respond to 2 colleagues 1 paragraph each for Business

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of more of the following ways:

· Compare your approach to finding and utilizing role models with that your colleague shared.

· Compare your experience with mentoring or coaching with that your colleague shared.

· Share insights that you gained from your colleague and how you will use them to improve your own networking or mentoring experiences.

· Offer advice to your colleague about mentoring and networking.

Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

1st Colleague to respond to:

The types of role models that I aspire to emulate possess passion, a strong work ethic, are kind, committed to helping their community, and demonstrate integrity. The role models specifically that I admire and wish to emulate include strong female leaders at my company like my VP of Strategy, and individuals in my family like my father and mother. I selected these role models based on my direct and indirect experience observing their careers and interacting with them. I follow them by trying to model the behaviors they exemplify that I deem as critical to their success. At my company, my VP carries herself with a lot of confidence, works hard, engages with everyone in the company and makes everyone feel important when she interacts with them. I too, try emulating this behavior when I interact with people. My parents are individuals who represent a strong work ethic, perseverance, humility and kindness. My father established his own business, and my mother is also a savvy businesswoman and who is motivated by academic pursuits. As a child of such inspirational parents, I have been fortunate to see firsthand the behaviors that make them likeable, entrepreneurial, and successful. Based on the notable attributes, style of leadership, and individuality of my role models, I apply the key qualities that I admire about my them in my everyday personal and professional life, by being more confident, carrying myself with grace, speaking well and in an articulate manner, being ambitious and focusing on exuding kindness, helpfulness and warmth.

The guidance I seek from my mentor is typically around career growth and advancement. My mentor is an individual who is a leader in healthcare administration who provides me with advice on how to seek opportunities to bolster my professional career. I selected her a mentor because she has done well for herself, our personalities compliment each other, she has great insights and advice and is also willing to spend time with me to share her lessons. She also believes that by inspiring the next generation, she can pay help build a better future. Oftentimes, inspiration is a reason for why an individual would want to mentor somebody (TEDxTalks, 2011). The types of mentors whether it be a person who works to influence society or informal mentorship that comes from books, I need to seek out mentorship that is going to help me navigate complex relationships, secure leadership positions, teach me to be more entrepreneurial and help me become a subject matter expert in my field (TEDxTalks, 2016).

Mentors and coaches are crucial in my own development as they can help me expand my network, identify professional opportunities that will help grow my career and generally help motivate me. The three ways in which I currently build, and nurture professional relationships is by helping those around me with projects they are working on, regularly staying in touch by staying up to date on their professional achievements and by being appreciative of their relationship in my life. A professional network is highly valuable as it can create opportunities for collaboration and knowledge transfer, it can raise a person’s professional profile, it can help lead to opportunities for better jobs and it can help boost one’s confidence. In order to build a network that supports an individual, it is important to connect with the right people, it’s important to stay connected and follow up regularly to maintain the relationship and it’s important to highlight how to best help those in one’s network. In order to build my networking skills, I will need to be confident, talk to people, follow up with them, and offer to help them with their projects.

References

TEDx[TEDxTalks]. (2011, June 30). TEDxOverlake – Karen Russell – Modern mentoring: The good, the bad and the better [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSZRtx8m3Z8

TEDx [TEDxTalks]. (2016, November 21). Science of mentorship | Shawn Blanchard | TEDxMuskegon [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh46lVSKWHc

2nd Colleague to respond to:

Role models

I have chosen role models who are living their dream. I also look up to people who are vibrantly alive to what they are currently doing, whether it is their dream for their life or not. I am more inspired by people I know personally. People’s stories also inspire me, but getting to know people in person is more powerful. I learn from these role models by observing them closely and having conversations with them that get to the heart of our actions. I admire people who bring out the best in other people. I had a role model that influenced my early career decisions to move to NYC and be a music teacher, then an art teacher. He had started a music composition program with kids, where groups of students wrote and recorded their own songs. The space he created for children to grow into themselves and their creativity was so beautiful and transformative. I worked on creating that type of loving, productive space for my students as well.

