I don’t like to think of myself as an expert; I’m not even so sure that I have that much expertise to share. But, in two of the leadership sessions I attended at the conference I’m recently back from, there was discussion about the importance of sharing one’s expertise no matter what, and finding ways to make ourselves indispensable to those who need us.
In one of the sessions, the facilitators, Cameron Brenchley and MacKenzie Masten, shared the importance of figuring out what people really need as we build our brands. They mentioned the value of reaching out to those in the local media to offer assistance around educational issues. Since many local news outlets don’t have educators on staff to assist with educational news, it can be difficult for reporters in those municipalities to truly report on the fact and fiction around educational policy and school and district happenings. Through reaching out, we can build connections and help those that want to spread the word make sure that the word is right.
In another session I attended, Kerry Gallagher shared her thinking about the need to be humble but still share our successes. Thanks to my current supervisor, Marla Gardner, I’ve become better at balancing this out, and welcoming the value of humility. Of course, as Kerry shared, we can’t let ourselves see humility as the end all; we have to also share the good work we’ve done to encourage others to follow their own pathway.
Both of these sessions helped me understand that it is okay to have expertise, as long as we realize that we are never the only expert, and we can only remain with expertise if we’re willing to continue to push ourselves further.