Six lessons about connection from a karaoke night out
According to an exploratory study on employee silence, employees stay tight-lipped about problems and issues at work because they’re fearful of being viewed negatively and they’re concerned about the knock-on effects this will have on their relationships at work. And just as I thought I might die of embarrassment from singing on stage, the research showed employees are genuinely fearful of their career prospects suffering as a result of speaking up.
The rules of civility and decent behaviour in social media. AKA what would George Washington do?
There’s still plenty of value in social media engagement, but it’s up to us to behave like decent, empathetic human beings in the process. Here’s my take of a selection of George Washington’s Rules of Civility to guide your thinking about the insights you want to share, finding your voice and nailing what you want to be known for in the social world.
Make good technology choices. But put people first in the digital workplace
Just like an all-you-can-eat dessert bar, tech vendors are tempting us with the alluring promise we’ll enjoy eating their sweet treats. The irony of the march into the digital age is the further we go, the more we realise being ‘digital’ isn’t about teaching people how to use tools. Instead, the main game is helping people get into the right headspace to want to try new ways of working.
Why we eat broccoli and how to avoid enterprise social indigestion
It took an awfully long time for my children to learn to eat broccoli. It was put in front of them many, many times and the dietary benefits of it explained. After a while, eating it became habitual. This is the landscape we face when it comes to the use of social technologies in our organisations. We must help our people learn to eat ‘broccoli’ by helping them work out loud and share what they know in social channels.
Don’t be a passenger. Get in the driver’s seat with social
Managing your social media is just like being in a car. If you stay in the passenger seat, you’re at the mercy of the driver. The only way to truly stay in control and manage your impact and influence in social is to jump in the driver’s seat.
Don't be nice, ladies. Be social
Women have been conditioned to think being visible in social media is not a ‘nice’ thing to do. With this kind of negative self-talk going on, it’s no wonder there are still many women who haven’t considered using social to help themselves progress, personally or professionally.
Weight training and finding your enterprise social muscles
Building your enterprise social muscles plays out in the same way as it does with weight training in the gym. Once you make the leap and use social at work in more purposeful ways, you’ll get a bigger benefit from it.
Losing control and other myths about enterprise social networking
If you’re not already using social media or your organisation doesn’t value it, taking a leap into enterprise social could feel like jumping out of a plane for the first time. Exciting and terrifying.