Sharing what you know has got its sexy back

After complaints from users saying they were tired of seeing too many selfies and humble brag posts devoid of knowledge or advice, LinkedIn has made changes to its algorithm to reconnect platform members to content that will help them feel more productive and successful.

This means posts sharing knowledge and advice has got its sexy back and will once again be prioritised across the platform.

You can read comments from LinkedIn Editor in Chief Dan Roth about the changes to the algorithm here.

This is a great move by LinkedIn and reinforces that the platform is not a popularity contest. As a subject matter expert, sharing what you know and building a community around that will be rewarded.

Yet, many people are still uncomfortable about putting their thinking ‘out there’ to be critiqued. Or they feel that they’re engaging in impolite bragging.

I understand making ourselves vulnerable isn’t a great feeling. However, we live in a connected world, so unless you share what you know, how will anyone know that you know it?

Here are seven reasons why it makes sense to take a deep breath and start sharing your content, insights and perspectives:

1. Sharing demonstrates what you care about and how you think about your subject matter. It’s your value proposition or ‘shop front’ on display and can provide a reason for someone to connect with you.

2. Sharing something that’s common-sense to you could be a revelation to someone else. You know more about your subject matter than you give yourself credit for. Don’t underestimate the value of your knowledge.

3. Sharing what you know is a generous thing to do. Rather than hoarding information, sharing it with another person who knows less about a topic than you do will help you build your impact and influence.

4. Sharing what you know in social media opens the door to two-way conversation. Engaging with others in what you share could lead you to understand your own experiences and subject matter from a new and different perspective.

5. Sharing helps you to expand your network beyond the usual suspects. When you participate in social media, over time you’ll be discovered by people you don’t know, but who are interested in the way you think.

6. Sharing could help you manage your reputation in a tough time. Should the train crash for you one day, your reputation may remain intact if you’ve left a sensible social media presence in your wake.

7. Sharing can help boost staff engagement. Employees are proud of leaders who speak out on important issues, making social media a valuable internal communication channel. Leaders who engage in social make it Ok for the rest of us to join in too.

With LinkedIn prioritising posts featuring knowledge and advice, there’s never been a better time to share what you know. Give it a go. I guarantee you’ll get back just as much as you give.

If you’re absent from social media or your profile is unprofessional, how does this reflect on your value proposition and personal brand? If you’d like to build your credibility as a socially engaged leader, get in touch.

Why liking stuff is just not enough: 10 reasons to go beyond the ‘like’ button in LinkedIn

There are a bunch of reasons we like things on social media platforms.

We put a thumbs up on content we find interesting. Laughing emoji for funny stuff. We like content posted by our friends to tick a box and let them know that we’re thinking of them. We may like content to follow a crowd. We love the dopamine hit we get when people ‘loveheart’ our content. And in dating apps? The ‘like’ operates at a whole other level (so I'm told).

Here, I want to cover hitting the ‘like’ button in the world’s largest professional social network, LinkedIn.

Too often when I look up people on LinkedIn, I see that all or almost all of their activity is liking content. There are no posts made by those individuals. Or content is shared without comment. Often this behaviour is driven by a belief that keeping our insights and perspectives to ourselves is the safest game to play.

The problem with this approach today is that our LinkedIn profiles tell our professional story in a visible way and we live in visible, connected world.

People are looking us up and forming an opinion about us based on what they find online, whether we like it or not.

Further, the pandemic has put a spotlight on online engagement as traditional means of connecting and networking were curtailed.

After years of observing and coaching executives on building their social media capability, I believe hitting the ‘like’ button in LinkedIn is just not enough today, when your online presence is being examined like never before.

Here are my thoughts on why it makes sense for professionals to step up and go beyond the ‘like’ and start sharing interesting content, insights and perspectives.

1.Tells people what you care about. Whether it’s personal or professional, sharing content that’s aligned to the things you care about will highlight shared interests and provide a reason for someone to connect with you or follow you. It’s your value proposition or ‘shop front’ on display.

2. Demonstrates how you think. Posting content with a caption expressing your perspective provides a window into how you think. When you share your perspective and experiences over time, you’ll build a strong digital footprint that demonstrates your expertise and how you go about your business.

3. It’s generous. Sharing what you know is a generous thing you can do for another human being who knows less about a topic than you do. I’m not advocating that you share sensitive or confidential information. What I am saying is that generally, sharing information rather than hoarding it, is what can help build your impact and influence.

4. Being social is about engagement. Your connections, followers–and even organisations–will appreciate it if you engage in or share their content. If it’s compelling, jump into the conversation by commenting and if you think your network of connections and followers will find it interesting, then amplify it with a share.

5. Gets your thinking ‘out there’. When you share, you’ll create an opportunity for your insights and perspectives to go beyond your network of usual suspects and be discovered by people that you don’t know, but who are interested in the way you think. Add hashtags, and you may create the chance for serendipitous knowledge accidents to happen.

