Volunteering Provides Professional Development Opportunities

When did you last hear of an organization sending its info pro off to the Wharton Executive MBA program, or any other advanced management training program for that matter? Has it ever been done? If so, I've not heard about it. So who's looking after the professional development of our information professionals? It is my observation that most info pros are either solo or tucked into an organizational corner where professional needs are little understood. For their own good and the good of their enterprise, info pros would do well to take matters into their own hands.

First a word on why we care. With a strong understanding of how businesses work and how leaders function within an organization, the info pro can deliver the highest value and return on investment. Business acumen leads to better decisions for the info pro and the enterprise.

So what skills and training do we need? Consider project management, strategic planning, budgeting, event planning, team leadership, and negotiation skills as core competencies for working within most organizations.

If you're not going to the Wharton School for an Executive MBA, how about volunteering within your professional association. This strategy has long been advocated as a means to network and make valuable contacts with professional colleagues. It is also an extremely effective way to learn the above mentioned skills while working with seasoned leaders within the association.

Think about the professional or non-profit organizations you are a part of. Think about how the routine activities of most organizations lend themselves to leadership and management training: coordinating a newsletter or blog; developing or updating a strategic plan; serving as treasurer or on the finance committee; planning programs or annual meetings or seminars; serving on the governing board; chairing a committee and managing the people on your team; negotiating priorities among the members or a contract with a caterer. These activities all advance the goals of the organization while providing the volunteers with valuable training.

A good organization will have the depth of leadership and experience to provide role models and mentors to those willing to volunteer and learn. I can say from my own experience that volunteering in professional and other non-profit organizations has provided more leadership and management training than I could have ever predicted, and it has served me well in the business environment.

Take matters into your own hands. Go forth and volunteer!

Time to Build Your Network

During these times of economic uncertainty there is activity more important than networking. Now is a great time to build new relationships and nurture your existing relationships.

The easiest way I now to build your network is to become active in the professional organizations where your colleagues and prospective clients 'hang out.' Don't just join the organization (professional association, trade association, service organization, etc.) but volunteer. Demonstrate your business or management skills by serving on a committee or leading a program. Contact the president or a committee chair to discover what kind of help is needed. You will painlessly build your network and make valuable connections by volunteering.

Make it a point each day to contact someone in your professional network. Call a client to check in, post to a discussion list, or e-mail a colleague. Update your LinkedIn, Plaxo, or Jigsaw posting, and if you don't have a listing in any of those databases, get one post haste!

It's true what they say - it's not what you know, it's who you know.

It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know

At one time I found this unsettling. It seems wrong that connections could be more important than knowledge, skills, or capabilities. Well, think of it this way - what good are knowledge, skills, or capabilities without connections? Who will use your knowledge, tell others about your skills, or benefit from your capabilities?

The info biz is about nothing if not networking. At some level it's not even about the information, it's about putting the information into the hands of the people who need it. Having a robust network increases the odds of making this happen.

So, what are some options for growing and sustaining your network? For face-to-face relationship building, it's hard to beat the professional associations. You can join those related to your profession (in my case that's AIIP and SLA) or to the industry of your market. The local chamber of commerce or a service club such as Rotary are other options. Of course once you join you will want to volunteer on a committee, write for the association publication, or speak at association events in order to increase your visibility and build deeper relationships.

If you work inside of an organization, be sure to follow the same advice. Raise your profile and make yourself known by volunteering. Getting to know people beyond that casual "hi" in the halls will immediately expand your sphere of influence.

For virtual networks there are a number of options. Some have been discussed in this blog before. Be sure to explore LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook to see if they have potential for you.

For more on networking visit Bootstrapper's 75+ Tips on Becoming a Better Networker, AARP's Value of Networking, and from Searcher Magazine, Online Social Networks, Virtual Communities, and Information Professionals by Reid and Gray.

Remember, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Who do you know?

Are You LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has appeared on my radar screen three times in the last three days. I take that as a sign.

Recall that LinkedIn is a social networking tool. If memory serves, I believe it was originally marketed as a recruiting site for headhunters. Individuals can create and post a LinkedIn profile that includes biographical and contact info. The Web site states that "LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries."

According to the The Economist, (radar screen appearance #1), LinkedIn is the "Facebook for suits." Gotta love that description. Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn to manage his own network of business contacts. The Economist points out that a "big chunk" of company revenues comes from headhunters and companies who pay to search the database and contact members. The article points out that LinkedIn is benefiting from the upheaval in the financial markets as users step up networking and job-hunting activities.

An association discussion list that I subscribe to recently addressed the topic of Web site development (radar screen appearance #2). A clever colleague pointed out that a short term alternative to a fully developed Web site is to register a domain name and use URL forwarding to point to a LinkedIn profile. Pretty cool, huh? By the way, this clever colleague is writing a book on matters of Web site development. When it's available I'll let you know.

LinkedIn can also be used as a research tool for finding and using information. FUMSI (radar screen appearance #3) recently ran an article by prolific author and extremely knowledgeable researcher Amelia Kassel on using LinkedIn as a research tool. Kassel explains why and how to search LinkedIn, concluding that "Info pros will want to use LinkedIn similarly to other databases for finding answers to a range of questions."

Sounds as though LinkedIn should be on every info pro's radar screen.

Professional Associations - Do You Belong?

Do you work in the info biz? Do you belong to an appropriate professional association? If not, why not? Your comments are welcome and encouraged.

I belong to the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) and to Special Libraries Association (SLA). There are many, many reasons why I belong to these two associations, but the reason du jour is professional development. Today, without leaving my office, I had the opportunity to watch a web based, information packed training session delivered by Ed Vawter, AIIP President and founder of QD Information Services. Ed discussed using podcasts as a source of information for research. Since the vendor was experiencing audio trouble, Ed is going to offer a encore presentation next month, so those who missed it today will get a second chance.

SLA is offering a program called 23 Things. Participants become familiar with wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, picture sharing, podcasting, tagging, RSS feeds and much, much more through actual hands on practice. When proprietary software is required SLA makes it available, so everyone can participate. And, it's free with the SLA membership.

We info pros need to stay a step or two ahead of our clients, and associations such as AIIP and SLA make that possible. Do you belong?

Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site for storing URLs on the web. Advantages of doing this include easy accessibility from wherever you are (since it's a Web based tool) and tagging. In this case tagging means adding descriptions or terms to your bookmark entries so that you can later search and sort your bookmarks based on the term you have assigned.

Using Del.icio.us requires registration (easy enough) and the installation of two buttons on your Internet browser toolbar. Del.icio.us makes this easy with very clear instructions, however, in the process I found that the Firefox extensions currently available on the Del.icio.us Web site are not compatible with Firefox 3.0. I'm sure the extension creators will catch up, but in the meantime just use the drag and drop method to put the necessary buttons on your toolbar.

To find other interesting blogs, go to Del.icio.us and enter your the word blog plus subject word in the search box. Blog quilting yielded 337 hits!