Click to Share - 3 reasons why you SHOULD be sharing

The idea of “sharing” is tossed around pretty often these days. The rise of social media and availability of the internet to virtually everyone makes it very easy to share (and sometimes over-share) everything from music to presentations to what you had for breakfast on a particular day. Here are a few reasons why sharing is a GOOD thing:

1. It's the Way we Learn

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of listening to George Couros, the self-described Principal of Change, spoke about “Leading Innovative Change.”  At one point, he stopped his presentation and asked the audience, “Who in this room has something they can teach me?”  At first no one moved – which is especially interesting since he was addressing a room full of educators and administrators. Eventually, most people in the room raised their hand, he said, “Great! So where’s your stuff?

How can I access the things you should be sharing with me or anyone else who could benefit from the STUFF YOU KNOW THAT WE DON’T?”  

2. It's how we stay current:

In the corporate world, your ability to share is typically determined by your IT department.  Although some companies have internal versions of social networking, it’s sometimes difficult to get the word out about good ideas or “best practices.”  But I think Mr. Couros’s question can be applied at the corporate level, too.  There are plenty of good things going on in any organization… and outside of the occasional highlight of one or two outstanding efforts by a group or individual, how do you “share” things that you are doing well?  Or if you’re interested in finding what others are doing, where do you look?  Some of my favorites are Twitter and Pinterest. Pinterest is NOT just for parties and recipes, people. You'd be amazed how the "corporate" world has embraced the pinning phenomenon. You can find tips for employee engagement, dealing with difficult people, the best workout for your DiSC personality profile... ANYTHING.

3. It's a way to recognize your people:

Over the past few years, I’ve been involved in a couple of Great Place to Work initiatives.  One recurring theme is recognition.  People want to be recognized for their efforts.  But how can you recognize someone for their ideas and work if you don’t know about what they’re doing?  According to Mr. Couros, you need to “create [and support] a culture of sharing, so you can recognize [and promote] your own people.”

I’ll be sharing some of my ideas and best practices here on this blog, but I’d really like to hear from you… how do you share your “stuff” with your co-workers and others in your organization?  Do you use social media (internal or external)?  Do you go to LinkedIn or some other external source for ideas? Do you rely on email or an internal intranet/communications source?  How do you collaborate and share with others?