176: Audit Your Life: Leena Saleh on Turning Teacher Skills into Strengths for Corporate, EdTech, and Beyond

1
00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,840
Welcome back to another episode
of Ed Up L&D, the show where we

2
00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,880
talk about all things learning
and development and career

3
00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:13,680
transformation.
Today I've got a real treat for

4
00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,800
you, my friend and returning
guest Lena Saleh.

5
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:23,240
If you know her as the Ed tech
guru, you already know she's a

6
00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:26,640
powerhouse in the education and
technology space.

7
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,400
She's the product educator and
content strategist at Canva.

8
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,840
She's a former teacher who's
helped over 100 million

9
00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,840
educators and students unlock
their creativity and a fierce

10
00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,560
advocate for teachers making
bold career moves.

11
00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,600
We first had Lena on the show
over two years ago, back when

12
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:54,120
this podcast was still at Up at
Tech, and so much has changed

13
00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,760
since then for the both of us.
In this episode, we dive into

14
00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,440
life after leaving the classroom
and navigating that emotional

15
00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,519
shift, the inside scoop on what
it's like working at a global

16
00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:10,040
company like Canva, and Lena's
best advice for transitioning

17
00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,080
teachers who are ready to take
the leap.

18
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,840
This conversation is packed with
practical tips, career

19
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,680
inspiration, and some real talk
about letting go of guilt and

20
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,320
leaning into your next chapter.
So whether you're a Canva

21
00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:28,400
curious in the middle of a
career pivot, or just here for

22
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:33,320
the LND inspo, you're going to
get a ton out of this one.

23
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,040
Let's jump in.
Hi, we're ispring, an

24
00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,760
international team of e-learning
enthusiasts who help more than

25
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:46,200
60,000 clients across the globe
succeed with better online

26
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,160
learning.
Our two flagship solutions are

27
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,440
ispring Suite and ispring Learn
LMS.

28
00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,720
Ispring Suite is an intuitive,
all in one authoring tool for

29
00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,240
creating engaging e-learning
content, and ispringlearn is an

30
00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,000
innovative online training
platform for onboarding,

31
00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,920
upskilling, and certifying your
teams.

32
00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,639
We also provide tons of free
resources for aspiring and

33
00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,560
experienced e-learning
professionals, conduct weekly

34
00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,480
webinars with top industry
experts, and organize annual

35
00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,120
e-learning conferences,
challenges, and championships.

36
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,120
We'd be happy to get to know you
and pick a solution that fits

37
00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:30,000
your needs best.
Go to www.icepringsolutions.com

38
00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,280
to learn more about us, download
our resources, and connect.

39
00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,200
Hello everyone and welcome to
another amazing episode of Ed Up

40
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,960
LND.
My name is Holly Owens, and I'm

41
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:49,080
your host, and I am really
excited and really grateful that

42
00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:55,120
Lena is here to come back to the
show after almost over 2 years.

43
00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,600
It's been a long time.
And actually, the podcast was at

44
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,760
up at Tech back then.
So now it's at up L&D.

45
00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,320
So there's been some evolution
in our lives and evolution in

46
00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,440
some of our professional
professional lives.

47
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,240
So, Lena, welcome back to the
show.

48
00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,520
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here and to

49
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,800
be back with you on this
episode.

50
00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:18,880
I can't believe it's been 2
years.

51
00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:20,480
Like how crazy is?
That I know I was like, I was

52
00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,560
thinking to myself when we were
talking before, I was like, it's

53
00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,680
been like a year because with
everybody it's like a year.

54
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,840
And then I was like, Nope, it's
been a really long time.

55
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,360
So a lot has changed.
So why don't you tell the

56
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,720
audience about you, who you are,
you, they probably know you from

57
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,240
Ed tech guru and and all the
stuff you do at Canva.

58
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,080
So introduce yourself and tell
us about it.

59
00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,320
Sure.
I am obviously Lena.

60
00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,320
I work at Canva and I am a
content strategist and product

61
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,600
educator.
Basically that means that my

62
00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,880
specific role at Canva is that
we create content to activate

63
00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,280
our users.
So not just onboarding, but

64
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,800
basically activating our users.
And so I specifically work with

65
00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,440
the K12 audience because I'm a
former teacher.

66
00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,480
So so I like to be able to do
that.

67
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,880
So that's kind of the work that
I do at Canva.

68
00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,080
And then I also do podcasting,
like Holly, just bringing on

69
00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,120
edtech founders or really
focusing on teachers who are

70
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,839
making a transition out of the
classroom.

71
00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,600
And yeah, so that's.
Just a little.

72
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,240
Short snippet about me.
That's great.

73
00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,880
And I, you know, I think it's
important that you continue this

74
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,200
work outside.
I know you have Canva and canvas

75
00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,280
huge to everybody, but everybody
knows Canva.

76
00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,480
But the work that you're doing,
like with a tech guru and having

77
00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,040
the podcast and bringing people
on and sharing some of your

78
00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,400
videos.
I recently watched your one

79
00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,680
about teacher transition coming
out of the classroom.

80
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,760
Love that one.
We'll definitely put a link to

81
00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,720
the show notes in that.
And as you know, our audience is

82
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,920
made-up of mostly transitioning
teachers.

83
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,120
So we're both transition
teachers.

84
00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,280
We've both been in a space where
we've been considering like, Oh

85
00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:01,280
my gosh, I don't know if I want
to do this anymore.

