Posted on No Comments on Aurora Day 1 – The Introduction

Aurora Day 1 – The Introduction

Today was my first official Aurora session. A half day introduction to the program with a guest speaker and a couple of short breakout sessions. It was well managed, with a slight issue that no-one had been sent an invite to the Connect network (Advance HE’s networking site) so some people were perhaps a bit over-eager in setting up WhatsApp groups for discussion.

Here are some thoughts I had about the introductory session (in no particular order):

  • 10 minutes in our breakout rooms of 3-4 people didn’t feel like enough to chat through the topics in a natural way. Might need to be a bit more efficient in future, especially if sessions are just the same length of time.
  • The Personal Development plan was much discussed, but I hadn’t really seen a template or anything in the Workbook other than a few short sentences recommending that we set one up. I’m not sure if I missed anything here.
  • The people I met were all lovely and it was interesting to hear how different institutions are implementing Aurora.
  • I’m debating whether to join any of the WhatsApp groups as I think it’s better to have work/home separation. I also think that I might struggle with processing things in the chat, when not actually in Aurora mode. I’ve made a note of the links in case I change my mind.
  • The guest speaker (Sally Jackson) really resonated with people and I took away some interesting things to reflect back on, the core one which was the best advice she’d been given which was “Be less available and more visible” which I’ve since reflected on further.
  • The facilitator was very enthusiastic and managed the session well. I’d have liked to have seen a little more drawing out of things the guest speaker said, and asking for more tangible advice that people could implement.
  • I had to mute the chat as I wasn’t able to concentrate on the speakers when also reading through people’s posts. I found it difficult when distractions came up to pick up what was being talked about. As the session isn’t recorded and the chat isn’t retained it felt like I was missing out on some things – I’m going to have to learn to let that go. I’m glad it was an introduction and we can each work out what works for us as delegates ahead of the full day sessions.
  • The guest speaker acknowledged that not everyone’s goal is to rise ever higher and it was nice to have that recognised.
Posted on No Comments on Meeting my Aurora Mentor

Meeting my Aurora Mentor

A courtyard cafe overlooked by an ornate building of red brick and yellow sandstone. The tables are empty, the sky is overcast and a wall of ivy sits at the far end of the courtyard.

I recently attended an Aurora social and there was some discussion around the awkwardness of meeting your assigned mentor for the first time. Reaching out and hoping they respond, then hoping you get on, and that you can picture yourself working with them. Even if all is well, there can be an sheepish “shall we do this again?” moment where you both commit to the mentor/mentee relationship.

Having heard from other Aurorans about this, naturally I was a little nervous when I met with my Aurora mentor yesterday for the first time. Our meeting was complicated by the fact that I had been around someone with a cold and (whilst feeling fine) I was worried I might pass something on. I masked up, and we met in a campus café near to her office.

I needn’t have worried. My mentor was lovely and whilst our conversation was a little silted at first, that felt like any getting-to-know-you phase. We talked about our career journeys, and I voiced some of the concerns that had been worrying me about my (lack of) career plan. Even in this initial meeting she offered reassurance and some useful tips on ways to develop, without having a bigger plan in place. By the end it felt like she understood my motivations and career concerns and was looking forward to helping me explore some possible solutions.

Ahead of the session I had looked at the Mentor resources provided by Aurora and was worried that if we’d needed to go through these, then it’d have been a very abrupt conversation and I’d not know how to succinctly answer many of the questions! I’d find it hard to discuss in a one hour meeting such big questions as “What is the role of challenge, honesty and amount of disclosure that is appropriate and relevant?”

The many questions were grouped by four themes and whilst we may not have discussed things explicitly like the nature of confidentiality, we did cover all of the themes to a certain extent.

  • Personal – Build rapport by introducing yourself and gain an understanding of the background of the mentee.
  • Professional – Discuss the roles and responsibilities for both mentor and mentee. Define the scope of the relationship.
  • Procedural – Define and agree expectations for meetings, paperwork and timings.
  • Psychological – Discuss how you can best work together. Agree rules of confidentiality, giving feedback and how sessions will run.

I’m somewhat sceptical of the advice to follow that structure. Whilst I understand that the drawing of clear boundaries is obviously something that is beneficial to both parties, it does feel somewhat forced. Perhaps it’s something that if we practice will become more normalised, but until then, I’m happy for these things to evolve in a more naturalistic way. I’m already looking forward to meeting with my mentor again, both to reflect on my career plan and on the Aurora sessions.

Posted on 2 Comments on Starting my Aurora Journey – Lost in the Woods

Starting my Aurora Journey – Lost in the Woods

Green aurora borealis streak across a dark sky. In the foreground snow is on the uneven ground and tall trees circle the viewer.
Green aurora borealis streak across a dark sky. In the foreground, snow is on the uneven ground and tall trees circle the viewer.

In searching for an image for this post I realised that the above picture represents something about how I have often felt about my career journey. I’m in my role, without much of an idea about how I proceed. There’s no path, lots of obstructions in my way and I can’t see the wood for the trees.

I was in my previous role for a long time and I was very settled in it. When I moved into my current team, the feeling of instability – not knowing what I was doing, new people and systems to navigate – really rattled me. I was doubting myself and my abilities. Talking about this with friends and family I discovered that the phase of not knowing what you’re doing was really normal for a new role. I’d been so settled for over a decade, that this uncertainty was deeply uncomfortable. It really made me appreciate feeling established in a role.

I learned other things about myself during that time. One of which was I realised that having “sight” of a team, what they do, who they are, and their values, was really important to me in terms of making the leap away from the “safety” of my existing team. I wanted to understand what I was getting myself in for, before committing.

This new job also brought a clear progression through the organisational structure. In my early days in the team, several people told me that they could see me in the more senior role of Systems Lead but I didn’t feel ready. As I reflect on it now, I can see two reasons for this: not having settled in my new role fully, and also not having the “sight” of what that Systems Lead role required. It was only when I had stability in where I was, AND a better understanding of where I was going, did I feel like I could take that step. I realise now that these two factors are important for me to progress.

Last year I interviewed for a Systems Lead role but that uncertainty was still there. I was incredibly nervous for various reasons and whilst I was appointable, I didn’t get the role. Coming out of the other side was tough as well. I felt like I’d let others down who believed in my abilities, that I wasn’t good enough to do the more strategic activity that the role required.

I applied for Aurora before I applied for the promotion, but I find myself in a similar place – Uncertain if this is what I want for myself, uncertain if I can do a more senior job justice and uncertain how to get there anyway. As I now know, I need stable ground to jump off from, and a clear sight of where I’m aiming for, before I feel able to move.

In that forest of tall trees and uneven ground I’m hoping that Aurora can light my way.