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Lessons From a Free-Range Learning Community #TChat Recap

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“What motivates dozens, thousands, even millions of people to come together on the Internet and commit their time to a project for free?”

That’s a good question! It was posed by a brilliant professor (Clay Shirky) in a fascinating “TED Radio Hour” program on NPR called, “Why We Collaborate.”

I suppose occasionally all of us who participate in TalentCulture #TChat events ask ourselves that same question. But this week, we didn’t need experts to tell us why.

Crowdsourcing: It Takes a Village

If you ask our founder, Meghan Biro, she would say that the #TChat hashtag is a living metaphor for the social workplace — a virtual gathering place for purposeful knowledge sharing and co-creation. And this week, our purpose was two-fold:

1) To gather input for a new “Resources” section on this site;
2) To capture feedback that will help us map topics for future #TChat Events.

In other words, in the spirit of Dorie Clark’s recent “Reinventing You” 360 brand review advice, it was an ideal time for a reality check from our trusted community members. So, rather than inviting a special guest to share expertise, we tapped into our crowdsourcing roots, asking for your thoughts. And, of course, you blew our minds with thousands of comments and recommendations! (See highlights in the Storify slideshow below.)

But Wait, There’s More

Now we have a rich “starter” collection of reference ideas and guidance for #TChat planning. And unexpectedly, we’ve learned something else — how much our participants value the community relationships they’ve developed, over time. I think Steve Levy and Dave Ryan said it best:

If the medium is the message, then at #TChat, the connections are the content! Thanks to each of you for generously participating, so that together, we are better, indeed.

#TChat Week in Review: Sources of Insight

SAT 7/20

TimM_WhatInspiresYou #TChat

Watch Tim’s sneak peek Hangout now

#TChat Preview: Our Community Manager, Tim McDonald, introduced this week’s topic by sharing a slice of his own life in a great G+ Hangout video. See “Where Do You Find Ideas and Insight — and Why?

WED 7/24

#TChat Twitter: A diverse crowd of participants hopped on the Twitter stream, as social learning expert, Dr. Nancy Rubin led us through questions designed to capture “best of…” ideas, from books and blogs, to helpful tools and thought leaders who are active on social media. For a taste of the action, watch the slideshow below:

#TChat Twitter Highlights: “Where Do You Find Ideas And Insight — And Why?”

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-where-do-you-find-ideas-and-insigh.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about your experience as a community member or your favorite “go to” resources? We’d love to share your thoughts. Post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week at #TChat events, we’ll continue our crowdsourcing discussion with special guest Nick Kellet of Listly fame. Check for details in a preview post this weekend.

In the meantime, the World of Work conversation continues each day. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned website. The gears are always turning at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

See you on the stream!

Image Credit: Pixabay

Magnetic Cultures and Twitter Chats — The Latest #TChat Recap

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Talk about a magnetic culture.

At least in the context of online Twitter Chats in 140 characters or less of reciprocal conversation and idea exchange — we’ve got a winner.

My fearless culture cohort in crime, TalentCulture founder Meghan M. Biro, and I started #TChat back on November 16, 2010, and have now hosted four forums.

The latest titled The Workplace Culture Audit:  Building a Magnetic Company Culture and Recruiting the Best Talent was our biggest yet.

Check out the stats here — over 250 contributors last night alone sharing over 2,000 tweets.

Our good friend Eric Leist, an Emerging Technology Strategist with Allen & Gerristen, wrote about Twitter chat madness this week.

Let’s get back to last night’s topic, though.  Meghan’s forte is company culture and here are some of her thoughts on the subject:

Companies faced with retaining their most important asset – employees = people – should focus on creating a workplace culture that accommodates not only the organization’s need to meet business objectives, but also what resonates with an employees’ need to see themselves as a key partner in the organization’s success. Let’s ensure people feel valued and respected in this equation at all levels in the organization.

 

Workplace culture is so much more than a mission statement or having a cool ping pong table for breaks or sharing free sodas in the refrigerator (these perks matter of course). It’s a powerful metaphor for the workplace that allows employees to compellingly describe where they work, what the business does, and what its value is to customers. Companies successful in creating a unique and compelling workplace culture will have much more success attracting and retaining talented people who experience ‘culture fit’ with the company.  It’s so important and often overlooked.

Right on the money.  If you don’t have a workplace culture that attracts and retains quality talent, that gets most of them excited about the why of do and not just the what, then your days in business may be numbered.

I say “may be” because cultural wasteland firms can still produce a product and/or service the market wants and be awash in huge profits.  You know, like banking, investment and financial services firms.  (Did I just write that?  Please, no e-mails or phone calls.)  Magnetic culture and business can be mutually exclusive but are oh so much better together.

Magnetic culture is organic, and although leaders help to spark it, fanning the flames comes from inside.

You can read more from Meghan on culture at Culture Brand: Create Magical Distinction to Attract the Very Best Talent.

Here were the questions from last night’s #TChat:

  • Q1: How do you define company culture and what makes it magnetic?
  • Q2: Why aren’t happy hour Fridays, flex time and nap couches enough for a magnetic company culture?
  • Q3: Why is culture a key determinant in attracting and retaining talent?
  • Q4: What constitutes fair compensation including benefits and how does that affect culture?
  • Q5: Do your talent objectives align with the business objectives?  Vice-versa?
  • Q6: How can employers make employee training/career development a priority and give culture more meaning?
  • Q7: Does “open” communication exist in your company? What does this term mean to you?
  • Q8: Why or why not is it important to have an emotionally intelligent company?
  • Q9: How are you challenging your employees (good or bad)? How is your employer challenging you?
  • Q10: How important is it for your personal values to match those of the company?  Vice-versa?

