By Jacinta C. Mayronne @drcalzy

When I first began conversations with @WomenEd_US about hosting a potential chat titled 'Imperfection: Motherhood and Leadership,' it was back in March, before the majority of the United States began quarantining due to COVID-19. My perception and thoughts of what motherhood and leadership look and feel like are completely different now that I pick up my pen to write this blog six months later.

by Vivienne Porritt @ViviennePorritt

We started WomenEd because women's voices on twitter were often silenced, harrassed or our views were not valued. It's one of the reasons we included a mic in our logo. So we encouraged women to tweet and to write blogs to tell our stories and share our lived experience. 

One of the reasons we wrote 10%braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education was to ensure the voices of our community reached women who are not on twitter. And over 30 voices are included in Being 10% Braver which, joyously, is published this December - you can pre-order and it's a great Christmas present! And we are delighted to share more opportunities for our community to write and to be heard.

By @WomenEd_US and Kimberly Lane Clark @askatechnogirl

Making professional connections is vital to an educational leader’s success. If you don’t have a strong support system around you, it’s essential to find ways to structure a meaningful support system, whether through face to face communication or technology. Connections are all about shared values.

By Jessica Webster @jgroteweb

Collaboration has been a key to success both personally and professionally for me. Often educational leaders are faced with tough decisions that require complex solutions. By collaborating with others, soliciting multiple viewpoints and welcoming those stakeholders with diverse experiences, issues are framed and solutions are provided that allow for growth.

by Mary Bridget Burns @MaryBridgetEdu

Networking. It's a concept that has gained significance in recent years, but often associated with bankers and business leaders, politicians or pundits. Rarely do educators come to mind when networking is discussed. Rather, teachers and building leaders are encouraged to consider how to participate actively in their in-school Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) or to consider ways to get involved with the school or district's Instructional Learning Teams (ILTs).

by Elise Ecoff @EliseEcoff        Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

For most of us, the first community we know is the one we are born into: our family and relatives, neighbors, and friends. As we grow, we begin formal education and learn we can belong to communities that are our own, separate from our families, where we begin to carve out our identity. Being part of a class, team or club further expands our understanding of what it means to belong.

by Elise Ecoff @EliseEcoff      #BirthdayCelebration   Photo by Rampal Singh on Unsplash

Quarantine. Lockdown. Social distancing. Whatever you choose to call the way in which we’ve lived the last few pandemic-filled months, it has clearly been a period in our existence like none other. Endless time spent at home has made us keenly aware of the days, hours, minutes, and moments in our lives as they slowly tick by. And the collective experience of women during this period has been particularly challenging.

by Ann Marie Luce @turnmeluce   Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

The past months have been challenging for everyone, and many have been forced to adapt to our new reality. I, too, have made some difficult decisions that impacted my family and career.  At the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to Canada from China, where I was an international school leader. I spent six months working remotely as a school principal with our school's staff, students, and parents scattered worldwide.

By Dr Jacinta C. Mayronne @drcalzy

Dr. Tracey Beckendorf-Edou, superintendent of Cascade School District in Washington State, is a collaborator! As she tackles her second year of superintendency amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dr. Beckendorf-Edou, the ideal systems thinker, shared some brilliant ways for other women to navigate their journey towards superintendency. She gave us insight on essential qualities of a school superintendent, why qualified women choose not to pursue superintendency and benefits of diversity in the role - specifically gender diversity, how to encourage other women to pursue educational leadership, and what compels and sustains women throughout their leadership journeys.

by Jacinta Calzada-Mayronne @drcalzy

I don’t believe in impostor syndrome. What is impostor syndrome? Impostor syndrome is defined as 'an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context' (Cuncic, 2020).