4. Case study Lin attends a professional development workshop that runs for two full days in the city. She is from a small country service with limited resources and support available to her. She feels quite lost when she enters the group, as everyone seems to know each other and they are standing around in small groups talking. Once the presenter of the session arrives and asks everyone to take a seat, Lin shuffles quietly to the back row and sits to the side leaving a space between herself and the next person. Throughout the morning, the moderator asks many questions to allow the participants to provide examples of ways they currently implement practices within their services. Lin feels she may say the wrong thing or ask a silly question, so she says nothing and keeps her attention on the moderator. During the morning break, Lin uses the bathroom and takes time making a coffee. She pretends to be busy writing some notes until the group returns. At the end of the session, Lin leaves hurriedly.

4.1 What could Lin have done differently when attending the professional development seminar to develop her professional network?

4.2 Provide the details of some professional network that help an employee to build relationships. Explain how an informal network can support your professional practice.