Relationship with mentor

A mentor came into my life unexpectedly in the form of my uncle’s close friend. When we moved to Minnesota, he was ready to connect with me, ask me about my goals, connect me to his network, and guide me through the local details I needed to know. I learned to prepare for our conversations as he was ready to help. The more clarity I had with my goals, the more he could leverage his connections and problem-solving skills to help me move forward. I learned to ask strategy questions, like, how can I connect with the arts education organizations here? He selected me more than I selected him, and I am so grateful. He was a jolly person who loved to meet people, connect people, and go to events. I enjoyed accompanying him to gala events and chatting while I helped out with his photography business. He came into my life for a few seasons and asked the questions I wasn’t necessarily ready to answer, but I needed to answer (TEDx Talks, 2011).

Mentors that can help me develop my career

I want to find mentors who see me and my gifts and push me to find greater clarity. I tend not to ask too much of people, but building a relationship requires asking more of one another. It is one of the highest compliments for a person to seek advice from you. I can remember that and seek advice from the elders in my community. Community leaders who build networks of support are amazing resources. I appreciate Davis’s (2013) description of our community as a personal learning environment. The personal learning environment framework makes everyday interactions feel like a treasure hunt. Establishing a professional learning network pushes me to strengthen the often fleeting interactions I have with role models into more productive relationships (Davis, 2013). I can seek out mentors in the arts education field by approaching with curiosity and appreciation for their work.

Importance of Mentors

Mentors are essential not only to the trajectory of individuals but to society as a whole. When people move from one job and team to another, maintaining good relationships facilitate the spread of good ideas (Burkus, 2016). For my own development, mentors who have noticed and asked direct questions about any blockages or inconsistencies in my work toward my goals have helped me tremendously. One well-considered question from a mentor can save a lot of wasted effort and help avoid dead ends. The camp director I worked with for five summers was exceptionally skilled at asking questions that helped me clarify my intentions and goals.

3 Examples of how I can build professional relationships

1. I can respond to a request for people interested in supporting inclusivity initiatives within the college in my current job. I love working on teams and would likely meet new people from other departments and learn new skills.

2. I can look for public events related to arts education in my community and participate. I prefer in-person events for connecting, but zoom meetings may have to be the way until the pandemic ends.

3. I can take the opportunity that working from home, and my 7-year old son doing school from home provides to concentrate on managing his school day effectively. Having one student to manage is a challenge in deeply understanding his personality and how to motivate him. Partnering with his teacher, school leaders, and other online teachers can help me build stronger relationships.

Impact of a professional network

There are many benefits to having a diverse and openly-expanding professional network. One significant benefit is simply recognizing many people and feeling at home in diverse spaces. In NYC, I went to a meeting, open to the community, about arts leadership. The company that hosted it encouraged me to apply to be a teaching artist. When I went to the interview, the two women who had facilitated the meeting I attended, happily greeted me like a colleague. I got the job- it paid well and was exactly the work I wanted to do. To build a thriving professional network, choose to connect with people who are thriving. Offer to help and follow through impeccably. Have real conversations. Then, if I need to ask for help, it feels natural, and others are probably eager to reciprocate with their gifts and connections. To refine my skills in this area, I will look through my contacts and identify acquaintances that may be able to grow into a stronger professional relationship. I think meeting for the first time in a virtual setting is not ideal, so I will focus on developing the relationships I do have. I will work on clarifying my career goals so that I can connect with the right people.

References

Burkus, D. (2016). Former colleagues are more valuable than you think. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–4.

Davis, T. (2013). Building and using a personal/professional learning network with social media. Journal for Research in Business Education, 55(1), 1–13.

TEDx[TEDxTalks]. (2011, June 30). TEDxOverlake – Karen Russell – Modern mentoring: The good, the bad and the better [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSZRtx8m3Z8