86
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,600
This was something I thought I
was going to do forever.

87
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,800
I'm sure Canva wasn't on your
bingo card for life, Amazon and

88
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,120
Yellow Dig and all the different
things that I've been doing

89
00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,840
weren't on my bingo card for
life.

90
00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,880
So what can you say to the
transitioning teachers who are

91
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,920
listening right now and they're
thinking like, should I or

92
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,480
shouldn't I leave the classroom?
Like what are some things they

93
00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,440
should consider?
I think your thought is if you

94
00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,040
have already made that, like if
you've already, if you're

95
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,040
already wondering, your foot is
already halfway, I think out of

96
00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,840
the door.
I think you're already you're

97
00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:36,760
already there.
And I think that the part that

98
00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,320
holds us back is guilt of
leaving.

99
00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,720
And I think a lot of times
there's like this, it's like bit

100
00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,680
of mourning that we do of like,
are we making the right

101
00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:47,400
decision?
Are we letting people down?

102
00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,640
I think as a teacher, you have
to think about what's best for

103
00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,320
you and what your longevity is.
I think Holly and I can both

104
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,360
speak to this that are I never
thought that I would be in this

105
00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,360
other side of the space.
I thought I would be a teacher,

106
00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,560
then I thought I would be an
administrator and spend like a

107
00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,040
good amount of.
Time, yeah, and.

108
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,040
Then I thought I would be a
policy change maker because to

109
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:13,440
change the space and education.
And then ten years in, I

110
00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,000
thought, what the heck am I
doing?

111
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,760
I got to get out of here.
I need to have an impact from

112
00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,160
the other side.
So I think there's that part

113
00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:22,800
like you're, you're already
thinking about it.

114
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:24,840
So I would say start that
process.

115
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,080
Another thing I would say is,
and I'm sure Holly would agree

116
00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,680
with this, is like start
auditing people around you.

117
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,520
I think you have a wealth of
already resources around you.

118
00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,000
But as an educator, we only know
education.

119
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,560
We actually don't know business
terms.

120
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,880
We don't know anything.
I didn't know what B to B was.

121
00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,600
I know when I started that
career, I had no idea what they

122
00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,360
were talking about.
BBC, which is business to

123
00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,680
business, which means Canvas
sells to Amazon, that's business

124
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,880
to business.
And B to C is Canvas sells from

125
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,760
me like they sell the product to
me.

126
00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,720
Those are not terms that you
would know as an educator and

127
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,360
there's nothing wrong with that.
But you just, if you're really

128
00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,760
thinking about making the
transition out, you need to have

129
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,160
an idea about what business
looks like outside of that.

130
00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,640
So whether that's an
entrepreneur in your family,

131
00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,320
whether that's somebody who's
doing accounting or who knows

132
00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:17,440
what they're doing, but like
just get an audit about what

133
00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,000
they're doing in their lives
just to spark that interest for

134
00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,000
you.
Because as educators, you do

135
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,760
50,000 million things and it is
really hard to pinpoint what you

136
00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,680
want to do.
And I think what happens is I

137
00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,520
always tell teachers to make
this like to do like a list of

138
00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,600
like an audit of everything that
you do in your own life.

139
00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,280
And what I start to see
sometimes when educators do it

140
00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,840
is they hone in on those
negative parts of like not

141
00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,240
getting weekdays off or not
having enough time.

142
00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:44,080
And that's just the reality of
teaching.

143
00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:46,560
No matter if you stay in
teaching for 100 years or not,

144
00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:47,880
you're not going to get more
time.

145
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:49,800
I wish that were going to be the
possibility.

146
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,800
I think we can lean into like AI
tools and things to help lessen

147
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,120
that load.
But I don't think your time is

148
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,560
ever going to be given back to
you in the way that you want it

149
00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,520
to be.
So I think try to focus on the

150
00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,000
positive things like writing
student newsletters or you know,

151
00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,560
the the specific things that
you're doing in day-to-day.

152
00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,320
Because when you start to do
that, you can actually feel

153
00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,200
yourself being pulled to like a
specific direction.

154
00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,720
And I think that that will help
you navigate that journey.

155
00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,960
The the guilt you mentioned,
it's, it's there.

156
00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,680
I mean, like the first few
months and it was a long time

157
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,760
ago now out of teaching.
Like I was coaching field hockey

158
00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,600
too.
So I was just like, I cried.

159
00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,440
I was like, I can't believe that
I did this.

160
00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,760
I was like, what am I thinking?
And this is back when

161
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,159
transitioning out in the
classroom wasn't a community

162
00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:40,840
thing.
This was just I was doing it by

163
00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:42,840
myself.
So there weren't wonderful

164
00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,160
resources like you and I are
sharing or or support

165
00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,760
communities or even as big as
LinkedIn has gotten at this

166
00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,440
point to support us.
So I was really trying to figure

167
00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,840
it out on my own and that was
difficult.

168
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,520
I mean, I did it, but it was
very challenging and like you

169
00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:03,880
said, and touching on like all
the things that you do too with

170
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,640
that list, list the skills and
then you can totally transfer

171
00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,480
them into what it would be
corporate or what it would be

172
00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,640
education.
And I think sometimes maybe, you

173
00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,520
know, teachers, like you said
something about the days off and

174
00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:20,680
and stuff like that, like
they're, oh, we're not going to

175
00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,680
have a summer break.
Well, I'd rather go on vacation

176
00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,520
when people are not when I want
and not just be locked into

177
00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,040
like, you know, some of the
two-month, two months, 2 month

178
00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,800
things.
And teachers do other things

179
00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,400
during the summer.
They're not just sitting back by

180
00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,320
the pool relaxing.
They're preparing for the

181
00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:40,760
following year.
They're doing professional

182
00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,640
development.
Like I coached sports, so I had

183
00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:45,280
to go back earlier than
everybody else.

