Chapter 4

 Get Connected 

In my last few blog posts I talked about the importance of networking within your community. However, I did not go into depth on how to do this. In chapter 4 of the connected educator, proper etiquette regarding networking and relationships within a professional career is introduced. According to the authors the first step in properly networking is establishing a relationship. The author goes on to say, “ fostering, nurturing, and maintaining positive, congenial relationships is the first step towards building collaborative cultures”. (Hall 99). Having a relationship with people within your career field is helpful in the long run. So it is important to put effort into those relationships. One way of nurturing a new relationship is establishing trust. Megan Tschannen-Moran’s definition of trust is, “One party’s willingness to be vulnerable to another based on the confidence that the other is benevolent, reliable, competent, honest, and open” (Hall 101). Building trust takes time; it is not something a person is entitled to. Being able to form professional relationships on shared trust is imperative to building your career.

In the political world, relationship building is the most important aspect. Politics can be a very sensitive subject for many people in this country, so having a trustworthy relationship within this career field is imperative. My future career relies heavily on data collection and research. I need to foster relationships with people I trust in data collection. Disinformation in the research field is a huge problem. I need to know that the people I ask to peer-review my work will be unbiased and not try to skew data to benefit their beliefs. That is why I love the author's idea of a shared vision. The reason I am going into a political career is because I have hope for the future. I want the relationships I gain to have that same vision. I want my future relationships to have a genuine commitment for a change with the openness of learning along the way.