May 30, 2008 | blog, leadership
Sometimes it’s good to just sit back and listen to the conversation around you. There are many voices out there, and many stories to be told by those voices. One of the best skills to have is the ability to listen.
It’s a hard skill to learn too. How often do we jump into a conversation, with the intent to add our experiences and perspectives? Its human nature to share, to participate, to interact. So it’s important to make sure that you take the time to listen to what people are saying.
The benefits of becoming a better listener are not simply limited to hearing what people have to say, it’s letting them to tell their stories in their own words. It’s the people and their stories that are important. Learning about them and what they need is how you can better offer services and products to them – if at all. After all, not everything we do, or service & products we offer are needed by everyone.
Taking the time to learn about people, their stories, their needs, concerns, and wishes help us build not only a better community, but a better understanding of what we can do to be a productive part of that community. All that can comes from listening.
Photo credit: JosephGilbert.org
May 10, 2008 | blog, leadership
Sometimes it’s hard to let go of what we do. What I mean is that it can be hard sharing everything that you know, and teach other people what your job entails. The natural reaction is to hang on to that knowledge, be the expert, the guru that can do it all.
However, are you getting any real new chances, or does everyone believe that because you’re too valuable doing what you’re doing that they don’t send opportunities in your direction? Holding on too tight to what you know can be detrimental to learning and growing. Sometimes it’ll keep you from being able to try new things.
Hand it over
In order to gain real traction to take advantage of new opportunities, you need to start offloading what you’ve been doing. It’s time to stretch yourself, challenge your skills with something outside your comfort zone. To do that, you’re going to need to have more time to focus and learn. You can’t do that holding onto what you do today. It’s time to start mentoring those that want your job.
Create Change
To get started, you’ll need to create an environment for this change. You have new habits to learn, and you should talk with your manager so they know what your plans are. Odds are your company already has much of this in place, it’s your job to step in and let them know that you’re interested in something new. By letting your managers know that you’re interested, and by doing things like sharing knowledge and cross training staff you show that your serious about it too.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work, and it takes time to get it done. However, it’s very rewarding to see people perk up at the opportunity to learn something new. They’ll be more receptive to your ideas and you’ll find interactions with co-workers be less stressful if you’re sharing.
Sharing
This is true of nearly every successful person. Sharing knowledge and enabling others to achieve their goals makes you a valuable person. More so than if you hang onto that guru-level knowledge, keeping it for yourself in a vain attempt to make you indispensable. Sharing makes you more valuable because it demonstrates your ability to learn new things and convey them to others – teaching. Over time, you also learn the art of delegation, how to distribute workload to associates tasked with assisting you. This allows you to focus on more forward looking work – the fun stuff.
So letting go of the control over the knowledge you’ve accumulated for your job can be beneficial. There are many variations and taking some leadership, organizational, interpersonal, and project management skills classes is a must to facilitate the change you’re looking for. Just don’t be afraid of sharing that hard-won knowledge. The rewards you reap for stepping out and taking the lead will be greater than staying where you were.
Photo credit: Radvixen
May 8, 2008 | blog
We live in age when anything is possible, at the touch of a button, or simply for the asking. The modern world is filled with tools and technologies that allow us to do amazing things. From communicating around the world in the blink of an eye, to reporting breaking news by the average person, to creating the perfect latte at home, our world makes things so easy.
It’s Easy
So if things are so easy, why are people not taking advantage of the tools and techniques available for networking themselves and building a better brand? Is the concept of reaching out to connect with like-minded or similarly skilled people that foreign to the average worker? Or is it the tools? Granted social networking and personal branding are not needed by everyone. Some people will, of course, simply shun the idea of publishing anything about themselves on the Internet, and they are welcome to that opinion.
However, if you’re at the foot of that corporate ladder looking up and wondering if it’s even worth it, you need to be thinking of how to position yourself properly. There are dozens if not hundreds of books on the topic that you can buy and use to build your brand. There is also a genuinely easy way to get started building the brand that is you. Be smart.
Beware the slip-up
With all the ways to interact and share your life online, sometimes it’s too easy to slip up. Whether you like using the pre-packaged social networks or you’re more of a DIY person and build your own. You need to make sure you are thinking about what people outside your social circle will see when they view your online presence. You’ve heard the stories of college beer parties being posted, or inside jokes traded with online buddies. These are some of the things that can be found months or years later.