184
00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,040
So when you really think about
it, it's not that much

185
00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,600
difference in the terms of the
time that you're off.

186
00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,800
And some companies offer
unlimited PTO.

187
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,480
So a lot of them are are going
towards that and there's

188
00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,480
conversations about like a four
day work week.

189
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,320
So I think definitely that that
is changing too.

190
00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:08,320
But you really the emotional
piece of is something that you

191
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,440
have to deal with.
Yeah, I think, I think as

192
00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,360
teachers, your identity is tied
up into that.

193
00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,400
Like you are a teacher, right?
That is your, that is your full

194
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,160
identity.
Like you could be a mom, you

195
00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,000
could be a coach, you could be
all those things, but what you

196
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,720
are at your heart is a teacher.
And I think when you make the

197
00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,800
transition, it's kind of that
identity shift of like, who am

198
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,120
I?
What, what would I do?

199
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:30,320
What?
Would I do without it the?

200
00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:32,680
World could I do.
I know I don't want to do this

201
00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:34,240
anymore.
No idea.

202
00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,360
Yeah, You know, yeah.
So.

203
00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,160
I think those are all up and
down emotions, and I think it's

204
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,440
safe to feel that space, to know
that everyone else is feeling

205
00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,760
that exact same space when they
think about transitioning.

206
00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,000
So give yourself the space to
feel that and to mourn because

207
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,600
it is a bit of mourning.
But I promise you, I'm sure

208
00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,120
Holly can speak to this.
I can speak to this.

209
00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,880
I feel like I have a way bigger
impact now against students

210
00:10:57,880 --> 00:10:59,760
lives than I ever would have in
the classroom.

211
00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,760
Whether that's talking to
founders of startup companies,

212
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,320
whether that's guiding them on,
you know, how their product can

213
00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,160
be better or not be better.
But bringing that teacher lens

214
00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:15,400
lends itself into way more
pathways than like a regular

215
00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,720
person bring.
You have such a knowledge base,

216
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,280
Yeah.
It's such a small community when

217
00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,200
you think about teaching, and
then when you get to work with,

218
00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,000
like you said, different
companies or different people

219
00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,840
like across the world and
network with people across the

220
00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,600
world, that just opens up
endless possibilities and

221
00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,280
opportunities for you.
Absolutely, yeah.

222
00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,960
And I think about me at Canva
and working there and my role

223
00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,160
specifically is actually what I.
Was just you're so you know,

224
00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,480
we're like on the same wave like
because I was just about to say

225
00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,240
tell us about Canva because
everybody is like looking to

226
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:48,800
Canva like I should work at
Canva.

227
00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,800
That's a great first role out of
teaching or what you know.

228
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:57,160
Yeah, you go ahead.
So when I think about that and I

229
00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,040
just think about we just crossed
our 100 million teacher students

230
00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,760
and teachers using Kampa, which
is kind of incredible to think

231
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,960
about.
The products started like really

232
00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,760
at launch at the end of 2019,
but really when teacher got in

233
00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,400
teacher's hands, it was really
2020.

234
00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,480
And if you think about five
years, that's 100 million people

235
00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,920
all across the globe using it, I
think is really great.

236
00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,480
But the base of the work that I
used to do, I used to create all

237
00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:26,960
of the workshops and resources
that, like our facilitators or

238
00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,160
community or whatever, would go
and teach other teachers how to

239
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,360
use the product and how to.
Train the trainer.

240
00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,560
Yeah, basically like that bit of
peace.

241
00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,080
And I think about that and I
always think about, you know,

242
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,400
looking working with like our
sales team, which is they're,

243
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,920
they're called district
engagement advocates and they're

244
00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:47,200
really like.
I like that name.

245
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,760
That's fancy.
Yeah, it is fancy, right?

246
00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,360
So they all the all the sales
rules they can have very like

247
00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,640
fancy.
But when I think about, I think

248
00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,520
about that and I think about the
workshops that I've created and

249
00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:05,120
how art districts who have been
trained on these workshops have

250
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,520
higher monthly active users.
So we have more users using it

251
00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,360
every single month.
Of the people who have been who

252
00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,840
have used these workshops,
essentially, I think that's

253
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,640
pretty cool because I think
about how I just only touched

254
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:22,040
100 kids and now we're thinking
about million, like millions.

255
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,600
I could have never done that if
I stayed in the classroom.

256
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,760
So I think that's something
really special about that.

257
00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,240
And now my role has shifted away
from just doing workshops.

258
00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,240
And now we've relaunched design
School, which is like all of our

259
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,040
like education type thing.
So if you're ever looking, it's

260
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,600
canva.com/design School, One
word.

261
00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:43,240
But the we have all these
resources there.

262
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:44,880
And so now we've started
creating courses.

263
00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,520
So I just created my first
course called Transform Your

264
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,120
Classroom with Canva Co teaching
teachers how to use that.

265
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,320
And then I'm currently writing
another one that will launch.

266
00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,000
Well, we're working.
On it will launch soon.

267
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,160
Yeah, watch.
Good.

