Working with Web 2.0 tools like Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, Ning.com, and wikis has been both challenging and enlightening. Seth Godin’s new book Tribes proposes that everyone is a leader and that your leadership is needed. (Note: Read Hugh MacLeod’s “tribes” – 10 Questions for Seth Godin interview – it is amazing!) Social Networks live and breathe based upon active interaction of the participants. Phone, face-to-face, and virtual meetings are the same – actively engaged participants make the event come alive. This leads to an interesting question.
In Social Media – you either participate and contribute to the conversations going on around you or you sit back passively reading them. What ever your “intention” is, you either do or do not engage in the process through sharing your comments, ideas, pictures, podcasts, and videos. In other words, you “do” or “do not”. It is quickly obvious in the Social Media world that Leaders are Doers. Literally, “talk” is cheap. You have to record/capture your thoughts AND post them.
On conference calls (and other types of meetings), is the same true? Are leaders also doers? Yes. When a leader imposes control over the participants, it stops the flow of creativity and engagement. Leaders that actively share and encourage others to take active roles in various parts of a project find the group much more active.
Do, or do not. There is no ‘try.’ by Jedi Master Yoda.
Start looking at your meetings as opportunities to encourage participants taking a leadership role through active engagement.
Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Author – 16 Secrets to a Great Conference Call
ConferenceCallTraining.com
On Sunday evening, June 22, I posted my first question on LinkedIn. The question was posted here in my previous post: What icebreakers have you experienced on a conference call, webinar, teleclass, or teleseminar? I wanted to see what creative and innovative things people where doing.