When you share, you’ll create an opportunity for your insights and perspectives to go beyond your network of usual suspects.

6. Expand your network. When you participate in social media, over time you’ll make connections you otherwise wouldn’t if you were just dealing in the ‘real world’. Some of my early interactions in social media led to me forming strong friendships with people all over the world who share the same interests and are happy to help each other out.

7. Tells me who you are. When I look you up, I want to get a sense of who you are, what you stand for and how you think about your work. If I find nothing but a stream of ‘likes’ in your social media activity feed, I just won’t get a sense of what you’re all about and what it might be like to engage with you or work with you.

8. Can help you manage your reputation. If the train should crash for you one day, your reputation may remain intact if you have a sensible social media presence in your wake. The reverse is also true. A considered digital footprint could lead to that next speaking gig, opinion piece, book deal, or other interesting opportunity you otherwise may never have been considered for.

9. The future of work is online. The pandemic has permanently altered the way we behave. The future of work is one where we'll mobilise in online communities to collaborate, solve problems and get work done. Then we’ll disband, and come together in another community to do it all again another day.

Building a habit of working in a more social and visible way is now an essential life skill and not simply a ‘nice to do’.

10. Being social is fun. Like being at an awesome dinner party or other cool social event (remember those?), engaging with those around us, being genuinely interested in other people, who they are and what they have to say is a fun thing to do. Importantly, while opportunities to engage with others in person have dried up for many of us right now, being socially engaged and creating connections online may help keep your sense of belonging and wellbeing intact.

If you’re a serial ‘liker’ in social media or just plain quiet, then I hope you’ll find some inspiration here to motivate you to do more. Go and engage in interesting content. Share content you love and that will provide value to your network. Share some career lessons. I guarantee that over time, you’ll find your social media experience much more interesting and rewarding. And it’s in alignment to where the future of work is taking us – a large whack of our time spent online.

Six lessons about connection from a karaoke night out

Earlier this year, I went to a karaoke night in Chicago with my cousin, Angela. It was at little bar above a hamburger joint. There were props galore, a great sound system, a huge song library, a spotlight trained on the stage and a receptive audience waiting for the show to begin. 

Angela orchestrated the visit, including putting me on the list of people to sing. Without. Asking. Me. First.

After first wishing a lightning bolt would come and strike down Angela, I immediately thought to myself: I can’t do it. Too many people will be watching me. I’ll be judged. What if people boo me off the stage? In that moment, I believed I could in fact die of embarrassment in a karaoke bar.

Let’s park my karaoke predicament for just a second and focus on a different kind of performance.

Imagine I’m at work in my office job. A new enterprise social tool has just been launched to help lift collaboration, improve productivity and so on. My manager says to me: “Our enterprise social network is our new, visible place to get things done. Yes, thousands of pairs of eyes will be watching you, but get out of your email, jump in there and go collaborate!”

In both these situations, it’s little wonder people’s hearts start racing at the thought of others assessing their very visible performance.

There’s a lot more at stake when it comes to performing at work versus performing on the karaoke stage.

For starters, there’s the obvious performance anxiety. According to Gallup, 40% of adults dread speaking in front of an audience. Was it Jerry Seinfeld who said the average person at a funeral would rather be in the casket than give the eulogy?

For the vast majority of people though, there’s a lot more at stake when it comes to performing at work versus performing on the karaoke stage.

According to an exploratory study on employee silence, employees stay tight-lipped about problems and issues at work because they’re fearful of being viewed negatively and they’re concerned about the knock-on effects this will have on their relationships at work. And just as I thought I might die of embarrassment from singing on stage, the research showed employees are genuinely fearful of their career prospects suffering as a result of speaking up.

Yet, there were some forces at work that eventually made me feel comfortable about getting up on stage to sing. Here are six lessons from a karaoke night out to encourage people to fight their fears and try a new social way of working:

1.    Karaoke is valued in a karaoke bar. When you’re in a karaoke bar, you’re immersing yourself in a culture that values singing. The music, lights and enthusiastic audience all contribute to an environment in which you feel it’s safe to perform. Similarly, to encourage people to step out of their silos and connect, design an environment that demonstrates people’s voices matter. Things like open and honest leadership communication and rewarding great ideas show that people’s contribution is genuinely valued in your organisation.

2.    Leaders show you how to sing by doing it themselves. The first thing the lead for the karaoke evening did that night in the bar was to kick off proceedings by belting out a couple of numbers herself. If you want people in your organisation to connect and speak up, leaders had better not just ask others to do it; they must do it themselves. Great leaders show up, ask questions, applaud their people and take action on what they see and hear.

3.    Think about your audience and pick great songs. The key to a fun time in a karaoke bar is choosing great songs you’ll feel comfortable performing and you know the audience will probably enjoy too. In enterprise social, figure out what you want to be known for and how you can add value to others and post on those topics. When you engage in conversations about your areas of expertise or even a personal passion, you’ll feel confident posting and your audience will know you’re the real deal.

