Community of Practice - you aren't as isolated as you think!
I just had a really good chat with Paula and we discussed some interesting initial thoughts for Communities of Practice.
When I first read reader 3 I had a horrible sinking feeling reading the Communities of Practice section. I didn't believe I had a professional network, a a really stubborn side of me said I didn't need one either. I felt a bit isolated.
I have my own small business and although my Dad helps me out with my accounts, he has never danced in his life (apart from it you on 'A brimful of Asha'). So in the arts he isn't in my professional network. So I felt as always I was doing things independently and had never needed or had access to that support network.
But after thinking and going on Facebook, my news feed was covered in dance - Ballet, Zumba, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Fitness, Shows, ideas and questions. I realised that subconsciously I actually had a very strong professional network, some of who I spoke to nearly every day! And they were from all over the place and in lots of different fields of dance. I suppose going back to Web 2.0 it really is a great thing to have a platform like Facebook to give you instant access to these fellow professionals too!
I thought about how when I decided to become a dance teacher and made a conscious decision not to perform anymore I tried to distance myself from fellow professionals who were still auditioning and were in jobs. I think on an emotional level I tried to distance myself from that 'world' to get myself used to being in a new one.
But once I'd become content with who I was and stopped beating myself up in case I'd made a wrong decision, I realized it was pointless to distance yourself from these people. Having a professional dancer who is still working give you an idea or pointer for a class is a golden opportunity and I'm so lucky to be connected with these people.
Another doubt I had was - what can I bring to the table? Do I add any value to this network? Because as its discussed in the Cooperation section of reader 3, if we don't use a give/give format in our professional networks, it will eventually fizzle out. But of course we ALL add value to a network, our ideas, our different points of view and most of all our different experiences all give value to us as individual practitioners. My friend who dances in a Ballet company was telling me about an injury she had and she was so worried about it, I told her my thoughts and ideas on the injury because I had a lot of training in how to rehabilitate people from injury during previous training, and now she has that knowledge from me that she can use to help herself!
So in summary - you may feel at first you don't have a professional network, especially if you aren't in a dance company or in a show. But look a little deeper and you'll see you've had them all along! And sometimes people who you don't expect to be able to gain knowledge from can surprise you. I'm going to try and always engage if people cooperate (have a look at 'Prisoners Dilemma' - a game to give you another perspective in cooperation).... I might learn something invaluable.
Chrissie x
When I first read reader 3 I had a horrible sinking feeling reading the Communities of Practice section. I didn't believe I had a professional network, a a really stubborn side of me said I didn't need one either. I felt a bit isolated.
I have my own small business and although my Dad helps me out with my accounts, he has never danced in his life (apart from it you on 'A brimful of Asha'). So in the arts he isn't in my professional network. So I felt as always I was doing things independently and had never needed or had access to that support network.
But after thinking and going on Facebook, my news feed was covered in dance - Ballet, Zumba, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Fitness, Shows, ideas and questions. I realised that subconsciously I actually had a very strong professional network, some of who I spoke to nearly every day! And they were from all over the place and in lots of different fields of dance. I suppose going back to Web 2.0 it really is a great thing to have a platform like Facebook to give you instant access to these fellow professionals too!
I thought about how when I decided to become a dance teacher and made a conscious decision not to perform anymore I tried to distance myself from fellow professionals who were still auditioning and were in jobs. I think on an emotional level I tried to distance myself from that 'world' to get myself used to being in a new one.
But once I'd become content with who I was and stopped beating myself up in case I'd made a wrong decision, I realized it was pointless to distance yourself from these people. Having a professional dancer who is still working give you an idea or pointer for a class is a golden opportunity and I'm so lucky to be connected with these people.
Another doubt I had was - what can I bring to the table? Do I add any value to this network? Because as its discussed in the Cooperation section of reader 3, if we don't use a give/give format in our professional networks, it will eventually fizzle out. But of course we ALL add value to a network, our ideas, our different points of view and most of all our different experiences all give value to us as individual practitioners. My friend who dances in a Ballet company was telling me about an injury she had and she was so worried about it, I told her my thoughts and ideas on the injury because I had a lot of training in how to rehabilitate people from injury during previous training, and now she has that knowledge from me that she can use to help herself!
So in summary - you may feel at first you don't have a professional network, especially if you aren't in a dance company or in a show. But look a little deeper and you'll see you've had them all along! And sometimes people who you don't expect to be able to gain knowledge from can surprise you. I'm going to try and always engage if people cooperate (have a look at 'Prisoners Dilemma' - a game to give you another perspective in cooperation).... I might learn something invaluable.
Chrissie x
Sorry the previous comment should have been for this post but my I pad had a senior moment I think and did it's own thing
ReplyDeleteHi Chrissie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog regarding Professional Networks. I found your original view very intriguing as you hadn't realised how drastically you had been participating within professional networking. I too was shocked after reviewing Reader 3, as I hadn't realised that simple tools such as talking to my friends would be classed as professional networking.
I strongly agree with your point, that 'it was pointless to distance yourself' with professionals you had previously made contact with. I do sometimes feel pressured to keep in contact with every person I met within the industry, however I realised that if I ever need someone to cover a class I teach, these professional contacts would be resourceful. Do you now stay in contact with previous networks and social groups and have you experienced any situations where this has worked to your advantage?
Hi Bethany thank you very much. Yes it's surprising how much we actually participate on a basic level with professional networks nearly every day!
DeleteI know what you mean about feeling pressured, I think I'm going to try and let the networks be more organic. I imagine even if you don't contact someone for a long time, asking them a question or advice on your own work is bound to make them feel important and knowledgeable and they will more likely answer and help you, what do you think?
I definitely haven't actively distanced myself lately and someone asked me to cover a class the other week for them so obviously that's a massive bonus! I hadn't spoken to them but just liked a few Facebook pictures and posts, I think those kind of things don't require too much work but can just get you back into people's minds. I think what I'd really like to do with organize a catch up with some people from my year at college to catch up! I saw a girl from college the a couple of weeks ago and it was really lovely and we had great stuff to catch up on. She said she'd actually found it difficult to stay in touch with people too, so maybe its not as unusual as it seems!