Here is a question which no doubt you have asked yourself many times, and I found myself doing so today. In this instance thinking about what I share through social channels and how I best support and leverage that to mutual benefit.
When posting something online you carefully consider what might be deemed useful, augment your brand proposition, and add colour to a conversation. While being ‘professional’ on social media, before posting a blog, some comment or an image, you aim to gain some positive outcome from your action – appreciation, more followers, quality exchanges with others, a satisfied recipient, even new opportunities. But then in a relaxed unguarded moment on seeing an amusing story on Twitter you make a casual offhand quip, and while sipping on your coffee, post your remark without a second thought for your quick-wittedness. Then, without seemingly trying you get more likes in an hour than many of your posts collectively achieved in weeks, shooting your engagement level off the chart by the minute. …..Well, that just happened!
Makes you think “Should I be deploying my talents in a new way? In a new environment?” In my case, I have often thought “How best can I share commentary, observations, and humour on issues of the day in my own, relaxed, ‘tell-it-as-it-really-is’, occasionally ‘controversial’ style?” And then I reflect that in an already crowded content-filled world, I should consider an alternative solution and avoid adding unecessarily to the superflous noise that surrounds us. I guess this is what some might call a ‘eureka’ moment when you get that flash of inspiration to channel your abilities in new directions. You start thinking about picking up some of the ambitions you left hanging when entering the workplace (in my case it was radio broadcasting and music performance) to responsibly forge a ‘proper’ career that would secure your long-term future.
It’s at times such as this that prompts me to think “Maybe it’s time not to just reserve my approach and passions for the many diverse people with whom I am used to working across the business world, and share them in a more public space?” Time to mix in those latent talents of performing on stage, in bands, and from behind a microphone that have served me so well, and bring them to the fore. At least now I have some weighty experience, insights, and stories accumulated from leading teams delivering major global marketing and business change programmes over 20+ years. From within brand owners, leading public bodies and even the UK government I’ve witnessed first-hand how people interact and respond to good and bad communications, management, offerings and brand experiences, which combined are pretty unique and inspire me to improve the whole impact of business and industry on society. Advocating business sustainability and playing a part in driving the uptake of the UN Sustainable Goals are at the forefront of what I strive to achieve within organisations, their supply chains, and within public forums. And by introducing humour along the way is something I’ve found very effective in building great working dynamics within teams that become highly responsive and productive in delivering meaningful change and performance.
This in itself is a fascinating process and it’s worth asking yourself “What do I need to reconfigure within my own armoury to create relevance? What is true to my core values, draws upon my capabilities, and aligns with the demands and aspirations of my potential ‘customer’?” This is where a step-change can happen, call it what you will – reconfiguration, regeneration, reinvention, metamorphosis, rebrand, repositioning, evolution. It’s something we all need to get used to doing especially as our working lives will now extend from our 20’s into our 70’s even 80’s.
What thoughts have you had about rechannelling your skills, experience and talents? How did you go about it? Have you been successful and feeling more fulfilled for doing so? Please comment below.
Mark Batchelor 