268
00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,400
And so I'm just like trying my
hand at that.

269
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,680
But I think, and I'm sure Holly
could speak this too, but I've

270
00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:10,320
never actually written courses
like this where I'm writing like

271
00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,880
full on scripting and screen
recording.

272
00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:14,840
So I've had to stretch myself in
new ways.

273
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,960
So I think being a teacher has
helped me be more adaptable and

274
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,240
flexible to learning new things.
I think if I weren't a teacher,

275
00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,760
I would be, I'd be screwed to be
honest with you.

276
00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,040
Like I think it would be really
to be able to make that

277
00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:32,280
maneuver.
So as teachers who are listening

278
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:37,160
to this, know that you will
change roles often, whether it's

279
00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,560
you just staying in the same
type of role, but the work that

280
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,200
you do can change based on the
company's goals and what they're

281
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:46,160
thinking.
So you'll you always need to

282
00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,440
continuously be upscaling.
Yes, 100%.

283
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,600
And like we're sitting here
doing a video podcast like you

284
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,600
have to be comfortable with
these sorts of things now in

285
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,200
this world with AI and virtual
and digital and all the

286
00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,520
different things that are
occurring.

287
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,840
And first of all, I, I love
Canva.

288
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,640
I could never do, I can't do
anything without Canva.

289
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,440
As far as the podcast is
concerned, it's a great product.

290
00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,520
And you know, as far as like
some of the things that you

291
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,560
curate, I saw some of your
videos for Cameron, they're

292
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,080
getting like 10,000 plus
downloads.

293
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,640
That's pretty impressive.
And it just kind of like it

294
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,040
exploded.
And I'm sure that the pandemic

295
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,560
helped accelerate that.
But beyond that, the product's

296
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,880
so intuitive and you can do
different things and then adding

297
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,840
in the AI stuff and design
school and it's like it's, you

298
00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,320
are thinking what the customer
needs before they think they

299
00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,480
need it.
So you're basically future

300
00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,600
proofing the product.
It's a little marketing speak

301
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:51,000
for you so that you can continue
to, to grow things.

302
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,800
Like it just doesn't, it doesn't
stay here as this, it grows as

303
00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,400
this and it keeps, it keeps
growing and it keeps offering

304
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,480
opportunities for people.
So I love that about Canva.

305
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,840
I think I think it's great.
So what's it, what's it like

306
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:08,680
working at like Canva, like a
large company that has access to

307
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,640
so many resources and all the
different things.

308
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:16,560
Sometimes the audience is like,
my dream job is to, I'm sure

309
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,600
Canva's on the list.
So what's it like working for a

310
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,800
company like that?
I'm going to take a step back

311
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,680
before I answer that part of the
question.

312
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,520
I worked at a small startup
before right out of the

313
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,360
classroom and there were 13
people.

314
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,800
It was and they were based in
Israel and I was the only US

315
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,440
based person I worked at.
They called Code Monkey.

316
00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,360
Oh God, I remember Code Monkey.
I've talked to their owner

317
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:42,440
before.
Yeah, go ahead.

318
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,680
And so I worked there for 3 1/2
years.

319
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,600
And I would say for me, I felt
that was a better natural

320
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:55,040
transition for me, moving out of
the classroom to a much slower,

321
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,640
smaller company where I could
have a lot of influence.

322
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,640
And I would say from moving from
Code Monkey to Canva, it was a

323
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,680
big transition for me because I
went from working with 13

324
00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:06,720
people.
Like 13,000.

325
00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,920
You know, on sort of the same
time zone ish to working to a

326
00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,599
global company where there is
now I think we almost crossed

327
00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:20,119
6000 employees now and we have
we have offices now pretty much

328
00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,800
around the world and we touch so
many people around the world.

329
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,319
So I'd say Canva kind of
operates as like mini startups

330
00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:30,320
within the big organization.
And so each one kind of has like

331
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,040
its own mini startup, but I
would say it's fast and slow at

332
00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:38,560
the same time where when
something's coming, you got all

333
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,560
hands are on deck and we gotta
go right now.

334
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,920
There is no time to think.
You just gotta go.

335
00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,760
And then there's other moments
where you kind of have a lot of

336
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,080
decision makers attached to it
and a lot of eyes and a lot of

337
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,760
stakeholders are involved.
So what it's like working at

338
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:56,840
Canva, it's amazing.
There's, I don't think there's

339
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,960
not one person in any room that
I've ever been in that is not

340
00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,240
nice and like kind, but also
extremely talented, like

341
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,280
everyone around you.
It's easy to get imposter

342
00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,960
syndrome still 3 1/2 years later
into people working with these

343
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,280
people.
They come from Google and

344
00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,800
Twitter and like, you know,
Airbnb and they've been the

345
00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,000
heads of companies and they've
been heads of their own, like

346
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,840
startups.
And then they come and they work

347
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:20,800
alongside me.
And sometimes I think, am I in

348
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,320
this room?
Is this the right Rd. for me to

349
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,160
be in?
And I have to realize all these

350
00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,400
accomplishments along the way.
So like I am in the right space.

351
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,680
But I think I love working at
Canva and I love that, you know,

352
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,320
they listen to everyone and you
know, the products are really

353
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:43,440
founded by what people want, I
think, but trying to keep it

354
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,440
easy.
And I think that's the, there's

355
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:50,280
like a delicate balance between
that because Canva is, I don't

356
00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,600
know, it has so many bells and
whistles that a lot of people

357
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,200
don't know how to use and
navigate.

