It is May – the month where everything turns green and flowers bloom.
What does it take to make the flowers grow? Warm sunshine and plenty of
April rain. But without nourishment, the flowers will not thrive – they
will fade away.Much like flowers, we too need to grow or we will fade away. Fellowship and knowledge feed our mind and soul, keeping us vibrant throughout our lives. When was the last time you nourished yourself in this way?
IAAP offers so many options for both networking and relevant education, making it easy and fun for you to grow to be your strongest and most vibrant self. Like a beautiful flower, you will find yourself blossoming in ways you never imagined possible.
How do I know? You may have heard me say many times how I feel blessed to have participated in the first class of IAAP Leadership Academy. Through that experience I have found myself strong enough to advocate for not only myself but also the other admins in my company and push for their education. Seeing my growth, our president began realizing the value of the growth of everyone on the team – not only technical staff, as had previously been the model. It is an uphill battle in nearly every technical firm, but the status quo can be changed when principals can see the outcomes of a fully trained team on all levels of an organization.
I strongly encourage you to consider applying for the IAAP Academy of Leadership to help your mental garden thrive. There are three levels to fit your needs, whether you manage others, or, like most of us, #leadup from where you sit. I, for one, have applied and was accepted to attend Frontline Leadership in September. My supervisor didn’t even think twice when I asked if I could attend, even though he had already nominated me for an internal leadership cohort. Why? In his reference letter, he said, “Her performance and growth are a testament to the IAAP Leadership Academy”. I encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and apply to the level most applicable to you.
Thinking you’d like to grow, but not sure you’re ready for the leadership conversation yet? IAAP offers so many options for you to expand your horizons and get inspired by others who have done the same. You read about many opportunities in Ann’s blog post last month so I won’t list them all again. I will say that I hope to meet you during our flagship event, Summit, to be held in July at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland. From my perspective, Summit is just the shot of Miracle-Gro your mental garden needs to thrive!
Step outside your comfort zone and nourish your most brilliant self. You will be amazed at what you can do when you start to bloom. Maybe you’ll even decide to help lead IAAP to be the best it can be… #WeLeadUp #WeLeadTogether
