Monday, June 16, 2008

Blogs and Other new Ideas are for Whom?

Several weekends ago, after periodic whining from my 8 year old son who claimed boredom, and me, hot off the trail of my Web 2.0 seminar, had a brilliant idea! Put your love of baseball and constant chatter about it to good use - create a baseball news blog. What? We both thought at the same time - was I suggesting to an 8 year old?

Now, after 2 weeks of blogging, I see the wisdom of my suggestion. He is focused, interested, productive, and learning, on his own, regularly. As he reports baseball happenings with personal commentary, he is writing, reading, and editing his work. What joy this brings to me; he's learning and having fun!

So how does this relate to you? I'm thinking about those employees who need something they can call their own. Sometimes, putting the cart before the horse can work. Give your staff an opportunity to show what they know, to step outside of yours and theirs usual comfort zone - take a chance, make a change. If you show a person you believe in their abilities and give them something to call their own, they may prove themselves a leader, an innovator, or an initiator. Sometimes, we look to far a field to solve internal issues or challenges. Is it possible that what needs to get done can be internally outsourced? Can you delegate some of the issues on your current plate to others? This means allowing grass roots efforts to percolate and grow - go with the flow and let others show the way. You may find your staff (and you) are learning and putting new learning and knowledge to work in ways you hadn't thought of before.

Remember to identify opportunities, to create an environment where allowing others to step up to the plate is possible. We all feel successful and satisfied when we accomplish something new, or something outside of our norm, and rising to this challenge provides learning and often is fun.

Ruth

http://www.knowledgeadvantage.biz