358
00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,600
And our job as product educators
is to learn the product quickly

359
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,000
and then figure out how to
translate to the audience.

360
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,560
That's going to make it easy
enough.

361
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,880
Like we just had a back to
school webinar yesterday and it

362
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:07,320
was like the highest amount of
people.

363
00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,760
I think we had like 11,000 like
attendees over the different

364
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,160
time zones.
And it's crazy.

365
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,600
And like, part of my work is
developed like I lead those

366
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,720
webinars and, and, you know,
help write the strategy and

367
00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,400
things for those.
But it's interesting because you

368
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,760
have people that are coming in,
you know, educators and

369
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,320
educators don't have time.
So how do we tell the story in

370
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,120
the right way that's going to
speak to educators?

371
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,960
And if I wasn't a teacher, I
would never be able to do that,

372
00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:34,600
right?
Like I, you could people come

373
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,960
in, trust me, people come in and
try to tell the story.

374
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,800
And we have to like gut check
them and be like, hey.

375
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,560
Yeah.
There's are not actually going

376
00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,280
to appreciate how you're trying
to do this at like such a high

377
00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:46,560
level.
So we kind of have to really

378
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,640
take it back because educators
don't have time.

379
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,120
So how do you tell the story and
balance those like?

380
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:52,680
Three.
You know those those.

381
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:58,160
Lines between it and probably
you learn that at Amazon, right,

382
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,040
like we are having balance so
many different stakeholders from

383
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,760
marketing to sales and everyone
has an opinion and everyone has

384
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,240
a voice and you have to figure
out how to drown up the noise.

385
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,560
Yeah I definitely 100% agree.
Like even though Canva is for

386
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,520
education, it is run like a
corporation.

387
00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:20,400
It is not run like you're in a
teaching space necessarily.

388
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,440
So you have to, it is as it is a
corporate environment just like

389
00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,720
Amazon, even though we're
working in the learning and

390
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,520
development state space within
Amazon pharmacy, like you said,

391
00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,480
different stakeholders, like
people higher up and, and other

392
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,200
places beyond pharmacy, we're,
you know, talking to us or we're

393
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,960
doing different like marketing
things for them.

394
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:45,200
And I mean, as far as I'm
concerned, L&D is part marketing

395
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,720
too, because you're doing that
with the strategy and, and your

396
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,800
workshops and your webinars and
all the things that you offer.

397
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,720
So 100% you have to know how to
function being in your own

398
00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:00,240
classroom where you control
everything to then stepping

399
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:05,960
outside where the control and
the pivots are endless like

400
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:06,720
T-shirts.
I loved it.

401
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,400
I could sit down, here are my
lessons Monday through Friday

402
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:11,760
set.
I know that's there may be a

403
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,160
little bit of tweaking
throughout the week, but not

404
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,880
anything compared to like a
corporate environment where your

405
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,160
priority on Monday could be
changed by Tuesday because

406
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,040
somebody needs something and
it's on fire or something like

407
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:26,680
that.
Yeah, and I think that's the

408
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,680
hard part sometimes.
Like I'm a perfectionist and I

409
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:30,880
like things to be.
Really.

410
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:31,800
Are you?
Really.

411
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,640
And.
We're friends, so she knows.

412
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,280
I know, yeah.
My husband always has to remind

413
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,080
me, you know, done is better
than perfect.

414
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,680
And I really struggle.
I really struggle with that.

415
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,320
And I also sometimes struggle
just like asking for help.

416
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,520
Like even if I'm underwater, I
think, oh, I'm a teacher.

417
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,760
I gotta carry all this.
And I have to be reminded that I

418
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:54,960
need to lean and on other
people.

419
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,240
But yeah, the pivots come quick.
Like you have a full thing,

420
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,480
you've done so much work, and
then somebody comes and like,

421
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,400
actually, we realigned our
strategy.

422
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:04,640
We got to go a different
direction.

423
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,760
So I think that's where a
teacher's mindset comes in.

424
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,680
It's like, okay, I've had
lessons that I've planned to a

425
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:12,840
teen.
They're so beautiful.

426
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,920
They're the beautifulest things
I've ever created.

427
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,040
And then you get to the students
and they suck, right?

428
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,560
Like it does not work.
They do not care what you're

429
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,120
saying.
The words that you're saying are

430
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:24,040
horrible.
They don't even relate to what

431
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,120
you're saying.
It's not as beautifully planned

432
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:27,720
as you thought.
And so I think that's what I

433
00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:29,960
like to think about as like a
startup, as like that lesson

434
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,520
that like you planned, it's so
good, so good.

435
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,440
And then you realize that did
not hit.

436
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,680
We.
Got to go back to the drawing

437
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,160
board and I got to do it right
now without thinking about it

438
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,600
and figure out how I can get
this across the line quickly.

439
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,480
But well, and sometimes those
are your best lessons you've

440
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,720
ever created, right?
Are the actual ones where you've

441
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,240
pivoted quickly.
I think teachers like what

442
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,280
you're saying with some of the
other stuff like where you have

443
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,960
to simplify it down to
accommodate, like they're they

444
00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,600
don't have a lot of time.
They don't there's you need to,

445
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:02,240
it needs to be actionable
quickly.

446
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,120
Like teachers are great at
taking very complex situations

447
00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,680
or complex topics and breaking
them down into simple strategies

448
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,360
or simple ways.
I love that about my brain.

