Reflections on EdExec Live

Laura Williams offers up some reflections on the recent EdExec Live events, sharing her experiences and insights as the new Editor of EdExec

It’s fair to say that since I became Editor of EdExec, my journey has been nothing short of an adventure.

Not since I became a SBM almost 20 years ago have I felt such an acute fear of all the things I don’t know! Publishing has almost as many acronyms as education, and the systems, processes and deadlines… well…!

However, being the Editor of EdExec for the EdExec Live events was a challenge of an entirely different type!

I can deliver a session, but being the ‘face’ of the mag, giving a welcome speech to the entire conference, and feeling the pressure of ensuring that a day out of the office was worth it for SBLs… It took a bit more than 10% braver for sure!

How did I do it?

I did what I always do. I didn’t think about me; I thought about you – all the SBLs who make this profession as awesome as it is. I thought about what SBLs would want to hear right now, what they’d want to know, and what kind of conference experience they would be looking for. And then I checked my thinking by speaking to a lot of SBLs!

I’m happy and proud to say that the feedback we’ve received has been amazing. It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that the sessions, networking, and shared experiences have not only been helpful and made a difference to SBL practice but that they’ve been supportive and validating too.

One SBL said to me about one session; ‘I didn’t learn anything new in that session but I did learn some valuable things. That I was right to do what I’ve done, that I actually do know what I’m doing and that I’m not alone.’ Wow.

So, this week, I thought I’d share some of my own learnings and observations from the events that, whether you were there or not, might make you smile.

Lemon sees lemon

Every conference has ‘networking opportunities,’ and some even have cringey networking speed-dating sessions, which are great if networking is your superpower! But if it’s not, and you’re more of a lemon like me, these fill you with more fear than fun – For this reason, at our events, we created a 30-minute networking warm-up slot directly before lunch, led by me. Yep, lemon sees lemon. While I had no script, no slides, and no clue what I was doing, the people who joined me totally embraced the natural chat, sweary humour and hilarious rants. And seeing people who hadn’t met beforehand sitting and chatting over lunch honestly made me feel like jumping up and down. It worked!

The power of 10% braver was palpable

Over the two events, five speakers I had personally recommended (and persuaded!) to speak were brand new (or pretty new) to public speaking and had never spoken at an EdExec event. In the morning, it’s fair to say they all wanted to kill me! But guess what? They all absolutely smashed it. The feedback was like reading rave reviews of a concert. And seeing people approach them at the end of their session or over lunch made me feel like jumping up and down even more!

Teamwork really does make the dream work

Despite our top-notch planning, we couldn’t account for all eventualities. Across the two events, we encountered issues with food, laptop chargers, missing boxes and rogue delegate badges. None of this derailed us though, and the EE HQ team literally worked their a**es off to resolve all issues and ensure everyone had everything they needed and felt comfortable. As an SBL/COO, I loved working as part of a team, and it’s something I’ve missed. But joining the EE team has been an absolute pleasure, and once again, I find myself feeling very lucky to do what I do.

Screw the career plan

Seven years ago, I attended my first EdExec Conference – fresh off my SBL, COO/CFO journey, starting out as an SBL coach. I was invited to be a speaker by the then editor, Marie (which was a fluke in itself!). I didn’t for one minute think that seven years later, I would be wearing the Editor badge and calling some of the SBLs I met that day my friends. While career plans are important (don’t throw them away entirely!), the most important thing is knowing who you are and what you’re about. Be true to that in every step you take, and you won’t go wrong.

And who knows what could happen if you just step forward, have the conversation and be 10% braver?

PS I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for our next events! If you were there and you’d like to share some feedback with me privately or if you weren’t but you have an idea about what you’d like to see at an SBL conference in the future, pop me an email at [email protected]