So don’t let your reputation, your brand, be so easily tarnished by easy mistakes. Also, think about the tools you use to network. We are lucky to have so many tools at hand to build that brand and network. Choose the one(s) that best match your goals, message and style. Whatever you do, don’t hesitate to get started. Perversely, that is usually the most difficult step in the process.
Photo credit: spackletoe
Jan 11, 2008 | blog
Sometimes it’s hard to find the balance in things. Social media networking is one of these. It takes an enormous amount of effort and time to participate in the social fields, and this can conflict with our primary responsibility of our day jobs. You know, the one we get paid for? 😉
It’s hard, especially when you start to become part of the community. As you get to know the people you’re networking with, and as you have those “aha!” moments that redefine the value of a given social networking tool, it becomes more important to participate. But what of work? How do you stay connected with your online friends when you have limited or monitored access?
Or forget about access to your online social resources, how about the workload that you have? What about priorities? These may sound like ridiculous questions to some, but for those trying to forge a new career and life goals from social media, it is paramount.
I have no profound wisdom, and fewer hard-won examples to go with this question. I’ve only a few ideas that I’m working on in order to find my own way through this difficult portion of social media. Here are some of the ideas, tools, and techniques I’m trying, in order to help me GTD and still network.
- “Twitter Scope: down” Many fellow Twitters will recognize that one. Simply logging off the social tools we use is the best start. Schedule a time during the day to log in and check/update status.
- Reduce the number of sites/tools Another tip would be to reduce the number of social networking or social media sites that you visit or try to keep up with.
- Groom that RSS reader Seriously pare down the number of feeds you read. How many tech feeds do you have? How many times do you see the same post in each? ‘Nuf said. Find the bloggers and sites that simply adhere to your ideas, themes, beliefs, etc… and follow those. News is everywhere and easy to find. Intelligent posts that are relevant to you are not. For those Google Reader users out there, check out the Trends feature and use it to identify abandoned or otherwise seldom-updated feeds.
- GTD Find the organization tool that works for you. For many it’s the Seven Habits, or GTD that work wonders. For others, it’s a simple Moleskine, notebook, or other simple list. Maybe leadership training, or project management skills help drill in the needed organization lessons. Whatever it is, give it a try and stick with what works.
- Schedule Social Time Here is another simple but effective technique. Just like having a girls or boys night out – schedule your social networking time to fit your day. Breaks, lunch, before/after work. All these are simple to do, and your social network will adapt to your participation.
- Integrate If your employer or job permits, maybe you simply integrate your social networking with your job. Got your favorite email & IM client open all day? Why not have a good Twitter Client open all day as well? Leave yourself logged into Facebook for all the special interest groups. Use some time during the day and answer questions on LinkedIn. Keep it business focused, not “Saturday night” focused.
Obviously number 6 is for folks who work in an industry that has direct tie-ins to social networking or media in some way. There may also be some environments that simply don’t care what you do as long as you get the tasks you are responsible for done as expected. Kudos to those who do.
Now, I really want to learn more, because I’ve only mentioned the really obvious ones. What tips do you have? What other techniques and tools are there to help manage being an active social participant and not getting in trouble?
Jan 9, 2008 | blog
Every couple of months I “wake up” and realize that I’m in control. It always bothers me when I loose that perspective, and it happens much too easily. Having that moment of clarity, that realization, understanding what that means, is a powerful experience. It allows you to look past the moment and take a different long view of your inner goals than you normally would.
Keeping that perspective for more than a few minutes or hours, though, is quite hard. Life intervenes, whether at work or home, and we have to deal with the responsibilities at hand. But that is how it should be. Being able to leverage those powerful moments when everything is very clear, however, is the key.
Sometimes you can prepare for those moments by taking notes or jotting ideas down – keep a journal maybe. When those moments arrive, take advantage of the clarity and motivation. Pull out that notebook, journal, or the ideas swirling in the back of your mind. Think on them a bit, write down your conclusions and ideas if it helps, doing so can help to empower you later.
Perspectives are how we view the world, ourselves, and our place in the world. It also affects how we view opportunities. Without the right perspective, some opportunities might be right in front of us, and we’d never know it. Learning what enables those moments of clarity will help you leverage those times for you and your family. Watch for those moments, learn how to bring them about and turn them into your normal frame of mind.
Photo credit: Mark Reeves
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