I have a really cool project coming up. It's the kind of project that I dreamed about when I left my university position three and half years ago and it basically came about thanks to Twitter. Sure, it's a little more complicated than that, but someone who read one of my tweets followed up with a DM that led to me joining a consortium of freelance consultants and now I'm going to Tunisia for a week in September to train Tunisian English teachers. All because of a tweet, that led to a direct message, that led to a nudge to consider contacting the consulting group, to joining the group, and to letting them know I was available in September... All those things needed to happen to make this possible (and, of course, having some relevant experiences on my CV to make me an eligible candidate), but I want to focus on the nudge. If I hadn't followed up on a friendly suggestion, I would have missed out on this opportunity. And there are so many other examples of this happening for me (and hopefully for you too).
Another example of a nudge (and one that also came via Twitter) was being introduced to a training director in Ukraine by someone I interacted with on Twitter. We have never met in person but have a lot of the same people in our PLNs. I sent the training director an email, expressed my interest in returning to Ukraine, dropped the name of a professor in Kyiv that I had done some workshops for last year, and suggested that we could all work together to organize a PD event. Now, it looks like that's going to happen in October. This was thanks to two nudges, first my Twitter friend's, then mine.
Sometimes nudges lead directly to good things. A former student sent me a Facebook message one evening asking if I would be interested in going to Kazakhstan as a "foreign scientist" for four weeks. One of his mentors was the dean of a department and they were in a position to invite a visiting consultant. Most professors wouldn't be able to leave their schools in the middle of the semester so he thought of me and nudged me to apply. Less than three months later I was in Almaty. It was a great experience and I hope to return for an invited lecture in November.
Finally, some nudges lead to good things but in a more indirect way. Four years ago, one of my friends (and a fellow editor) was working with a professor from Russia who was employed by a university in Seoul. He was editing her academic journal articles before she submitted them for publication and asked if I could take over. I did and worked with her for around a year. During that time, one of her professional acquaintances in Moscow asked her if she knew a good editor that could work with the journal she was affiliated with. She introduced me and I have been working with that journal for several years now. It has been a rewarding experience to help the authors polish their papers and the journal pays well and on time.
When someone respects you enough to nudge you toward something that they think you would be a good professional match for, it really is an honor. It's not easy sticking your neck out for someone and putting your own reputation on the line. So, be sure to thank them and hopefully you will be in a position to nudge them (and others) toward a great opportunity somewhere down the line.
Another example of a nudge (and one that also came via Twitter) was being introduced to a training director in Ukraine by someone I interacted with on Twitter. We have never met in person but have a lot of the same people in our PLNs. I sent the training director an email, expressed my interest in returning to Ukraine, dropped the name of a professor in Kyiv that I had done some workshops for last year, and suggested that we could all work together to organize a PD event. Now, it looks like that's going to happen in October. This was thanks to two nudges, first my Twitter friend's, then mine.
Sometimes nudges lead directly to good things. A former student sent me a Facebook message one evening asking if I would be interested in going to Kazakhstan as a "foreign scientist" for four weeks. One of his mentors was the dean of a department and they were in a position to invite a visiting consultant. Most professors wouldn't be able to leave their schools in the middle of the semester so he thought of me and nudged me to apply. Less than three months later I was in Almaty. It was a great experience and I hope to return for an invited lecture in November.
Finally, some nudges lead to good things but in a more indirect way. Four years ago, one of my friends (and a fellow editor) was working with a professor from Russia who was employed by a university in Seoul. He was editing her academic journal articles before she submitted them for publication and asked if I could take over. I did and worked with her for around a year. During that time, one of her professional acquaintances in Moscow asked her if she knew a good editor that could work with the journal she was affiliated with. She introduced me and I have been working with that journal for several years now. It has been a rewarding experience to help the authors polish their papers and the journal pays well and on time.
When someone respects you enough to nudge you toward something that they think you would be a good professional match for, it really is an honor. It's not easy sticking your neck out for someone and putting your own reputation on the line. So, be sure to thank them and hopefully you will be in a position to nudge them (and others) toward a great opportunity somewhere down the line.
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