By: Sarah LaRosh
Director of E-Community Engagement
NetWork Kansas
I often share about my travels, experiences and lessons on Twitter and many of my tweets have the hashtag #neverstoplearning. I find this to be a strong part of my everyday life and I want to encourage others to continue learning and growing as well. In fact, it is one of my top 5 strengths as identified by the Gallup Strengthquest Assessment. Gallup explains the strength of learner by: People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
For those who have known me in my academic years you might be thinking, ‘This isnt the same Sarah that I know.’
I put far more value on the lessons learned throughout school than the grades achieved and I still value that mentality today. I was a strong average student. No special recognitions for my academia upon graduation, but I learned important lessons along the way.
At the end of August, NetWork Kansas staff gathered from all across the state to learn together. This was a fantastic experience. We challenged our own beliefs, the beliefs of others on our team and the outcome will forever impact our lives. I believe passionately that NetWork Kansas staff is better now than we have ever been. Not only do we have wise and talented staff, but we are eager and willing to learn even when the topics are hard.
Some of the topics we covered as a team were updates, goals, projections and processes. That is something easy to learn and engage in; its something we can grasp our minds around and doesnt take too much to follow along with.
NetWork Kansas strives to be thought leaders. We are constantly pushing the limits, being proactive and driving best practices. Status quo is not good enough. This is not your typical team environment. There is no place for complacency. Each team member has unique strengths and skillset. We all come together and share best practices, struggles, successes and areas of concern. We learn and grow from each other and experiences all across the state. Yes, rural and urban are drastically different, but they can each learn from the other. No, we try not to have a cookie cutter approach, but that does not mean that we cannot use different experiences as educational tools.
Some of the topics we covered were systematic problems, huge challenges and national movements. We can often get overwhelmed with things that seem too — it could be too old, too bad, too big, too challenging, too stressful, and the list could go on and on. But we must know that each and every action has a reaction and ripple effect. NetWork Kansas staff is engaging in DEI training. I specifically used engaging instead of participating in because it is a process, an involvement and a holistic engagement. We are passionate about making noticeable changes and improvements across Kansas and we cannot ignore systematic flaws.
Small things can make huge impacts! One small task that I try to do every day that has had a tremendous impact on my life is #neverstoplearning
About NetWork Kansas:
NetWork Kansas was established as a component of the Kansas Economic Growth Act of 2004 to further entrepreneurship and small business growth as a priority for economic and community development in the State of Kansas. Backed by more than 500 partners statewide, the NetWork Kansas service promotes an entrepreneurial environment by connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the expertise, education and economic resources they need in order to succeed.
NetWork Kansas facilitates the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem within participating communities through the E-Community Partnership. Contributing factors to successful development include availability of financial capital, support by local leadership and development of educational resources. All of these factors combine to increase entrepreneurial activity in participating towns, leading to increased startup activity, business expansion, job creation and more.
For more information about the Entrepreneurship (E-) Community Partnership, visit www.networkkansas.com/ecommunities or call 877.521.8600.
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