Where to start....
A few things stood out for me this week that I learnt or was reaffirmed of in my own life. In a society where we don't usually say 'good things' about ourselves in fear of sounding proud or boastful, I'm going to 'put these out there' because I also think it is healthy to recognise things in ourselves that can make a difference in the world and it is good to be thankful for the way that God has made each of us uniquely different and valuable to help those around us.
1. I am an early adopter.
In Mark Osborne's session on Leadership for Innovation, he spoke about the continuum for how people adapt to change. First are the innovators - the ones who invent the new product; second are the early adopters - the ones who are willing to be among the first to try something new; third are the early majority - the ones who will buy in early enough that change will happen; fourth are the late majority - the ones who eventually get there; fifth are the laggards - the ones who really dig in their heels.
The biggest chasm lies between the early adopters and the early majority. Our goal is to aim for the early majority in order to see change happen.
I am an early adopter. Kevin and I are often among the first to get the latest and greatest or get on board with a new way of doing something (within reason, of course... we're not rich!) When listening to Mark, I realized that I've been blogging since 2004; I've been on Facebook since early 2007; I got an ipod touch and then an ipad very early too. I love keeping up with, and as much as possible, ahead of what's going on.
2. I am a leader.
I've always been aware of my leadership skills and gifts and I'm always energised when I get to use them. Mark spoke about Servant Leadership. I'm fully behind that! As a leader you need to be a servant - work alongside, be humble, give of your time, take an interest, don't forget those around you, listen, listen, listen! He referred to Robert Greenleaf's book, 'Servant Leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness'.
There was so much more in Mark's talk that resonated within me. I'll just add a few highlights here:
3. I love to be surrounded by forward thinking people.
I think this was birthed in me when I would hang around my aunt and uncle as a child/young adult. They were forward thinkers. True Type A personalities. They rubbed shoulders with front-line ministry organisations, and started up many organisations themselves. I always love being around them.
A conference likes this just completely energises me! I told my husband I could become a conference junkie! I love listening to, speaking with and learning from people who are passionate about what they are doing. Allanah King was like that. Her passion for education, using iPads and Google, was inspiring! I'm looking forward to following her on Twitter. (btw, the best professional development tool of the day!)
4. I love to learn.
As Mark Pesce said in his keynote address, 'I’ll stop learning when I’m dead….maybe.'
5. I love learning, trying and embracing new things.
I think the key to taking on new knowledge is to relax, take a step back, and pick one or two things that can be incorporated manageably into your life, teaching, etc and then do those well. If what you chose to try doesn't work or suit you, then try another... don't just give up.
6. I am not scared of change.... I thrive on it.
I like change. I like to rearrange furniture. Redecorate a room. Find a new way to use something I already have. I guess the fact that we changed countries mid way through our lives is a good indicator of this fact about myself. Teaching myself to teach after being out of the classroom for 20 years is another example of this fact. Change is good. It is healthy. It is scary and can hold regrets. It is a choice in some instances. It is thrust upon us in others. We need to choose how we will embrace this change. We need to have healthy self-talk to help ourselves and others accept and adapt to the change. There is a lot to be learned from change. Don't be afraid of it, but don't be naive either.
7. I am invigorated by others' passions.
It's just inspiring and makes me want to aspire to what they have.
8. I inspire others.
This is one of those areas where I feel a bit awkward even saying this, but I've been told this many times by others, so I guess I need to accept, embrace and state it. It humbles me and is even embarrassing at times, but I accept that if what I do, who I am , things I say, encourage and therefore inspire others, then I don't want to stop being who God made me to be. I am thankful and humbled that I can be used to help others. Thank you. :)
9. I am inclusive.
I love to bring others in, along, include them. Life is hard enough without being excluded and left out. I'm sure we've all experienced that. Sometimes I miss an opportunity to include someone, but I really try to be aware and bring people in whenever it is within my ability to do so. I think this encourages others to try new things, meet new people, and to feel valued and cared for too. It is what Jesus did and that is whose life I want to emulate.
10. I love to share.
My mom used to say that she gave me my name because Cheryl means 'share - all'... lol. Cute way to get me to learn to share from an early age! Now I share our home with those who need a place to stay; our dinner table with those who need a meal; hugs with those who need a hug; a listening ear for those who need to talk; things I've learned with those who are interested; resources I've found with those who may find them useful.
11. I am attentive.
Well, at least I try to be. I try to listen to what others have to say, verbally and with their body language. I reply/respond/interact with the many forms of communication that we now have available.
At this conference and when opportunities arise in my life, I attend every session, breakout, keynote, etc that is provided to get absolutely everything out of it!
12. I don't want to miss out on anything!
This can be exhausting and a bit OCD. It's like when we're on a road trip, I don't want to sleep in the car because I might miss seeing something that we drive past. Life is full of experiences, opportunities, people, beauty.... I don't want to miss a thing!
13. I'm excited for the future.
Life is always changing, evolving. I'm excited for the opportunities ahead. I'm excited for the experiences I'll have, the people I'll meet, the work I'll do, the things I'll learn. Since we've only lived in New Zealand for 6.5 years, and I've only been teaching for 10 terms (not even 3 full years), it was so excellent to get a bigger picture of the NZ Education system and what is out there.... the potential for things to be involved in, the goals to strive towards, the opportunities available. The future is bright!
A few things stood out for me this week that I learnt or was reaffirmed of in my own life. In a society where we don't usually say 'good things' about ourselves in fear of sounding proud or boastful, I'm going to 'put these out there' because I also think it is healthy to recognise things in ourselves that can make a difference in the world and it is good to be thankful for the way that God has made each of us uniquely different and valuable to help those around us.
