An ED-ucation: : Looking internally for the greatest education opportunity
Do you ever look at a colleague and think, “how do they do that?” Whether it’s an Excel formula that blows your mind and saves you hours worth of work, or the way they can conjure up a precise detail and seem to have the memory of a trivial pursuit game, or how no matter the amount of work and pressure, they always seem to have time to say yes to helping others with something. I think we all have worked with colleagues that amaze us with their own unique talents, skill sets and how their brains work differently than ours.
As Kelsey previously mentioned in her last blog post, we had wanted to get a world famous keynote speaker for our ED Retreat, but alas, no budget for that. Instead, we looked internally to the knowledge within the ED team and created an ED-ucation.
The team was asked through an online survey what they wanted to learn from their colleagues. Based on the common themes coming through the answers, session titles and descriptions were created and assigned to each ED member. With a guideline of only the session title, description, and needing to present for 5 minutes, each of us took a different approach and came to the retreat with an education to share.
After 2 hours of discussion, we had a great time chatting about what we had learned from each other and loved delving into each other’s brains! Personally, I loved to see how our team is naturally split into two personalities; two of us are more linear and detail oriented and two are more abstract and non-linear thinkers. It was obvious once we saw it that this is part of how our projects and team are balanced and stay on track even when times are stressful . It’s so interesting to see how we can have such completely different ways of working but still make incredible things happen together.
Similar to a personality test, or the Five Love Languages, or other self evaluation tools, these presentations helped us to understand each other’s perspectives, priorities, thought process, and much more. As we continued the retreat conversations, and still in our daily work now, how we interact with each other has changed for the better.
Curious about what our presentation topics were? Below are the session titles & descriptions that were given out. Feel free to reach out to any ED member if you want to hear more about their session. Who knows, maybe we’ll all be keynote speakers some day!
The Art of Learning, presented by Jen
Jen spends a lot of time learning new things. From new songs as a professional musician, to new instruments, editing videos, making websites, to acting and much more, she always seems up for the challenge of learning something new. Discover how she doesn’t get bogged down in the need for perfection or not knowing the answers. Hear her process for learning and what advice she would give someone who is learning something new.
Enter the Zen Den, presented by Dana
Dana is cool as a cucumber, calm and collected even when pandemonium surrounds and extra tasks are thrown her way, or at least that is how she makes it appear! Learn Dana’s secret to staying calm under pressure and not letting endless tasks overwhelm her. Hear how she manages client’s stress, constant changes, rolling with the punches all while still prioritizing her 3 kids.
Kelsey’s Brain 101, presented by Kelsey
If you look at Kelsey’s calendar, you may think it’s a kaleidoscope of chaos but there is a method behind the madness. ’Marie Kondo’ your email inbox, calendar and learn how Kelsey uses different systems to manage everything while still staying sane, having time for creative thinking and prioritizing family time and tasks.
Letting it Go, presented by Erin
Erin’s superhero power is joining a meeting and contributing mind blowing, strategic and creative ideas that the client loves and takes a project to the next level. Learn from Erin how to let go of some control and to trust others, how to care less in a good way and free up mental space for thinking outside of the task box and look at something differently.