What do you do if you want to grow your professional network through Educational Leadership consulting?

You must understand and be clear what the benefits of the network are for you. When you get it down then you can begin to find out what it would take. What meetings do you find the network? You need to also position yourself based on your personal brand and make it easy for people to connect with you.

To expand your professional network in Educational Leadership consulting, engage in active listening and relationship-building. Attend industry conferences, seminars, and workshops. Connect with fellow educators and administrators through online platforms like LinkedIn or professional associations. Offer your expertise through webinars, articles, or speaking engagements. Collaborate with colleagues on projects and seek mentorship opportunities to enhance your skills and visibility in the field.

Actively participate in educational conferences, seminars, and workshops related to leadership and education. These events provide valuable networking opportunities where you can connect with other professionals, educators, and leaders in the field. Engage in conversations, ask questions, and exchange contact information to build relationships.

Practically I have been doing three things to build a professional network in Educational Leadership Consulting are; 1. I provide my network with free education and career orientation programs through my social media platforms to help them make the right career choices while entering the university or leaving the university to face the working world. 2. I identify friends or contacts who are passionate about educational leadership where we define our areas of focus in education so that we can better understand where they can be valuable when we organize training programs to empower the youths. 3. Act as a mentor to help people who need my services for their career growth.

Define objectives for building a solid network in educational consulting by first identifying your target audience, such as educators, administrators, or policymakers. Set specific goals, like attending a certain number of industry events or connecting with a certain number of professionals each month. Develop a compelling personal brand that showcases your expertise and unique perspective in educational consulting.

Credibility in Education Leadership can come in three ways: a reputation of education leadership excellence within the higher education system in true academic roles like program chair, program director, and various levels of deans, recognition of thought leadership on relevant topics impacting this space during your active roles in the higher education space, and active participation as more than being a member in industry-relevant professional organizations (i.e. ACHE or AHIMA for healthcare). As a veteran of healthcare and higher education leadership roles, I have positioned myself by engaging in all these areas to be in either the room where the conversations are happening or having someone else bring me into those conversations.

Building credibility as an educational consultant also has to do with your goals and area of focus. The best actions to take are to: 1) produce content that is directly useful to your audience and include strong resources (ex your expertise is early literacy- then include reputable research and content links as well as practical steps principals and districts can take) 2) engage with the top voices in your area of focus as if you are in a thoughtful professional discussion (ex comment on posts in a way that positively extends the conversation and don’t fall into the trap of empty filler phrases). Lastly update your content as *YOU* learn and share anonymous case studies or examples to help show your true connection to the field.

I am in the midst of this very process and have a few quick thoughts to share. Despite being an introvert, I have reached out to many colleagues that I have not yet met to set up on one-on-one conversations. It has been fruitful to engage in these networking chats and so much more enjoyable than I anticipated. Another major way to establish credibility is to share resources that are meaningful and practical, which includes a blend of your own original contributions and ones that others have generated. Finally, I'm finding as an educational consultant that it helps to share what you are explicitly offering that is unique, enriching, meets existing needs, and in a way that is genuine and doesn't feel like you're selling yourself or a product.

Credibility is able to build trust in the educational network. To attract the members of the educational network one needs to be reliable and expert in their field of education such as curriculum, teaching and learning, planning etc. Credibility is earned by being authentic, demonstrating competency, open to constructive criticism and being open minded and above all building true relationships.

To build credibility, do consider presenting at various platforms - online or face-to-face conferences, meetings, symposiums etc and share your perspective, knowledge and resources with other educators to kickstart conversations, refine our perspectives and deepen our understanding on key education trends, initiatives and ideas to benefit our students and staff in our schools

In my experience if you are approachable then conversations can develop very easily… the goal is to attract as many new “friends in industry” as you can… someone always knows someone else who you may need to know… be open and honest about your trade, your successes, your constraints and if you can discuss over an adult beverage, then by all means indulge… some of the best ideas, plans, and contracts were sketched on a bar room napkin ??

Seek out and connect with those in your areas of expertise and that align with your portfolio experience. Equally important, attempt to network with those in the areas you’d like to develop skills and build your capacity to lead. Both are key to building a supportive professional network that will help you to grow and develop your consultancy work.