The caliber of attendees and their answers was outstanding.  Smart and savvy folk.  You can see a sampling below or search hashtag #TChat stream to read more.

A very special thanks to Monster Thinking for their support and partnership.  @monster_works and @MonsterWW will be joining the #TChat conversation live every Tuesday night with from 8-9 PM ET, 7-8 PM CT, 6-7 PM MT, and 5-6 PM PT.

We also welcome global input and hope you can join from wherever you might be. We certainly want to hear from you. We are committed to creating educational content and social community here at the Culture of Talent. Learning is continuous here and we are nothing without people. People (AKA: human capital) are the most valuable asset to any organization or community.

Thank you all again for joining us!  More #TChat next Tuesday, December 21, 2010 — The Very, Merry Cheddar edition.  I have no idea what that means, but be there.

Monster is Thinking + Join our #TChat Community

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Could this be any cooler or what?

What I mean is having MonsterThinking as a #TChat co-host and brand ambassador. That’s very cool. The Monster social media team supports the effort behind #TChat and our TalentCulture mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”

The MonsterThinking blog explores the complex world of work and is more than just their tagline; it’s their mission. I always enjoy spending time with their talented team members at social media and career/workplace events and have personally known this company for many years and phases of their workplace culture.

I’m honored to have them on board with us. And of course, finding innovative ways to connect job seekers with the employers looking for them is what Monster’s all about. How can we not love this community of people?

@monster_works and @MonsterWW will be joining the #TChat conversation live every Tuesday night with from 8-9 PM ET, 7-8 PM CT, 6-7 PM MT, and 5-6 PM PT. We also welcome global input and hope you can join from wherever you might be. We certainly want to hear from you. We are committed to creating educational content and social community here at the Culture of Talent. Learning is continuous here and we are nothing without people. People (AKA: human capital) are the most valuable asset to any organization or community.

Read more from MonsterThinking on tonight’s #TChat topic. The Workplace Culture Audit: Steps To Building a Magnetic Company Culture and Recruiting the Best Talent.

We will see you tonight and look forward to a new 2011 jam packed with opportunity to learn and grow! Thank you for engaging with us on this channel.

Join @TalentCulture: #TChat on Tuesday

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Sure there are a lot of Twitter Chats you could participate in.

But there isn’t one that I’m aware of that intersects Talent + Culture, where you’ll find:

  • People who are inspired by incredible individuals driving organizations and creating dramatic change.
  • Brands that are humanizing themselves as layers of hierarchy yield to emotionally-connected leaders.
  • Innovative expertise which catalyzes transformational growth online and in real life.

At the intersection of Talent + Culture, you’re all welcomed for your like-mindedness and celebrated for your unique thinking.

At the intersection of Talent + Culture, you’re all right here.

Our community.  Your community.  The TalentCulture Community.

We welcome you all to join us for our new Twitter Chat called #TChat.  The first one will be this Tuesday, November 16, from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET where we’re going to discuss Emotional Intelligence and the importance of assessing it and developing it, which for us, is everything that makes a best place to work – the best talent (people) and the best workplace culture.

Discussing the intersection of Talent and Culture.  We consider all the things that make a best place to work, individual career growth, and social community development — ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.  This includes all areas of HR, recruiting, career coaching, training and development, leadership development, product/service development, business development, ideation, marketing, social media, and much more.  We also explore engagement, creativity, innovation and collaboration between businesses, employees, and social communities.  It’s an open forum, so anyone interested is welcome.  Be ready for a lively discussion and bring your best place to work ideas!

Based on recent research, the difference between those who reach their full potential in the workplace and in life, and those who do not, is their degree of emotional intelligence (EI), or “people skills”.

These people skills (your EI) encompass:

  • An awareness of your own emotions,
  • An awareness of emotions in others,
  • An understanding of these emotions,
  • And the ability to manage your own emotions and the emotions of others.

However, according to recent research, 75% of the reasons careers get derailed are EI-related:

  • Unsatisfactory leadership across all levels during challenging times.
  • Inability to handle interpersonal issues.
  • Inability to adapt to change.
  • Inability to elicit trust.

Without question, successful leaders to individual contributors must possess business acumen along with industry knowledge and organizational insight. But the quality that separates the most successful leaders from their peers is emotional intelligence—the ability to understand, manage and respond effectively to one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.

In fact, research has confirmed that emotionally intelligent employees and leaders are indeed more successful than their less emotionally intelligent peers.  So are their companies.

At PepsiCo, for example, executives identified as emotionally intelligent generated 10% more productivity and added nearly $4 million in economic value; for Sheraton, an emotional intelligence initiative helped increase the company’s market share by 24%.

Please join us to share your questions and commentary about assessing and developing Emotional Intelligence.

What’s your role in the TalentCulture Community?

  • Sharing your real world expertise and candid perspectives.
  • Actively participating with others in expanding the depth and breadth of your reach.
  • Contributing as much as you benefit.

Join us for #TChat on Twitter every Tuesday from 8:00-9:00p.m. ET.  We’ll be posting a calendar of topics soon. Our live chat will be hosted by @KevinWGrossman @MeghanMBiro and @TalentCulture. Please Tweet or DM us for more scoop.