Just Checking In…
It’s been a funny old year. I’m aware that for many there’s been a huge amount of additional work and pressure. For all there has been changes in routine and uncertainty caused by Covid-19 and the lockdowns.
With that in mind, I just wanted to share some things from my world, as a way of connecting, with an open invitation for anyone that wants to ‘check in’.
New connections
This year has had some lovely surprises in the new connections that I’ve made. I’ve found that by reaching out to others, or responding when they have reached out to me – with no agenda, but just an open mind, can lead to interesting conversations and a supportive relationship. Much needed when the natural face to face interactions are off-limits. In fact, as a learning professional that likes to promote peer-to-peer learning, this year I’ve managed to strengthen my own peer learning network in a couple of different areas. This was done simply by booking a Zoom chat with a couple of people I’d encountered, with a starting point of simply being curious. Of course, there’s a step before that, which is putting yourself in the spaces where you are likely to ‘meet’ new people. This could be via an online conference, or a conversation on a LinkedIn thread, or a request for help in a closed FB group. ‘Putting yourself out there’ is something I can definitely recommend.
Personal Development Mentoring
My creative juices have been flowing this year as I’ve been developing and piloting an approach to support individuals with their personal and career development by introducing self-directed learning practices via mentoring.
I ran some pilot sessions with individuals and have been developing supporting tools and resources. Two UK academics are working with me to evaluate this new approach. Our review has revealed the following:
- Individuals personal development and career development is intertwined
- Individuals are keen to know what they can do to ‘self-direct’ their own learning
- There is a need to allow individuals the space to reflect on the above through coach/mentoring
- There are advantages to allowing this ‘reflective space’ to take place outside of the organisation.
This is now being developed into a 4-month programme with accompanying workshops. I’m looking for companies that are interested in piloting this programme early in 2021.
New learning
This year I’ve managed to create time to work on a personal project – I’m writing a biographical memoir on my late Father. My Dad, who died 5 years ago, was an incredibly inspirational man, a natural leader across many walks of life. I’m keen to explore his leadership traits and characteristics, and set these down for posterity, for our family and also to make my own sense of the impact he had on my life. This is no easy feat – I have not written a book before, but I am relishing in the challenge. So far I’ve been mostly in the ‘research’ phase, and have amassed quite a collection of family histories and recollections, all of which are fabulous and so valuable. We’ve even uncovered a lost ancestral line, going back from my great grandmother who was South African, tracing back to the Netherlands, so it seems I have Dutch roots!
Open invitation
So that’s me, how about you? Is all well with you in your world? If you fancy a chat, drop me a line at rachel@talentstorm.co.uk. I’d love to check in with you, hear what you’ve been up to, for no other reason than it’s good to talk, to connect, to share. And who knows what interesting thing might come up?
Best wishes
Rachel
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