449
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,160
It's like I can take something
so complex and I can just break

450
00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,800
it down into pieces so that
they're digestible, you know,

451
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,640
doing all the scaffolding,
whatever.

452
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,760
I still use all that stuff in my
current role.

453
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,240
So I love that about teachers.
Yeah.

454
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,040
And I'd say, you know, to your
point about like that part, I

455
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,160
think that's why teachers are
really good in a variety of like

456
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,920
role sets, because we can break
down complex things into simple

457
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,760
thoughts.
And I think, you know, sometimes

458
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,040
people get really big jargon
words, you know, and then they

459
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,440
go in like, even if you're
selling a product, if I come to

460
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,000
the table and I'm talking to
someone who's not well versed in

461
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,560
what I'm talking about and I'm
speaking really big jargon

462
00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,360
words, they're gonna look at you
like, what do you, what are you

463
00:23:58,360 --> 00:23:59,200
saying?
Get out of this.

464
00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,400
Room like, I don't know why
you're in here with me.

465
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,240
And as a teacher, we can
navigate quickly and be like,

466
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,920
OK, I actually need to do ABC.
And you know, I've seen teachers

467
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,800
create some even like in our
sales teams or marketing teams

468
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,680
or wherever you go.
I see teachers take these like

469
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,680
really big complex things and
break it down and think like,

470
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,160
OK, what does the end user want
and how do we figure out how we

471
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:22,680
tell this story in the right
way?

472
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,320
And I think that's what makes
teachers so great at any role

473
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,560
that they decide to do, but
specifically in L&D, because

474
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,720
when you're teaching something
like pharmacy, pharmaceutical

475
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:36,000
stuff, that's like big jargon.
So very jargon heavy, lots of

476
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,280
acronyms.
They can't just pick it up and

477
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:40,800
be like, oh, this is such a good
read.

478
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:42,560
Like, we're not reading college
level textbooks.

479
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,760
Nobody has time to decipher and
like, you know, figure it out.

480
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,920
They want something that's easy,
digestible and engaging for them

481
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,000
to understand.
And that's like where teachers

482
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,240
play the biggest.
Role, I think yeah, 100% Oh my

483
00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,680
gosh, this is such a great
episode for features.

484
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,320
We always we always get on this
topic and I love it.

485
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,960
I want you to talk a little bit
about at Tech Guru and tell how

486
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:09,680
you started that and you know
what you love about that

487
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,720
position and all the things
you're doing there so the

488
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,640
audience can follow you and if
they don't know already.

489
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,000
About that, yeah.
Thanks, Holly.

490
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,680
I appreciate that.
I started that.

491
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,280
I started, I've always been
like, you know, delivered

492
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,960
workshops and like those kinds
of things to like teachers and

493
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,560
things.
But what I realized is I had

494
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,320
moved from Colorado, where I'm
from, to Austin to a new place.

495
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:36,200
And I just realized that, you
know, I started it right around

496
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,000
the pandemic time.
I actually started before the

497
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,160
pandemic happened.
I just like, you know, it just

498
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,360
so happened.
But during that time, you know,

499
00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,360
we obviously saw that networks
kind of dissolved in like your

500
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,280
regular area and that you could
have a wider reach.

501
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,520
Like, you know, Holly and I both
have found on LinkedIn by being

502
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,280
able to share my thoughts.
And so I just started, I first

503
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,880
just started sharing my thoughts
on LinkedIn and then I started

504
00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,840
getting messages like, Hey, how
are you doing this?

505
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:03,320
Hey, how are you, you know,
whatever.

506
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:05,600
And I was also at the time at
Code Monkey doing like some

507
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,560
consulting for like some Ed tech
companies.

508
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,880
I'm like watching products and
just, you know, all sorts of

509
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,760
things that I've kind of learned
from the classroom.

510
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,600
And I just started only first
just talking about Ed tech and

511
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,040
education trends and like how
how teachers really need to be

512
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:20,480
evolving and how we can support
them.

513
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,240
And then obviously switch to
like COVID stuff and all of that

514
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:24,480
kind of stuff.
And then?

515
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,880
Founders started wanting to like
come on and share their stories

516
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:28,920
and I was like, all right,
great.

517
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,040
And then also in the process, I
started getting a lot of

518
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,000
questions about like, how do you
leave the classroom?

519
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,560
How does this happen?
It started first just like 1

520
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:39,720
message and then it turned into
hundreds.

521
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,800
And I was like, you know what?
I'm not going to have any more

522
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:43,680
coffee chats.
I can't, I don't have the time I

523
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,360
could pass through this anymore.
So I'm actually just going to

524
00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:48,200
craft this narrative through
like YouTube.

525
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,440
And I remember the first time I
ever recorded that my husband

526
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,480
was out of town and I just used
his space because he also does

527
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:56,760
in a way different industry than
we do.

528
00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,200
And I just sat there.
I probably recorded 45 times.

529
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,160
It probably took me 5 hours to
record 1 video.

530
00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:05,360
And I edited it, way over
edited.

531
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:07,600
And I put it up and I couldn't
sleep the whole night.

532
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,040
Oh no.
The first video, nobody did, you

533
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,440
know, it's fine, you know, And
then over time, you just like

534
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,760
get better at the reps But I
think I just, I really just want

535
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:22,920
to try to capture a story of
both how we support teachers in

536
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:25,040
the classroom and how we support
them outside.

