peng Huang, associate professor of information systems, and three co-authors looked at the productivity implications for firms when their IT employees sought help with new technology in online discussion forums, which are widely used in the enterprise software and IT communities for solving problems and sharing information.
21 Ways To Remotely Network - Successful businesses rely on long lasting relationships with not only their customers, but also industry professionals; both competitors and partners alike.
Remote Networking: 15 Ways to Connect When You’re Stuck at Home - Whether you’re working from home temporarily or permanently, here’s how to network without leaving your computer.
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