1. I am an early adopter.
In Mark Osborne's session on Leadership for Innovation, he spoke about the continuum for how people adapt to change. First are the innovators - the ones who invent the new product; second are the early adopters - the ones who are willing to be among the first to try something new; third are the early majority - the ones who will buy in early enough that change will happen; fourth are the late majority - the ones who eventually get there; fifth are the laggards - the ones who really dig in their heels.
The biggest chasm lies between the early adopters and the early majority. Our goal is to aim for the early majority in order to see change happen.
I am an early adopter. Kevin and I are often among the first to get the latest and greatest or get on board with a new way of doing something (within reason, of course... we're not rich!) When listening to Mark, I realized that I've been blogging since 2004; I've been on Facebook since early 2007; I got an ipod touch and then an ipad very early too. I love keeping up with, and as much as possible, ahead of what's going on.
2. I am a leader.
I've always been aware of my leadership skills and gifts and I'm always energised when I get to use them. Mark spoke about Servant Leadership. I'm fully behind that! As a leader you need to be a servant - work alongside, be humble, give of your time, take an interest, don't forget those around you, listen, listen, listen! He referred to Robert Greenleaf's book, 'Servant Leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness'.
There was so much more in Mark's talk that resonated within me. I'll just add a few highlights here:
- If you’re not leading change, you’re not leading. You’re staying put.
- The act of leadership is the act of painting a picture of the future that is better than the current reality.
- Management = STATUS QUO: keeps a complicated system running smoothly; planning and budgeting; organizing and staffing; controlling and problem-solving
- Leadership = CHANGE: produces change (which can be extremely useful); establishing direction; aligning people; motivating and inspiring
- Simply by sailing in a new direction, one can enlarge the world.
- A good leader grows other leaders around them.
- Name the elephant in the room - be honest about what is going well and what isn't and TALK ABOUT IT!
3. I love to be surrounded by forward thinking people.
I think this was birthed in me when I would hang around my aunt and uncle as a child/young adult. They were forward thinkers. True Type A personalities. They rubbed shoulders with front-line ministry organisations, and started up many organisations themselves. I always love being around them.
A conference likes this just completely energises me! I told my husband I could become a conference junkie! I love listening to, speaking with and learning from people who are passionate about what they are doing. Allanah King was like that. Her passion for education, using iPads and Google, was inspiring! I'm looking forward to following her on Twitter. (btw, the best professional development tool of the day!)
4. I love to learn.
As Mark Pesce said in his keynote address, 'I’ll stop learning when I’m dead….maybe.'
The more you learn, the more you realise there is to learn. This is both scary and invigorating! Sometimes learning feels like getting hit with a tsunami of information, or wanting a drink of water and having a fire hydrant as the only source of water available.
I think the key to taking on new knowledge is to relax, take a step back, and pick one or two things that can be incorporated manageably into your life, teaching, etc and then do those well. If what you chose to try doesn't work or suit you, then try another... don't just give up.
6. I am not scared of change.... I thrive on it.
I like change. I like to rearrange furniture. Redecorate a room. Find a new way to use something I already have. I guess the fact that we changed countries mid way through our lives is a good indicator of this fact about myself. Teaching myself to teach after being out of the classroom for 20 years is another example of this fact. Change is good. It is healthy. It is scary and can hold regrets. It is a choice in some instances. It is thrust upon us in others. We need to choose how we will embrace this change. We need to have healthy self-talk to help ourselves and others accept and adapt to the change. There is a lot to be learned from change. Don't be afraid of it, but don't be naive either.
7. I am invigorated by others' passions.
It's just inspiring and makes me want to aspire to what they have.
8. I inspire others.
This is one of those areas where I feel a bit awkward even saying this, but I've been told this many times by others, so I guess I need to accept, embrace and state it. It humbles me and is even embarrassing at times, but I accept that if what I do, who I am , things I say, encourage and therefore inspire others, then I don't want to stop being who God made me to be. I am thankful and humbled that I can be used to help others. Thank you. :)
9. I am inclusive.
I love to bring others in, along, include them. Life is hard enough without being excluded and left out. I'm sure we've all experienced that. Sometimes I miss an opportunity to include someone, but I really try to be aware and bring people in whenever it is within my ability to do so. I think this encourages others to try new things, meet new people, and to feel valued and cared for too. It is what Jesus did and that is whose life I want to emulate.
10. I love to share.
My mom used to say that she gave me my name because Cheryl means 'share - all'... lol. Cute way to get me to learn to share from an early age! Now I share our home with those who need a place to stay; our dinner table with those who need a meal; hugs with those who need a hug; a listening ear for those who need to talk; things I've learned with those who are interested; resources I've found with those who may find them useful.
11. I am attentive.
Well, at least I try to be. I try to listen to what others have to say, verbally and with their body language. I reply/respond/interact with the many forms of communication that we now have available.
At this conference and when opportunities arise in my life, I attend every session, breakout, keynote, etc that is provided to get absolutely everything out of it!
12. I don't want to miss out on anything!
This can be exhausting and a bit OCD. It's like when we're on a road trip, I don't want to sleep in the car because I might miss seeing something that we drive past. Life is full of experiences, opportunities, people, beauty.... I don't want to miss a thing!
13. I'm excited for the future.
Life is always changing, evolving. I'm excited for the opportunities ahead. I'm excited for the experiences I'll have, the people I'll meet, the work I'll do, the things I'll learn. Since we've only lived in New Zealand for 6.5 years, and I've only been teaching for 10 terms (not even 3 full years), it was so excellent to get a bigger picture of the NZ Education system and what is out there.... the potential for things to be involved in, the goals to strive towards, the opportunities available. The future is bright!
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