Hidai becomes a mentor at Connectd

Happy & proud to end my first year with Connectd on a high note, by becoming a Mentor in the Transition To Portfolio programme, which will allow me to help more great people with their journey moving from executive full-time roles to flexible portfolio work, as many are doing these days in growing numbers.

It's funny actually as more mentoring wasn't even one of the reasons I originally joined Connectd (it's what I've been doing the longest), and I love it (always looking to honestly share from my experience and help others), so very happy with the additional opportunity, and it was a nice reminder for me that good things happen when you're around good people, even when you don't expect them :)

Which brings me to looking back on why I joined Connectd and what I did during my first year to achieve that, which is something many people have been asking me about, so speaking of sharing, trying to reflect & summarise below (and show in the photos):

- I wanted to take the next step in my journey, which meant more paid Board Advisor and Board Member / Non-Executive Director (NED) roles, and my approach to this strategic investment has been to go "all in" in order to maximise the value I get out of it, in a holistic way.

- Did the online training properly & quickly and got my Board Advisor certificate

- Got my mentor, which wasn't easy for me as I'm not used to being the mentee, but I knew I needed it to challenge myself and indeed he did exactly that!

- Attended every event I could, online and in person in London, which got me to meet founders, other advisors and the Connectd team (lead by the impressive & ambitious Roei Samuel, always supportive & full of energy!), and also listen to people with far more experience who openly shared their stories, advice & tips

- Got my placement as a Board Advisor at Lydia, which has been a great match for me (done fully by the Connectd team!) as I really enjoy working with their founder Nok Orrason, a special person

- Spending time on a weekly basis finding the most relevant opportunities on the platform, reaching out and having good conversations with the founders

- Reached out to the very supporting team with every question (and I had a few!), especially to George Kimpton-Moss who got me on board, and the super-responsive Jon Teale!

- Interviewed to share my story which was featured on the website

- Leveraged all the above on LinkedIn (updating my profile, liking, commenting, posting, connecting, messaging)

As a result, I am happy to be on track to achieve my strategic goals, with some paid & blended Board Advisor roles agreed and some in progress, on the Connectd platform and outside it, and not least important (maybe more), better knowledge & understanding of this tricky space, clarity of my own way, and stronger confidence.

Many people to thank:
Nathaniel Opedo for the excellent match with Nok & Lydia, Zain Noor for the events, Inarah Nor Hashimi for interviewing & featuring me, Colin Howes for supporting, challenging and meeting in London, Emily Brooke for telling me about the founders side, Luke Green, Emma Plowman, Anna Campbell, Brian Fitzpatrick, Nancy Duncan and Nic Lenz for sharing their stories, advice & tips at the events, Samuel Gray for the support, Janet Xiu Shi for the LinkedIn recommendation, Jamie Morris for the opportunity to become a mentor, and also general thanks to Jim Dixon, Presence Plumb, Elma Raahat, Mihrace T. and I hope I didn't forget anyone!

Looking forward to my second year, where the focus will be on paid Board Member / NED roles - bring it on :)

Link to original post on LinkedIn