Behind every successful stylist, there's years and years of education. Even after beauty school, continuing education is the key to full appointment books, happier stylists and truly satisfied clients. Beyond her own training, Kate Reid, COLOR.ME by Kevin Murphy Global Design and Education Director, decided to take things one step further and become an educator herself. Today, Reid is a global force in the hair industry as a colorist, educator and influencer. Here, she shares how the decision to become an educator impacted her life both personally and professionally.
1. Education has really helped me to better engage, embrace learning styles, and enhance lives, instead of spewing information clouds.
2. Everything I do starts with my main objective in mind. I weigh the tasks at hand by considering the impact vs the time needed to complete it. Based on this, I decide whether it is a beneficial use of my time and serves towards the greater good.
3. Teaching has helped me keep an open mind and break down my thought process in simplified way. It gives me a clearer understanding of my creative purpose through everything I do and why I do it.
4. Creating a better relationship and strong rapport with students establishes trusting and mentally open relationships. The youth inspires me constantly with uncontrived ideas.
5. Showing a technique, concept, or idea that opens eyes to new possibilities allows me to think on my feet and find a deeper connection with everyone I teach.
6. The call for high achievement is only useful when it is beneficial. In certain situations I am a perfectionist and frequently want to tweak and make progress as I gain more knowledge. However, my need to continuously change kept me from finishing a project and frustrated the people around me. Being an educator has taught me when being a perfectionist can be essential and when it can’t. Ultimately, finishing an assignment and moving on to the next, achieves more results.
"To be excellent at anything takes discipline, drive, commitment, patience and most of all, confidence," Reid says. "For me, being creative is all about keeping your mind open to see the magic in things that you haven’t seen before. Being in the hair industry for 21 years means you have witnessed a great deal. As a consequence, you can be fast to make decisions and sometimes miss something that is dynamic or innovative," she adds. "Educating younger students is a dream because they don’t have set ideas and are open to endless possibilities. Not to mention, they have fresh eyes and are very adaptive to change.”