537
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:30,080
Because, you know, I just had
Ally Parrish on which episodes

538
00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,880
going live here soon about how a
teacher.

539
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:36,840
Yeah.
And just like how she figured

540
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:41,320
all of that out.
But, you know, I think it's just

541
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:43,560
something you just like have to
do is kind of like start

542
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,600
building like a personal brand
in that like way.

543
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,240
But I.
But I just want to empower

544
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,600
educators.
And, you know, I, I also got

545
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,120
nasty messages like, why are you
forcing people to leave?

546
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:53,840
Like, what are you doing?
So like, I always wanted to put

547
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:55,840
like a disclaimer and I'm like,
you know, teacher's been

548
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:57,160
thinking about this for hundreds
of years.

549
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:58,800
This is.
They've been looking for an out

550
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,200
for a while.
Yeah.

551
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,760
And when we left and when you
transitioned, like there wasn't

552
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,200
any resources.
There was like Lincoln was not

553
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,240
what LinkedIn is today.
You can find everything you did

554
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,600
without ever paying for like a
course or figure it out.

555
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,000
Not at that time.
There was nothing like nobody

556
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,520
could really.
There was not anything really

557
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,800
available for you as, like, a
transitioning educator.

558
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,200
So I just wanted to give
teachers a place where they

559
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,120
could feel empowered to, like,
make a decision on their own,

560
00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:24,800
whichever way they decided to
go.

561
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,840
Yeah.
I love that and I I love the

562
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,400
supportive community that you
have on LinkedIn and all the

563
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,240
things that you share.
I think your videos are great.

564
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,880
Stop being a perfect
perfectionist because I've

565
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:36,720
watched many of them.
I stopped being such a

566
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,160
perfectionist.
Your videos are great.

567
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:42,560
So, you know, and wrapping up
the episode because I knew you

568
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,920
and I could talk a lot about a
lot of different things we like

569
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,960
to give the audience, especially
transitioning teachers, crew

570
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,760
like 3 actionable pieces or tips
or advice that they could think

571
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,160
about and do right now if
they're thinking about leaving

572
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,920
the classroom.
So I'd love to hear your

573
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,320
perspective on that as an expert
in doing it yourself.

574
00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,600
And I just looked up the year
LinkedIn was founded as 2002.

575
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,760
Shoot off for a while.
It didn't.

576
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,960
It wasn't great in like 2002.
No, Yeah, no.

577
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,040
It was, yeah.
It definitely wasn't that.

578
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:17,880
But like, I think right around I
just like, you know, my husband

579
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,560
is has been like a big
contributor to like helping.

580
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:21,880
He's kind of like my business
coach.

581
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:22,600
Oh, I love him.
He.

582
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,400
Like connect with whoever.
Cuz like, you know, I started

583
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,800
going to like Ed tech events and
stuff like just connect with

584
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,880
them and just send them a
message and just say like, hey,

585
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,040
how's this going?
And then that's kind of how it

586
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,160
started building.
I just was like cold outreach,

587
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:35,520
the scariest thing I've ever
done.

588
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,040
But so that's one piece of
advice.

589
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:39,280
Building your number.
Yeah.

590
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,560
Cold outreach.
Don't be afraid to don't be

591
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,520
afraid to say hi.
I mean, this community is fun.

592
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,200
That's what I Yeah, this
community is very giving and and

593
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,800
willing to point you in the
right direction.

594
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,440
Yeah, I would say.
My sister actually called me.

595
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,520
She's a high school teacher and
she was asking me what do I do?

596
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,400
And I've had a countless of
these conversations, obviously

597
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,440
this summer, and I said this at
the beginning and I'll say it

598
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,840
again here, you have to audit
your life.

599
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,680
And what I mean by audit your
life is, I mean, write down all

600
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,240
the things that you do in a day.
And I mean, cleaning the house,

601
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:14,160
it could be organizing your trip
to Europe.

602
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,040
I don't know.
It could be anything that you're

603
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:17,440
doing.
And then everything that you do

604
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,800
within like your school, not
maybe day, but like everything

605
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,400
that you're responsible for
throughout your role, take those

606
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:29,520
and rate them like in a neutral,
you know, like dislike category.

607
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,840
Because if you're really
thinking about leaving the

608
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,200
classroom, you've got to have an
idea and strategy of where

609
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:35,920
you're going to go.
And the only way that you can do

610
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,840
that is by figuring out the
things that you like.

611
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,400
And it's so hard to figure that
out.

612
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,440
It's very, very challenging.
I have to sometimes gut check

613
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:47,600
myself and do this to myself
often and then I say audit your

614
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,880
network and start like reaching
out and networking.

615
00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:52,320
Get on LinkedIn.
Your does not need to be

616
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,400
perfect.
Just put in a couple of details.

617
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,400
Make sure you have a profile
picture because nobody's gonna

618
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:58,720
talk to you without a profile
picture.

619
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,360
We think you're a bot.
And yeah, it's just just do it.

620
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:04,800
Just put a profile picture and
try to keep it like, like a

621
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,200
professional headshot.
You know, you don't have to do

622
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:07,160
anything like fancy.
Yep.

623
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,160
OK, Just like take your head,
remove the background on Canva,

624
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,160
put like a cool, fun background
up there and then upload it into

625
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:16,640
LinkedIn.
Like you don't need to get too

626
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,520
fancy with yourself.
And then just start reaching out

627
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:23,400
to people whose roles you might
be interested in.

