Week 2

You may have seen that my "logo" for careers is a play on the word "KEY" - Keep Educating Yourself.  One of the ways I do this is to keep a close eye on blogs and articles and I am especially keen on the Harvard Business Review.  Some of it isn't relevant to me (or current Tormeadians and Alumnae) and then there is the gold dust.  These are the ideas and advice that I can implement immediately, easily, and pretty effortlessly to improve what I do.  One such article I thought you might want to look at is here.  This 30-minutes IdeaCast is about making or re-making meaningful in person connections when we return to our places of work in a more normal way.   

Susan McPherson is a communications consultant, and she makes the interesting distinction between networking and connecting.  She sees networking as establishing a link and then asking for something.  In contrast, connecting is "built on reciprocity and how you can be helpful through good and bad".  The latter is how I have always seen networking or certainly effective networking.  It is definitely how I see ConnecTormead.  Her Gather, Ask, Do method is an excellent framework for building meaningful and rewarding connections.   

In the Gather phase you reflect on your own values and goals and think about who you can help and how.  In the Ask phase you ask meaningful questions as to the hopes, desires and challenges of the people you intend to help.  Then the Do phase - this is where you carry out your promises and this is where trust builds, and connections deepen.  Do try and listen to the podcast.  It contains some interesting comments too on how virtual meetings have changed (and will likely continue to change) communication dynamics both inside and outside of meetings. 
 

If you have a favourite way of keep educating yourself, why not share it here.