Time to Inspire

In my previous #maternityteacher post, I asked the question, 'Where is my inspiration or role model to follow?' in this pursuit of balancing motherhood, maternity leave and career progression.  I have always been very fortunate to have benefitted from coaches and mentors.  Sometimes these have been formal arrangements through schools and Teach First, and sometimes these have been informal or more personal - my mother, for example, just so happens to be a retired deputy head; I have latched on to colleagues who have inspired me and turned to them for advice and advocacy; social media has provided me with a great space to question more distant, but equally inspirational leaders.  What has always been very clear, however, is my sense of a right to this sort of support, and the value of it.  My most profound development has always come out of exchanges, conversations and advice offered by those more experienced than me.

At yesterday's @WomenEd Lead Meet, however, I was reminded (by @benniekara or @cjproflead?) that actually, I have come to a point in my career where it is my turn to lead and inspire and act as a role model to others.  One woman, Ania (no Twitter handle, alas), reminded us that we have a duty to repay the advocacy and 'sponsorship' given to us by our coaches and mentors in some way - loyalty, innovation, hard graft - and other speakers developed this concept by suggesting that at a certain point in our leadership journey, it is our responsibility to repay this sponsorship by paying it forwards and providing the same form of support to others.

Like the majority of teachers, I am familiar with thriving on my role as a nurturer, facilitator, role model, inspiration to the students that I teach.  There's nothing more life-affirming than a student who tells you that you made a difference, or were their best teacher EVER or who managed to achieve a seemingly impossible grade thanks, in part, to your hard work and commitment.  In fact, this feeling of being needed and making an impact is probably one of the most powerful motivations for getting out of bed in the morning, for many teachers, which is why the two weeks of maternity leave before the baby's arrival comes as a huge cultural shift to many women.

As a teacher becomes more experienced, it is highly likely that they will begin to act as a mentor or coach to trainees or teachers with less experience to them, and therefore this sphere of inspirational influence can grow.  The kids still matter, of course, but now that life-affirmation has been turned up a notch and takes the form of hampers and cards from your mentee that say, 'you have simply been the most fantastic mentor, friend and (on occasions) mother I could have hoped for'.  I have also been fortunate enough to facilitate and act as an Associate Tutor for Teach First, and having a room full of sixty trainees hanging off your every word about grammar or shout out involuntarily that your blog is 'VERY HELPFUL' to a room full of people is pretty ego-boosting stuff.

However, it wasn't until last night that I saw this role as anything more than a selfish perk: I like facilitating, I like mentoring.  It satisfies my insecure need to be validated by others and gives me a sense of purpose that keeps the potential mental health demons at bay.  In short, I do it to sustain and reassure myself in a very egocentric and isolated manner, not because I have ever seen myself as part of a bigger professional ladder, upon which, as I climb, I am duty bound to reach down and lend a hand to others below me, as well as demand support from those above me.

Instead, therefore, of continuing to demand inspiration for myself, @WomenEd has inspired me to take a more explicit and active approach to my own duty as a role model, and has left me with the following questions:

• How can I support and lead other teachers who are also on maternity leave?
• In six months, how can I continue to flexibly support those to whom I have already acted as a formal or informal mentor or coach?
• How can I use my maternity leave to advocate for female leaders currently teaching/ in school settings/ in the wider educational environment?
• How can I use the power of networking to present myself as a very clear, open and accessible source of support and leadership to other teachers who do connect with me as a role model?

And now, over to you: especially if you are taking an extended maternity leave (i.e. 12 months or more), this role of coaching or mentoring could be the perfect way for you to flexibly use your experience and skills to benefit others in your industry.  Coaches have such a significant impact on others, but a the training and frequency of coaching conversations in many volunteer organisations has a fairly minimal impact on your family commitments.  Why not check out these pathways to see if anything fits your maternity leave set up:

• Women Leading in Education: a UK government nationwide initiative to provide female leaders in education with free coaches.
• Teach First Coaching: a dedicated team in this education charity provides coaches for NQTs and Teach First 'Ambassadors' (like me!) who might still be in teaching, or other sectors after they have completed the two year programme in 11 different regions across the country.
• Graydin: a London based coaching company who run training for both schools and members of the general public, preparing you to be a competent coach.
• Your former school/ company: what opportunities are there to continue to provide support to colleagues within your organisation, and what training can your companies provide for you?
• VOLO: a charity that connects skilled volunteers with socially-minded companies, including coaching and mentoring opportunities, predominantly for school-aged students.