Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

I read an interesting post by Lance Wiggs yesterday called the Grandmother effect is starting for facebook. For which, as I understood it, the basic premise was in reference to an earlier prediction of his:-

It’s very hard to predict what and when social networks will succeed and fail, but there is probably a simple test to determine the point of failure—and it’s almost certainly related to the date that your mother joins the network.

This lead to some interesting comments and conversations and attempts to stereotype to which I responded:-

However you label us, those of us that have been on FB more than three years are pretty much “over it”.

My mum joined early 2010, in fact I signed her up & while I won’t be leaving, I now use FB primarily for social marketing purposes (work) rather than social (play).

“…more and more young people will begin to leave because the choice has become between having your information on Facebook or getting hired for a job…”

Integrity. [This is the point I shall return to]

While I understand the sentiment, that its either one or the other, I think it fails to recognise that FB has set the standard for a future in which (I predict) [online] networking will increasingly support Gen Y in their search for meaningful work – be it paid and/or unpaid.

Gazing into my crystal ball I see [online] networking will become more “we” less “me”. The future is one for connecting, sharing & collaborating for greater collective and social purpose.

Now apparently my lack of clarity about networking, from my very “online” perspective required  a lengthy response about: what networking is and what tools are available online and raised several points to which I have agreed to disagree.  That said,  I wanted to return to the issue of integrity.

Integrity, Credibility & Talent Profiles

Integrity is a founding personal and company value. In efforts to keep it simple we state that we value  INTEGRITY: “We keep our promises, treat people fairly and value open and honest communication.”

The only real danger we face in being on Facebook while looking for work is that it allows us to be judged in the act of being less than “professional”  which can impact our personal and professional credibility.

Being human, we have multiple sides to our personality.  Sometimes the personality caught on camera and shared online can be generally unflattering, misconstrued or taken out of context.  Unfortunately, the truth remains that first impressions or the wrong impressions can be difficult to overcome.

Here at Worknow, we provide tools to allow people to create online networking profiles on the basis of their talents, skills and work experience.  A testament to who you are,  in the work sense.

Without say, that unflattering photo -  me “on it” in the playground across the road to celebrate the arrival of a good friend from London – messing with our professional credibility.

Independence vs Collaboration

I will always value my independence and my ability to make things happen but in the past my strong willed independence was one of my greatest weaknesses. As a gifted young person, my attitude to achieving goals was always self determined, borderline egotistical and admittedly I believed that “…if you want something done right, do it yourself…”

However, in retrospect this philosophy perpetuated a self-delusion. It did not help me expand my talent and although I was nearly always (99.98%) able to achieve my desired outcome I now recognise that in being so “independent” I was isolating myself and limiting what could have otherwise been achieved through collaboration with others.

There were unique characteristics holding New Zealand’s [entrepreneurial] development back, such as reluctantance to look for help and build a team. Source

In Collaboration with Talented Other’s

Recognising that every single person has talents which can add value for myself and others is fundamental to the development of Worknow. Time Trade especially is designed to recognise and highlight the fact that we all have talents that are of value to each other and our communities.

Today’s networking tools have created an environment where communication, collaboration and coordination are becoming second nature. They need simply be applied in our real life communities to make it quicker and easier to get work done.

No longer limited by time or place or disadvantaged by the costs of travel, the concept of using networking tools to facilitate collaboration begins a paradigm shift in the way we think about and accomplish work.

Recognise Weakness; Work to your Strengths

Yet despite knowing and believing that I need the help of other’s I still sometimes lack the patience and skill to just listen and hear people out. Instead, I sometimes find myself, forming replies in my mind rather than actively listening.

So when a friend replied to a similar statement I made about myself with “…it’s good that you see that because I see it as one of your weaknesses…” and launched into a conversation about why and how I should change, I opted to just let him speak, I bit my tongue and I let him tell me things I already knew about myself (oh you noticed that did you, well done) and voila! I gained this insight:-

It will always be more important to recognise people on the basis of their talents rather than their weaknesses

On the topic of you, trust yourself.

Constructive criticism has its place but we could easily spend too much time attempting to overcome weakness that are simply the shadow of our strengths. We all have faults and in the main we probably recognise them. Doing something about them is not meant to be easy but a good place to begin is simply being conscious of them and making changes where we can.

If you focus too much on mitigating faults you lose time wherein you could be building upon your strengths. I may never stop that childish know-it-all voice that thinks “…I know what you’re saying….” but I can ignore it, hold my tongue and in hearing people out perhaps gain insight to help me expand my talents.