4.    Watch others sing for a while before taking the plunge. Watching lots of other people get up and perform can make you feel more comfortable about your own karaoke experience. If you want people to try enterprise social tools, then let new users build their confidence by watching and learning from others. From a communications perspective, highlighting success stories of people using social tools also work well as examples for others to follow.

5.    No one acts like a jerk at a karaoke night out. No one really cares if you can sing or not – karaoke is about having a good time with your friends. No one is there to boo and hiss you off the stage, but I’ll bet if anyone did, they’d probably be thrown out. Don’t act like a jerk in enterprise social - the network will simply do the work to put you back in your place. Be respectful.

6.    The risk is worth the reward. Do a half reasonable job of your karaoke experience and you will most likely be rewarded for your efforts with a big round of applause. So it goes in enterprise social. If you make an effort to step out and connect in a way that will add value, your audience will appreciate it and you’ll begin to build your reputation as an expert inside your organisation.

Having survived my karaoke experience – and dare I say having enjoyed it just a little bit - I may go back for another round at some stage in the future. Likewise, if the conditions are just right for a social way of working, then we should see our people go back for more in their enterprise social networks too.  

The rules of civility and decent behaviour in social media. AKA what would George Washington do?

Recently a dear friend suggested I read The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Set in the late 1930s in NYC, it’s a seductive and a mesmerising read for fans of old Big Apple glamour and the influence of chance encounters on our lives.

The book’s title is inspired by George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation. Towles imagined these ‘rules’ were most likely studied by Tinker, one of the book’s ambitious main characters, so he included them at the end of his work.

Washington’s rules cover everything from how you should conduct yourself in public (don’t kill fleas, lice and ticks in the sight of others) to how you should dress (in your apparel be modest), eat (drink not nor talk with your mouth full) and how you should engage with others (think before you speak).

The rules led me to think about the intense scrutiny of social media platforms right now. We’re reading about fake accounts, bots, and buying followers online. Fake YouTube views. Social media users worn out by angry, disrespectful online interactions about politics. Social media platforms hitting rock-bottom in rankings of people’s favourite brands. And recently social media executives were again in the spotlight at congressional hearings on online election interference, talking about the steps they are taking to clean up and secure their services.

Stir all this together and it’s no wonder we’re asking ourselves whether social media has had its time in the sun. Is it still useful? Should we engage? Should we close down our accounts?

There’s still plenty of value in social media engagement, but it’s up to us to behave like decent, empathetic human beings in the process.

Little did George Washington know that when he penned his rules, he was writing the guidelines for civilised behaviour in social media. Here’s my take of a selection of his rules to guide your thinking about the insights you want to share, finding your voice and nailing what you want to be known for in the social world.

Your insights 

Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself professes; it savors of arrogance. You’ll have your insights and experiences to share in social and so will others. If you haven’t been in someone else’s shoes, then don’t try and tell them they’re wrong. Demonstrate respect for the learning and expertise of others.

Go not thither, where you know not, whether you shall be welcome or not. Give not advice without being asked and when desired do it briefly. Consider the value of the insights you share. If you don’t know anything about a subject, then avoid adding noise to the Twittersphere. If you’re asked for your opinion and have an informed view, then share your knowledge and be crisp and concise.

 Your voice

Be not forward but friendly and courteous; the first to salute hear and answer and be not pensive when it’s a time to converse. When you share your work, be prepared to have a conversation about it. Social media is not a one-way street – engage with those who are interested in your insights. There’s nothing more depressing for someone asking a question to hear nothing but crickets.

Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in private; presently, or at some other time in what terms to do it and in reproving show no sign of choler but do it with all sweetness and mildness. Showing no choler is an old-school way of saying don’t be angry or irritable in your interactions. Playing the blame game and getting angry in social media doesn’t help you. If you have an issue with a post someone’s targeted at you, consider whether social is the right place to respond. If it is, then deal with the substance of the post in a calm way.

Your brand

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for ‘is better to be alone than in bad company. To me, men (and women) of good quality are those people with whom I can have a respectful banter about subject matter we’re interested in. Focus your energy on sharing what you know with those who may benefit from your learning and experience. Don’t sweat the trolls trying to drag you down. Leave them be.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. Of all the rules, when it comes to thinking about your brand and reputation in social, I think Washington nailed it with this one. Show up regularly, be open and have empathy for others. Then you’ll be well on the road to building a great reputation based on engaging in social with integrity.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Washington’s rules, do so. They’re informative and fun. In the meantime, before you send an angry tweet or spam your network, take a deep breath and ask yourself: what would George Washington do? If we take a leaf out of his rule book, we can lift the tone of conversations and behaviour in social media, but it starts with us.