de Stricker

Speaking of Volunteering: A Sharing of the Wealth

Last night, I met with colleagues to deliver the second event in SLA Toronto Chapter's 5-event "Career Series" (http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/events/default.asp), focusing on corporate cultures and the "fit" we may or may not experience in them as a result of our individual work styles and talents. (In response to popular demand, the organizers have scheduled a repeat for May 5.)  One of the attendees was Bruce Harpham, a highly promising new professional who, at www.bruceharpham.ca, demonstrates volunteering in a creative way through expert deployment of "all the new tools". From the get-go he has joined the ranks of those who share discoveries and observations with time-starved colleagues, and I expect his diligent contribution to the profession to be reflected in his career.

After the session, the topic of SLA's upcoming annual - this year the 100th anniversary - conference in Washington DC (http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2009/index.cfm) came up in conversation.  It is a worrying concern for habitual conference goers - not to mention presenters - that overall, employer funding for professional events and training appears under pressure, limiting opportunities for some to interact in person with their colleagues across the world. The benefit of professional growth and value brought back to employer organizations in the form of new skills may not sway budget managers, and taking vacation days and footing personally the entire bill for attending a major conference may not be feasible.  (Ironically, I am presenting at the conference a Leadership & Management Division workshop on June 13 focused on business cases; it seems we need that polished business case for conference attendance in the first place.)

If the cost of in-person participation in an event in a major city is prohibitive, it is especially important for us all to get the most out of those "new tools" by networking, pointing to resources, asking questions, discovering how others have tackled a challenge, and so on.  In these interesting times, it is essential to reach out and share the wealth - the wealth of what we know and what we have to offer - with our colleagues. If you haven't already done so, now is a good time to set up that profile on LinkedIn and Twitter and to become an active contributor of comments to relevant blogs - or to follow Bruce's example and create a personal blog.  We'll discuss those and more options at the third event in the SLA Toronto Careeer series on September 8: "Self Promotion, No Cringe: Gaining Visibility Through Giving".

Volunteer: It's your Career

Volunteering has two sides:  Doing it ... and enticing others to do it.  For those who have already volunteered in many roles, the next step is encouraging others to follow suit.

I am pleased to refer to my colleague Cindy Romaine's blog post at http://testingintelligence.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/a-new-era-of-service/ where she explains her reasons for running for elected office in the Special Libraries Association.  The associated comments on her post support the volunteering spirit of "pay it forward".

Readers of my blog are familiar with my views on volunteering.  For newer readers and for those who may be counseling new professionals, let me emphasize the "what's not to love" part:

• You will have someone to guide you - say, a previous committee chair or a unit leader.  But if you don't for any reason - you have the freedom to move in new directions!

• You get to tackle typical or unforeseen projects.  (Recent example of the latter:  Too many signed up for an event - how can we accommodate the wait list in a second session - and what about the ones who can't make the second date?)

• You get to be in front of people who can put in a good word as references and of potential future employers.

• You get to strut your stuff comfortably until you are ready to take on a solo role.  Serving on a committee before you take on chairing one is a good way to begin.

• You get to put your accomplishments on your resume.

Volunteering is a stellar opportunity to grow professionally and to gain visibility.  Indeed, what is not to love?

Social Tools: Invest

The media coverage of the business uses of social tools such as Facebook and Twitter and their siblings, the number of spinoff web services offering various add-on enhancements, and related information is intense.  (It makes me remember the simple old days when a different corporate name was associated with "world domination".)  I participate in social networking tools (LinkedIn, Plaxo, and the two above named) because they are valuable, each in their own way, and because I believe any potential risks are easily outweighed by the advantages if prudence is applied.  But there's more to social tools domination.

Think back on the communication and information related tools and technologies we have used in our work and personal lives:  Each time something new was introduced, we adapted and got used to it and forgot how much work we thought it was to learn its ins and outs.  Nothing new here.  What may be new-ish is the shrinking time interval between the arrivals of new tools.  For those of us without assistance to monitor them and e.g. pump out posts and tweets on our behalf, the time investment seems to be climbing dramatically.  That investment is necessary because our social capital may depend on and benefit greatly from it.

Prominently at the conference mentioned in my last blog entry (and at every other conference I have the opportunity to attend), I see the personal "bookends" in the hallways and in the coffee shops: Long standing relationships between colleagues who have traveled the communication tool road for decades - and brand new relationships being formed right there in the event rooms or on the bus on the way to the gala event.  In both cases, those relationships now continue via Twitter/Facebook etc.

Our success as information professionals depends on our ability to forge and maintain trust-based relationships with our clients and stakeholders.  Existing relationships we can comfortably manage with established communication practices according to mutual preference.  As for the new generations of individuals we need to engage (who, we are told, do not regard email as a cool tool), we have been handed a new set of instruments - and although those instruments may seem awkward as work tools, they do prove themselves.  For example, 140 characters can give meaningful information with a couple of words and a URL or two. 

For anyone not already plunged into in the social tools I suggest: There's always the option of engaging someone to help out!

The Power of Association: Volunteer

Superbly created by Jocelyn Sheppard (redhouseconsulting.com) and her many volunteers, the recent annual meeting of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (aiip.org) gave AIIP members a powerful opportunity to connect and learn from each other.  I was privileged to speak there - see http://www.destricker.com/en/past_presentations.html for the March 27 slides.

The conference was so worthwhile, reinforcing my conviction that information professionals have everything to gain from participating actively in their chosen association.  Throughout - in the meeting rooms and at the conference events - I saw new professional relationships being formed. That is what an association is all about.  I encourage every information professional not already active in a professional association to step up and volunteer. 

Together, we accomplish what we cannot achieve alone.