I’m really lucky to have lots of connections who help me out. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve spoken with a dozen people who have wanted support and have given support.

I love the fact people notice me for my connections. Being able to know who and where to turn is incredibly helpful. This is something I’ve worked on over a decade or so and it’s something I’ve got better at. It’s tough making connections – ‘can you just ask people’ is a common question I experienced early on, and it’s a common question I get now. Finding a way to connect with people outside of your immediate network can be daunting and this can be even harder if you’re trying to do this with people from different countries.

One place which helped me was the Hangouts. These are semi regular online meeting spaces where people in the L&D, HR, and OD space come together to chat about things. Very informal, they’ve been a great way for me to develop networks and find people who can help me. The next Hangout is on Wednesday 22nd Feb at 8pm and I’d recommend coming along

Managed by Mike Shaw and Sharon Green, the conversation topic this time is who and what to follow in 2023. With the release of the Global Sentiment Survey of 2023, the 2023 Workplace Learning Report from LinkedIn, and the CIPD report on improving data for business leaders, there is plenty of information out there and knowing where to look to make sense of it can be really helpful in a group.

If you want to join in and hang out with smart people saying smart things, please get in touch with Mike or Sharon through LinkedIn or Twitter.