628
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,880
And don't be asking us for jobs.
OK?

629
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,480
Don't to review your resume.
That right?

630
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,680
Away like I know.
I know I did that a lot.

631
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:35,880
I know you were thinking if I.
Know, trust me, I think it's, I

632
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,520
think it's amazing, but I need
to know you first before I can

633
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,480
put in a referral.
And in fact, Campbell will not

634
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,520
take it unless you have a
personal referral and you can

635
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,680
actually speak to how you know
this person and why they would

636
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,920
be a good fit.
So it's, it's actually almost

637
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,320
impossible for us to actually do
referrals unless we have like a

638
00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:53,880
really good personal connection
with you.

639
00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,360
But just like start connecting
and just like being like, hey, I

640
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,360
see you work in marketing at
blah, blah, blah.

641
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,120
I would love to just hear what a
day in the life looks like for

642
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,600
you and just just shoot your
shot that way.

643
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,520
I think those are like, those
are like the things that I think

644
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,720
are really important and
networking goes a really,

645
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:17,680
really, really, really long way.
And then my last tip is when you

646
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,880
get on LinkedIn, you can
obviously share your journey,

647
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,000
but try to not over share too
much because at the end of the

648
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:31,640
day, you're still teaching and
you're still in a contract with

649
00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,400
somebody.
So when you're posting like,

650
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,160
hey, I'm searching for ABC job,
but I'm still in the classroom,

651
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:37,440
they could come and look at
that.

652
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,560
They're probably not going to,
but you could technically, it's

653
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,200
possible that they could be
deciding like, hey, you're not a

654
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,280
good fit for us and they could
just let you go.

655
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,920
And you don't want to have that
as like your back, delicate at

656
00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,000
first.
Yeah, just try to keep.

657
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,920
It like professional and fun and
like easy and there are like so.

658
00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:58,560
Many resources.
And I was just going to say, I

659
00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,480
think, but there are so many
resources out there following

660
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:05,800
Holly, following so many people
on LinkedIn, There's so much

661
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,920
good information there.
You don't feel like you need to

662
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:10,840
post.
You can just utilize the

663
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:15,200
resources that they have and you
know, leverage that without

664
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,880
paying for anything first.
Not pay for anything.

665
00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:21,480
Oh my gosh, this is the best.
Piece of advice that you're

666
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,040
ready.
For right, because people you

667
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:27,200
can just dump so much.
It's just time is money and

668
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,280
money is time.
So think about that when you're

669
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,560
like doing something and if
something is not you're not sure

670
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,560
about it, you think you should
pay for it, don't.

671
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,480
There's so much resources out
there for free YouTube videos,

672
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,280
resources on LinkedIn, people
share free PDFs, there's so much

673
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:43,560
stuff.
You do not need to pay unless

674
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,160
you feel like it's going to be
beneficial to you in the long

675
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:47,600
run.
We're on the same page there I.

676
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,080
Tell everybody to exhaust the
free resources first before you

677
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,680
start investing in some of these
academies or these workshops or

678
00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,760
other things that are not free.
So when you find your niche

679
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,440
area, then you can start
investing some money into kind

680
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:04,160
of learning the ropes there.
But yeah, or like.

681
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:06,520
Like a tool.
Like if you feel like you really

682
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:09,679
want to go into learning and
development, you probably need

683
00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:12,440
to know how to use Articulate.
Yeah, exactly.

684
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:14,960
However, I don't.
And I'm like in a different

685
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,120
space.
So like, I think it just depends

686
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,400
on like where you're at.
But if you feel like a tool is

687
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:23,120
going to be beneficial, that's
like a different thing than

688
00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,040
investing in like these
academies and, and all the other

689
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:26,320
things.
Yeah.

690
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:30,000
Wow.
This is a great episode, Lena.

691
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:32,400
Thank you so much for coming
back on.

692
00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:35,560
Let's make sure we don't do this
two years from now.

693
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:37,480
Let's make sure we do another
episode soon.

694
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,360
Agreed.
Because things change pretty.

695
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:43,080
Fast in our industry they they
change so.

696
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,360
Quickly, don't they?
Yes.

697
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:45,800
Well, thank you so much for
coming back.

698
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,760
On and sharing about all your
experience with Canva at tech

699
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,880
guru, all the things so
appreciate you and being a part

700
00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:55,960
of this community.
I appreciate you as well and.

701
00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:00,200
All that you do, so thank you.
Thanks for spending a few

702
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,200
minutes with.
Holly, she knows your podcast

703
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,200
queue is packed.
If today's episode sparked an

704
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:09,400
idea or gave you that extra
nudge of confidence, tap, follow

705
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:13,080
or subscribe in your favorite
app so you never miss an episode

706
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,360
of Ed Up L&D.
Dropping a quick rating or

707
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,840
review helps more educators and
learning pros discover the show,

708
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:21,840
too.
I want to keep the conversation

709
00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,120
going.
Connect with Holly on LinkedIn

710
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,680
and share your biggest take
away.

711
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,240
She reads every message.
Until next time, keep learning,

712
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,880
keep leading, and keep believing
in your own story.

713
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:36,040
Talk soon.
Hi we're ispring an.

714
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:39,000
International team of e-learning
enthusiasts who help more than

715
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,520
60,000 clients across the globe
succeed with better online

716
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,960
learning.
Our two flagship solutions are

717
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,680
ispring Suite and ispring Learn
LMS.