Promoting Thought Leadership

by Working Out Loud

Sajita Thomas

Business HR

13 Nov 2014

Promoting Thought Leadership, Step-by-step

What is it?

Platform for Amplifying Expertise

How?

Using the concept of Working Out Loud Circles

Coverage

Background

Working Out Loud

Benefits

WOL Circles

Next Steps

1

2

3

4

5

Business Objective

• Inculcating thought leadership was a prime need and a

directive given to Business HR

–Organization view: Visibility of capabilities, accomplishments

– Individual view: Visibility of interests, opportunities

• A vital need in the era of social business

Working Out Loud – Bryce Williams

Working Out Loud = Observable Work + Narrating Your Work

Working Out Loud – Bryce Williams

Working Out Loud = Observable Work + Narrating Your Work

Myth

• Networking => exchanging cards at

events, shaking hands with many

people, shallow “friends”

• I am not interested in self branding; I

am a shy person; I wish to be a quiet

kind of thought leader

• Personal branding involves artificial

self-promotion, managing

appearance

Understanding Networking, Branding

Myth

• Networking => exchanging cards at

events, shaking hands with many

people, shallow “friends”

• I am not interested in self branding; I

am a shy person; I wish to be a quiet

kind of thought leader

• Personal branding involves artificial

self-promotion, managing

appearance

Reality

• Networking is about building meaningful relationships, one person at a time (Keith Ferrazzi)

• I already have a brand. It is what people say about me when I leave the room (it’s my identity)

• Personal branding = thoughtful approach to express our authentic self

Understanding Networking, Branding

Mail received this morning…!

College rank? Faculty? Course content? It’s all…

Working Out Loud – John Stepper

Working out loud is working in

an open, generous, connected

way so you can build a purposeful

network, become more effective,

and access more opportunities.

-John Stepper

Stories That Inspired WOL

Salman Khan Khan Academy

Jordi Munoz DIYdrones.com

Working Out Loud – John Stepper

W

O

L

Open Generous Connected

Purposeful network Effective Access opportunities

Elements of WOL

1. Making work visible

2. Making work better

3. Leading with generosity

4. Building a social network

5. Making it all purposeful

Outcomes of WOL

Visibility of ability to peers and

seniors

Collaboration

Sharing of knowledge and expertise

Personal branding

Building confidence , honing

writing & speaking skills

Working Out Loud

Working Out Loud – Simon Terry

Working Out Loud is one of the most crucial practices for value creation in an enterprise social network. For many, it is also the least comfortable. We need to work at this new practice to deliver value.

Program Output by Participants

1. Blog posts

2. Articles

3. Whitepapers

4. Presentations

5. Virtual class sessions

6. Comments on blogs

7. Event speakers, Guest lectures

Avenues: Internal and External

• Enterprise Social Network (ESN)

• Articles published in specialist magazines or banking websites

like Finextra

• Company web site

• Conference papers

WOL Circle

• How

– A group of 5-10, preferably co-located

– Interested in getting started with WOL

–One hour each week for 12 weeks

–Guidebook with suggested weekly actions

• Why it helps

– Building a new habit

– Peer group support: sharing, ideas

– Commitment

Frequently Asked Questions (so far)

• Are the WOL Circle working out loud among themselves, or, they are a support group to help

each other work out loud?

– WOL Circle is a temporary mechanism to help individuals (circle members) to embark on working out

loud

• Is it better for people with similar domain interests to form circles?

– Not necessarily. Perhaps it is better to be part of a circle with diverse interest areas and with people

at different levels of networking ability. Most of us already have a network of people with same

interests, or we anyway work with people of similar profile. The circle is an enabler to consciously

widen and deepen our network

• Is it necessary to form circles in the same location?

– It is preferred because the primary purpose of forming the good habit of working out loud will be

better achieved with the convenience of closer and face-to-face interaction among members

What You Have to Do Now

• Ask, clarify key questions

• Volunteer right away or within 24 hours to:

– Be part of the first pilot circle(s)

– Be a facilitator of a circle

• Need WOL Pilot initiative now

To explore further

• A short 3-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRYQRj-ZGg4

• Start here and explore some of the other interesting articles on the same site

such as Working out loud & the rise of introverts

• InformationWeek magazine article contextualizing WOL within KM, social

business, collaboration, innovation and business agility, with a short snippet

image here

• Shell has been using WOL for its knowledge management since 2011 as written

here, their presentation was scheduled at the recent KMWorld Conference

Thank You Q&A

Also: See 3-minute video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRYQRj-ZGg4

Dennis Pearce

Harold Jarche