August 3, 2012 Making ripples and waves: ECEBC Leadership Initiative participants connect and share for increased

impact. The Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC) Leadership Initiative Projects are finding a range of ways to use their voices in their workplaces, communities and in some cases, the reach is international. Following are a few strategies that show how different styles work for different people. Some of our leaders are more comfortable with networking than others, but all grow over time and find networking opportunities that stretch them from wherever they are. Using a variety of tools and methods, their unique style and creativity shows. Vernon had their story told as part of the introduction to the Children's Rights Project song performed by the 3rd Cohort at ECEBC's Annual Conference. Some of our projects create tangible items that help extend their messaging. Bags, pens, business cards, banners, and interactive museum pieces to name a few. This year we have seen multiple types of wrist bands. In our work, we have heard that materials and messages like the South Asian Project's Punjabi versions of their workshop materials for families have traveled far and wide as they make their impact well beyond what was targeted. Reach continues to grow using social and other media What have we learned about reach? The Images of Learning blog (Cohort 1) received 60,000 hits in the month of January, 2012. Our little ECEBC Leadership Facebook Page has been on a slow and steady path and just after its first birthday reached 723 people in one week (well over the number who 'like' the content). The Spinning the Wheel to a Better World You Tube videoette has had 368 views to date: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPL1IAojjfg&feature=plcp. We know anecdotally that print versions of the content are also being distributed. South Surrey's project was referenced by people on travels internationally. As noted recently in our Facebook article, Writing About Writing, many news articles have been published throughout BC. Many media sites have sharing features, so you can see comments, dialogue and how many shares your material has received in real time. From our Facebook Page experience, we can see that some items like Emily Mlicezko's recent CBC media interview spike immediately and some grow over time like Cowichan's ECEs Go Viral brochure posted in the fall about their project. Impact can be magnified by an interesting link, or a photo that shows the context in community.

What next? Some participants noticed a heightened sense of energy at conference. Where will the 'wave' and ripples show up next? What are the opportunities to combine our energies to increase our collective impact? How do we move from organic to viral? A few ideas, but I'm sure you can think of more....help us extend energy by: Communicating your National Child Day Events (Nov. 20), so that we can create collective energy. Help promote and planning to attend the ECEBC Leadership Showcase on November 27. Reach out and invite a project to come speak in your community. Become part of the Leadership Initiative as a supporter or participant. The next call for applications will be posted at www.ecebc.com in the fall. Continue to grow your leadership and networking skills from wherever you are.

Extending Your Circle Creates Energy Even if your efforts feel small, sharing can help them to get bigger when combined with something else. Keep using smart strategies to share by piggybacking on other events. Sharing creates a two way flow of energy. Carla from Bella Bella notes that being memorable helps. Of late, some of the leadership participants stretching further by taking courses, joining Toastmasters, attending conferences and making presentations. All of these are great ways of extending your networks. At the recent Leadership Link (LL) event for current leadership participants and alumni, some participants maximized the opportunity by setting networking goals, "I really want to meet these three people, can you help me find them? The LL Planning Committee provided a tool to assist. Reaching out takes a little courage and practise helps. One of the organizations I found very valuable in expanding my networking skills was the Vancouver Board of Trade. At the time, Darcy Rezac was prominent in the organization and his work was well entrenched in the meetings. At networking events we practised our 21 second introductions with multiple tables to gain impact. I used the skills learned by giving out print material at a table in my own community during the lull at a workshop. I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted the next week by an event organizer who had been at my table and who wanted to make the charitable organization, whose material I had distributed the recipient of their annual fundraiser. That relationship continued for years.

Rezac's full book is well worth a read and has a range of strategies to choose from to assist with making networking easier, overcoming scary moments and making an impact. Here is an excerpt shared on the back cover of his book (2005) Work the Pond: N: Never leave home without business cards-the real reason E: Establish, exchange and engage-simple techniques that really work T: Travel in pairs-and have more fun networking W: Work the pond-and use your time wisely O: Opportunity is everywhere-discover your small-worlds connections R: Repeat, repeat, repeat-the more networking you do, the better you get K: Keep it going-the art of the follow-up and relationship building. Darcy Rezak's Networking Tip of the Week is available from the Shepa Learning Company blog: http://www.workthepond.com/tips/tip.html What works for you within your networking style? What will you do to expand your influence in the year ahead? Ready, set, share. For more information about the Leadership Projects, please visit the Facebook Page by entering ECEBC Leadership in the search box, Christine Buttkus is contracted to support ECEBCs Leadership Initiative-Sharing the Learning Project and can be reached at 604.849.2252 or christine_buttkus@telus.net. Reference: Rezak, D. with Thomson, J and Hallgren-Rezac, G. Work the Pond. Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life. The Berkley Publishing Group. NY, U.S.A.