By Adrian Manning - Capability, Strategy and Insights, APSC
Think about the last time you struck up a conversation with someone you didn't know well.
Maybe it was your neighbour, out front taking out the garbage. Or the barista who asked how your morning was going. Or running into someone at the supermarket and doing that slightly awkward ‘oh hi - what have you been up to?’ dance.
Most of us don't think of those moments as engagement skills. We just call them everyday life.
But those small, everyday interactions? They are engagement. And the instincts we bring to them - warmth, curiosity, a willingness to connect - are the same instincts that build great professional partnerships.
We already know how to do this. We just sometimes forget to bring it with us to work.
The awkward start is part of it.
Let's be honest: the beginning is often uncomfortable and at times awkward.
The first conversation with a new neighbour. The first time you speak up in a room full of people you don't know. That moment where you're not quite sure what to say next.
That discomfort isn't a sign something has gone wrong. It's just the starting point.
We (us humans) are wired to check a space is safe before they open up. Once we get a signal - a genuine question, a shared laugh, someone treating our contribution as worthwhile - the barricades come down quickly. The first interaction doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to happen.
The journey looks familiar.
In everyday life, relationships don't go from stranger to trusted partner overnight. They build - through small, repeated moments of connection.
The same is true in professional communities. Take the APS L&D Community of Practice - one of the largest communities of practice on GovTeams, connecting L&D practitioners right across the service.
The journey often starts simply:
You attend an online meeting. Camera off, listening in. Just getting a feel for the room - like standing at the edge of a neighbourhood gathering.
You try Coffee Roulette. A random match, a 20-minute conversation with someone from a different agency. A little awkward at first, then surprisingly good.
You contribute to a discussion. A comment, a question, a resource you share because it helped you. Small, but it matters.
You present your work. You share what you've been doing - what worked, what didn't - and the room responds with interest, not judgement.
You help host an event. Now you're part of the fabric. You're the person who makes others feel welcome at the door.
That arc - from observer to contributor to co-creator - is the same arc as any good relationship.
The opportunity is bigger than one CoP.
Getting involved in a community of practice is one of the most practical ways to grow as an L&D professional. You build skills, broaden your thinking, and develop a network that stretches well beyond your own agency.
And the L&D CoP is just one avenue. The APS L&D CoP connects learning and development professionals across agencies to share tools, ideas and good practice, strengthening capability, collaboration and innovation in workforce learning.
Across the APS, you can see it in action everywhere: in the APS professions bringing practitioners together around shared disciplines; in co-designed learning with agencies, helping deliver great policy outcomes; in partnerships with academia producing microcredentials that are practical and relevant; and in resources like the Learning Bank, where practitioners share what works so others don't have to start from scratch.
The ecosystem is rich. The people are generous. The door is open.
Your challenge: reach out deliberately.
So, here's the question: who will you reach out to first?
Someone in your agency whose work connects with yours, but you've never spoken to. An L&D practitioner in another department. A presenter from a CoP session whose idea stuck with you.
You don't need a formal agenda. Just curiosity and a willingness to start - probably with a slightly awkward opening line.
Partnership doesn't wait for a structure. It starts with a conversation.
You already know how to do this.
The APS L&D Community of Practice is hosted on GovTeams and is open to L&D practitioners across the Australian public service. Subscribe by completing this form.