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There was a time when I considered LinkedIn to be a fact based, static and let-me-show-you-who-I-know platform, unsuccessful in driving engagement or building new, exciting business opportunities. Did anyone spend any time there unless they were preparing themselves for a new job?
Most profiles were focusing solely on merits, best case a descriptive summary of what they had accomplished in the past. I was told I shouldn’t connect with people I didn’t know personally, the best connection would be somebody I had worked with for years and could recommend personally. Moreover, I shouldn’t share too much of what I was doing at the moment or planning to do in the future, my competitors could get access to the information…
The lack of strategy among it’s members was striking, beyond a dusty resume, what were professionals really hoping to get out of their presence? Was it at all possible for members to understand anything about other members’ key drivers and aspirations beyond looking for a new job?
The increasing trend now is that LinkedIn members spend more and more time on the platform. Many are still looking for jobs (or candidates), but members are increasingly expanding and nurturing their professional network, getting inspired and inspiring others, and last, but not at least, positioning themselves as attractive business partners, “the-go-to-person” and great networkers. And it’s considered intriguing to connect with someone with whom you share passion or area of interest.
Today, the titles of your LinkedIn contacts are less important. The willingness to share and act as your matchmaker for new business opportunities are the key characteristics of your ideal LinkedIn connection. Combined with the new focus on articles by industry authorities, more sharing in groups and built-in CRM functions, LinkedIn is making it almost irresistible not to spend time on the platform on a daily basis. Not because I have to. Because I LOVE to.
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Have you ever caught yourself pushing through an activity, determined to do whatever it takes to be able to tick off your physical or mental TO DO list? Have you ever started your day planning to do what you have been avoiding for a long time, finding yourself having done something else by the end of the day? It happens to me all the time, and it was not until I learned about the Concept of Play by MCC Dave Buck back in 2010, that I fully understood how I could approach things differently and not only grow myself, but also support my clients in doing so. In short, the Concept of Play includes the definition of any challenge as a Game. It could be a business game, a career game, a health game, a relationship game or any other area where you want to accomplish results still to be recognized a such. In this Game, you assume the role as the Player. And as a Player, You are defining your objectives, your actions, your resources, your challenges and the skills you need to develop. As a Player, you will learn from your progress, your successes, your areas of improvement and you do this by involving other people. The Game starts now, not at any undecided point in the future, and you play until the Game is over. When the Game is over, you learn from your results and then you set up a new Game…
Sometimes I meet friends and clients who are very clear on what support they need for their Games and are able to mobilize their various environments to support their Game objectives. It happens that their Game even gets bigger because of the input and inspiration they get when involving others. More frequently though, people seem to be careful and reluctant in asking for support and sharing their ambitions with others as part of their belief system. So, how can the Concept of Play help?
When playing instead of pushing through, you want to improve, you want to become better at what you do, you want to go that extra mile and you want to experiment instead of just getting it done. You might even find it fun as you get expected and unexpected results along the way! You find it valuable to document your learning, and you want to open up to other ideas to see if your game can get even bigger. And, not at least, you may want to share your findings and insights with people around you. Suddenly you find yourself inspiring others to assume the role as a Player as well.
You may question the Concept of Play for many reasons. How likely is it that adults will see themselves as Players and define their challenges as Games? It sounds interesting, but may also be seen as very time consuming and difficult to put on top of everything that needs to happen on a daily basis. And, why should anyone else be interested in what my Game is? There are probably plenty of individual answers to these questions, but after having attended extensive coach training based on the Concept of Play as of 2010, I can refer to my personal experience as well as the feedback from my co-Players:
Playing is fun, but as adults, we need to get reminded of the reasons why it beats Doing. It is unfamiliar to describe a personal or a professional challenge as a Game, but when done, the focus is tremendous and the documentation of the Game strengthens the learning taking place. The Game becomes part of your every day life if you are playing big and involving others. I remain positively surprised by how often and warmly people around me want to support me in my Games. The main challenge seems to be my own ability in being bold on what I need and why.
Introducing the Professional Potential Gazette and launching YourVirtualArena were among the results from a Game I played earlier this year, the Global Reach Game, allowing me to interact with people no matter where they are located in the world. Are you ready to assume the role as a Player? If so, which Game are you up for?
If you found this topic interesting, stay tuned for the upcoming professional games on LifeVille, a web-based platform for people who want to challenge themselves as Players and play the real games of their lives supported by others. During 2011, I hosted 4 games supporting professionals looking to stand out and benefit from LinkedIn. Soon, there might be a new social media enabling game available in an arena near you…
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Today’s social media tools enable us to listen to the market and communicate with colleagues, potential employers, customers and business partners in a new way, and this gives you a chance to tell your story, demonstrate your ambition and build your network effectively for long term relationships. You will also find yourself in a position where you can start attracting professional opportunities which may not even exist yet!
Surprisingly, many seems to believe that it will be sufficient to create those opportunities simply by creating an account and proving that they are part of the community without a defined strategy nor adding the behavior required.
Let me be very clear: It is not enough to “show up” at the social media scene, you need to successfully ENGAGE with others to build a trustworthy presence to build and nurture long term relationships. These relationships can then result in real life business opportunities and significant business results.
I have personally experienced the power of social media for creating new business via tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and now I’m in a position where I can help others do the same. Looking back on the early days of my business, I wish someone had told me that you need a strategy for this as well, like in any other major area of your business.
When people ask: “What would you have done differently now if you knew then what you know now”, my answer remains crystal clear: “I would have spent time initially to go on discovery. I would have loved to listen more carefully to where my target groups hang out, what they are preoccupied by and what they are struggling with. Then I should have investigated more carefully which social media preference I have, and where I should ask for help. And finally, I should have pulled together a simple 1 pager to spell out my social media strategy and STICK TO IT with patience.
I often hear people complain about the time spent on social media with unclear return on investment. It doesn’t have to be that way when you know by whom you want to be found and where you need to hang out to engage with your target market. You need to know what to ignore and what not to ignore, though.
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Becoming visible online, communicating clearly to the wider network and positioning the personal brand by establishing authority within an area of expertise takes courage and an initial investment in time.
Over the last 2 years, I’ve seen colleagues and clients get stuck in limiting thinking patterns when taking on LinkedIn.
This pattern is disabling some of them from expanding their number of contacts, asking for recommendations as well as moving into a more proactive, influential mode.
As a result, they are not in a position to leverage the great collaboration and business intelligence features within LinkedIn.
I’m currently facilitating a LifeVille group coaching game on the topic of effective use of LinkedIn to position the personal brand. 4 days into the game, I observe the majority of the players challenge themselves, share insights and inspire each other. As the coach, it’s my role to facilitate the game and encourage everyone to build skills, explore new territory and get the results they are playing for. A new community is emerging out of the team’s total effort.
Why they decided to join a game and not simply complete a long list of TO DOs when taking on LinkedIn? The gamification of real life challenges seems attractive to more and more people: We like getting inspired. We love getting insights. And we feel great when an opportunity is given to share our knowledge with others. So, instead of ticking off your TO DO list, think about what you can do to turn your current real life challenge into a game and involve your different environments to succeed.
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