Networking is very important to grow one's professional network. During educational leadership seminars, conferences and workshops, be proactive in meeting and interacting with people. Later take the meeting further by connecting, collaborating, communicating with them. Its about building relationship by investing time and effort for mutual interests.

During conversations at events, workshops, and seminars, focus entirely on the speaker. Nod your understanding, maintain eye contact, and refrain from formulating your response while they are speaking. This shows respect and genuine interest in what they have to say.

Look for professional associations or groups dedicated to educational leadership and become an active member. This may include organizations such as school principals' associations, networks of educational leaders, or education research groups. Attend online meetings, events, and forums to engage with other members and expand your network.

Offering value without asking for anything in return is key. This helps to build trust and credibility. Sharing theories and then breaking them down into digestible chunks along with your personal experience in using the theory in practice is a fantastic way to build your network.

Starting with a giving mindset – thinking of what value you can give to others, you will meet more people and build your reputation as a leader who gives to others. Not only does a positive attitude bring more people in your professional network, it actively moves you forward and up in the consulting business, too. People buy and engage with consultants that they like and who speak to them in a personal way. Forget formality and manuals. Take chances and be real.

Einstein had a great quote on this: "Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." I tell people all the time that my free stuff is better than most people's paid stuff. My clients tell me that's true all the time. Build a reputation like that and you'll have no problem growing your business. Even when I do sales via a post, email, or call is stacked with value. I want the human on the other side of that to feel like they got so much from the interaction, that they can't wait to see what's on the other side of a paid offer. Give to give.

Be genuine-social media is at its best when you engage, educate and endear your audience. They want to get to know you and what you offer. Be honest and genuine- people connect with that.

The essential functions required for the social media marketing are following : 1. Use SEO & optimise content 2. Show the real-time engagement 3. Grow the brand's social media presence. Following are some ways to improve the social media skills continuously : 1. Listen to the experts 2. Try new strategies regularly 3. Stay updated with the latest trends 4. Analyse and interpret the data analytics There are numerous benefits of utilising the social media for business purposes : 1. Cost effective marketing 2. Increased customer acquisition 3. Reach right people at the right time 4. Expansion in new geographical locations 5. Real-time customer feedback and insights 6. Better scope of improvement & repeat business opportunities

When on social media, put out your expertise, experiences and knowledge in a way that it is clear and tuned towards your target audience. Connect with people as if they are wanting to understand themselves better. That's how you win people.

Adding my perspective here is a way to leverage social media. But be warned! LinkedIn and any platform will change the rules at any second. So be careful building someone else's platform! What you do own is your website and email subscription list. This is the foundation of your business. Social media is a way to make connections, demonstrate thought leadership, stand out, and add value where you can. But again, know that you are building someone else's platform and product! You do NOT have to post on each platform (see my discussion super consumers and super geos). I also set a timer or make a goal of contributing to 3 articles a day so I don't spend my entire day building someone else's business.

Get yourself a system for following up with people that matter to you. I've used spreadsheets, trello, and other apps to keep track of relationships. Currently I pay for a CRM called Pipedrive. I'm agnostic on the app. What matters is that you have some kind of system. What you need is one where you can: -take notes -set reminders to follow up -track deals that are out there Pipedrive works for me but there are a million options free or paid that can work for you. The point is that relationships matter. The quality of your notes will help you record what matters to those you hope to serve. Many clients have commented things like: "I admired your persistence." "I'm impressed at how much you remember."

I speak from my experience as a senior administrator of the school and college, the consultancy role, if any depends on my professional competence in public speaking at professional seminars and publications. The referral from former colleagues may help. While I was in Shanghai as principal, I was contacted by a German based Consultant company in Shanghai for school matters. They know me in a National Education Conferences as speaker in future school. To know someone in the social media as a media celebrity, the chance isn’t good. Millions want to be celebrities and ten millions want to know them. So the traditional way is always the best, public speaking and publishing. In addition, trying to mentor young colleagues in your field.

I feel networking is the key to build strong hold in the professional arena. Also, making yourself noticed through proper usage of social media work wonders.