An answer from Rus Slater to a previous question got me thinking about my motivation to contribute as a corporate training manager with nothing to promote or sell. Here are my initial thoughts:
1. Many of the questions and subsequent contributions get me thinking, which is a good thing. So if I want the flow of provocations to continue, adding my own sparks may help?
2. Often a debate on the forum helps to rehearse a conversation that I end up having in my company. The range and depth of knowledge expressed on any topic can be extremely complete and bring in many perspectives which are useful when dealing with folk in my own company. As more perspectives are expressed the final “picture” produced may become richer, more colourful and more helpful.
3. I have worked with lots of people over many years with training, coaching and other various organisational titles covering change, process engineering etc.
I have countless exercises, techniques and session plans and I often forget some of the more distant examples or more commonly what folder I filed then in?
When a question pops up on the forum I remember I have something that may help and I often re-find something I used to use a lot.
I am definitely in the "what goes around comes around” camp and so will freely chare with anyone who has a need.
I have found all the recipients on TZ to be very polite and helpful providing feedback about the materials offered adn if they have been helpful. This then provides me with a new resource i.e. one I had forgotten about and will not use as I focus on it a-fresh.
4. Sometimes the person who requested assistance and I work together on an existing resource reshaping it into a new one or providing a new frame for which it can be used so it is definitely a two-way benefit.
These are my initial thoughts. Maybe some of them may encourage a few others to take part and realise some of the benefits that can come from contributing.
Cheers.
Nick Hindley
4 Responses
Pro Pragmatism
I thought we had comprehensively addressed this issue in the previous thread. ie. people will contribute if they want to.
Lets not forget that there are also benefits to non contribution
1. Increased time to focus on the things you are meant/want to be doing.
2. Increased focus, the problem with the web in general is the tendancy to sidetrack you into all sorts of areas that you didnt intend to go into when you first started exploring/contributing.
3. Ability to benchmark yourself and understand that you many indeed have nothing to contribute and others have more knowledge/skills on the subject.
4. Abilty to gain perspective and realise there are subjects that one simply isnt interested in contributing despite them being in the broad remit of L&D. For example I read the BBC news website daily but dont feel compelled to contribute to the forum debates on issues in the Gaza strip.
5. The internet is wide and diverse, we got along fine before it was here, do we really need to be chatting to each other about anything and everything all the time? Face to face is a far more powerful medium, written communications (with a max word limit) has its limitations.
6. Having been in the ‘what goes around come around camp’ after a while one realises that one gives far more than one receives and one only learns from a few other members who have greater knowledge/skills than oneself. With time the satisfaction of altruism is tempered with the realism that the WIIFM equation isnt equitable and one isnt getting enough back for one’s altruism. Having said that that’s exactly what altruism is an unequal selfless act. My suggestion is that one can only do this for so long before one starts to question the WIIFM balance.
I’m not anti-altruism, I’m simply pro-pragmatism.
You may find this related thread and its research interesting https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=157779
Pragmatism yes, with some positivity please?
Juliet, quite a come back, I am not sure that there ever is an end to this debate and to prove one point, your comments were very catalytic and so to each point an alternative thought:
1 – Effective people will make time to what they need to do and what they want to do. My point about effective rehearsal means I save time almost ever week in having more refined solutions at my finger tips. This rather depends on you frame for the forum – a drain of your time and thoughts or a potential source of inspiration and ideas?
2 – Effective people etc. This is also another question of how you frame this – is finding an unexpected site of interest a dead end or a potential source of new ideas?
I can hear the religious folk from a few hundred years ago saying to their merchant sailors – ”don’t go chasing these explorer types near the flat edge of the world as no good will come of it, stay focused on your trading mission!
3 – I feel that in order to benchmark I need feedback. It might be too easy to just look in and convince myself that I am OK? So I put some ideas in and see what I get back?
4 – I also look at the BBC site which is excellent. As my background, qualifications and experience are not in world politics I leave these matters to world politicians and the journalists.
I do have background, qualifications and experience in training and development and still feel that I have just started to learn about many of the elements that arise each day. This is why I love to see the reactions and comments from fellow travellers.
5 – I am not sure that the folk of Burma would agree with the pre web comment? I am certainly not suggesting that we all “chat about anything and everything all of the time”.
Let’s stick to training and development of which there are, for me, a seemingly infinite number of dilemmas to tackle.
Face to face meetings would be excellent. TZ should have a get together for which I would definitely find the time to attend.
6. I have described the real benefits I get from the exchanges on TZ. Perhaps this is a WIIFM? If you believe that you have all the resources you need to be successful giving some away is a positive act.
With positivity, trust and mutual respect who knows what can be achieved?
Cheers.
Pragmatism aint negative, it just is.
1 a drain of your time and thoughts or a potential source of inspiration and ideas?
>>>>Sure, but one doesnt need to contribute posts to achieve this.
2 unexpected site of interest a dead end or a potential source of new ideas?
>>>>Sure, but one doesnt need to contribute to posts to achieve this.
3 It might be too easy to just look in and convince myself that I am OK? So I put some ideas in and see what I get back?
>>>>Sure, but one doesnt need to contribute to achieve this.
4 – I also look at the BBC site which is excellent. As my background, qualifications and experience are not in world politics I leave these matters to world politicians and the journalists.
>>>>My point exactly, we aren’t all subject matter experts, and one doesnt need to contribute to achieve this.
5 – I am not sure that the folk of Burma would agree with the pre web comment? I am certainly not suggesting that we all “chat about anything and everything all of the time”.
Let’s stick to training and development of which there are, for me, a seemingly infinite number of dilemmas to tackle.
>>>I disagree, we aren’t all interested in an infinite number of dilemmas, we dont deal with them all daily/if ever.
6. I have described the real benefits I get from the exchanges on TZ. Perhaps this is a WIIFM? If you believe that you have all the resources you need to be successful giving some away is a positive act.
With positivity, trust and mutual respect who knows what can be achieved?
>>>But we dont all want to achieve the same goals. Just because this is an instant medium it doesn’t mean we all approach it with a shared enthusiam to click ‘reply’ instantly every time we read a posting.
Agreement
I agree with all of Julietfs points:
You do not need to contribute posts to identify a potential source of inspiration and ideas. ã
You do not need to contribute posts to find a potential source of new ideas. ã
You do not need to contribute posts to receive feedback. ã
You do not need to contribute posts to become a subject matter expert. ã
We are not all interested in an infinite number of dilemmas and we donft deal with them all daily/if ever (what a relief). ã
We donft all want to achieve the same goals (thank goodness). Just because this is an instant medium it doesn’t mean we all approach it with a shared enthusiasm to click ‘reply’ instantly every time we read a posting (but to have the choice is a privilage). ã
The fact that there is the possibility of finding inspiration, new sources of ideas, feedback, becoming more informed, tackling the odd dilemma and getting enthusiastic with others on things we do have a common interest in is, I believe, a remarkable opportunity.
Right and wrong are situational.
In the appropriate situation, nothing is wrong.
Without the appropriate situation, nothing is right.
What is right in one case is not what is right in another;
What is wrong in one case is not what is wrong in another.
(Anon Chinese)
In the absence of right or wrong we do our best to learn. (Hindley 2000)