Dr Lou Mycroft and Joss Kang reflect on learning from the online network events they have recently led on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation.
We – that’s Dr Lou Mycroft and Joss Kang have just run a series of online networks for the Education and Foundation for middle leaders and finance managers and leaders. They went down really well, with participants valuing opportunities to network, share and collaborate. What was different about our approach was its structure – input about the latest research around business development, followed by specific expertise from the field, and finally an invitation to participants to drive their own networking, rather than waiting for someone else to provide an opportunity. Anyone who knows our work would not be surprised to learn that mini-Thinking Environments were enabled, to process ‘freshest thinking’ along the way!
“It was a great opportunity to receive some quality content and then be able to collaborate with colleagues.”
“Having the opportunity to learn from others via their freshest thinking.”
“Hearing different perspectives from others, exploring research and thinking!”
We deliberately curated current leadership research from Further Education and skills and – crucially – perspectives from the wider business world, national and international. Participants received follow-up links via a Padlet.
Both sessions began with Erika James and Lynn Perry Wooten’s influential work around ‘The Prepared Leader’ (2022). These two influential education leaders argue it’s not enough to have a triple bottom line – people, profit and planet – in our uncertain world. Leaders need to add a fourth bottom line, that of the prepared leader to equip them to lead through the next crisis. Remember the last one?
