Thursday, August 16, 2012

I Wanna Be Somebody

I've been thinking a lot about professional responsibility lately. In particular, my responsibility to give back to those who are up and coming in the world of business (any business.) Yes, I work closely with the team that reports to me, but I'm not necessarily thinking about HR.

What? More Work?
One of the common...uh, I mean, my misperceptions about giving back is that I'm too busy. Really? Were the people that helped me out sitting around with their feet up? Of course not. The reason they made an impression on me was that they were productive, professional, and yes - busy. Hmmm.

Figuring This Out
Whether it's a formal mentor/mentee relationship, providing support to a new manager, or even connecting with a graduate student, the burden is not nearly what you or I might think. As the world of work continues to change so dramatically, it is incumbent upon us to help new and aspiring leaders understand this new world.

Networking Works Two Ways
Networking is a word that gets plenty of buzz lately, primarily because the methods used to effectively network have evolved so much with the introduction of social tools.

Connecting with a potential mentee, and candidly discussing how to use social tools to network is not only a great discussion topic; but it also helps those of us who are very good at having birthdays to appreciate a younger person's view on this topic as well.

How About You
Are you helping any one out right now? Maybe a new leader in your organization or student in your community could use your guidance? Or, perhaps you're just too busy doing all the things your mentor used to do between sessions with you.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



photo credit

2 comments:

  1. networking is one thing. connecting is another. those people who have made a difference in my career (and life) stay connected, close to me, and...yes...sacrifice their time for me. thanks for the reminder.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks very much for the comment Charlie. I agree...it's much more than netorking in the grand scheme of things.

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