Shera R. Sever: Igniting the Spark™

Building communities through social networking and social PR is the new marketing.  It’s no longer about WIFM, but rather, what’s in it for WE.

In addition to being a powerful social networking tool for B2B partnerships and even B2C, Linked In is rapidly becoming the recruiters tool of choice.  Now, you can search and follow companies, and apply for positions directly on LinkedIn using your profile in place of your CV/Resume.

Would you like to expand your sphere of influence by building genuine, sustainable relationships with your LinkedIn communities?

Here are some tips for optimizing your LinkedIn account with your professional communities:

1. Defining Your Brand with Your LinkedIn Profile

Who do you want to connect with? Why?  What’s your “title”. Choose  keywords for your title that will speak to companies and colleagues you want to connect with.  What are you offering? What problems do you solve?

Take some time thinking about these questions, and create a solid summary profile. Much like a  CV , the first third of your profile is what get’s read. Be sure to have a complete profile that includes your photo, website,  endorsements, blog posts, industry related reading, and possible slide shares. And be sure to include your contact information (phone, Skype, and e-mail).

Tip: You can see how many times your profile has come up in search and how many times it has been viewed daily.  This is a great barometer for determining if your LInked-In brand is attracting the intended audience.

2. Cultivate your network

Tony Robbins often says, “Your network is your net worth.” When looking for people to connect with start with your first degree of influence.  Who do you know? Who have you worked with?   Then reach out to others in your industry and to those  that compliment or even supplement what you do.

In my case, I find connecting with other Talent Management Leaders, Sales and Marketing Directors and start-up CEO’s  mutually beneficial.  I may have the solution to a initiative the company is launching, and conversely, they may have referrals to other companies seeking my areas of expertise.

If you are a job seeker, introduce yourself to recruiters in your industry and then stay in touch. If you are a consultant or a small business owner, look for other businesses that could serve as potential partners, where you both could benefit by offering more value to your clients if you were a team.  Using LinkedIn’s advanced search you can search by geographical area, group affiliations, job title, company, industries and even education (school’s attended).

Tip: When inviting people to join your network, avoid the generic default message:  I’d like to add you to my Linked In network. Rather personalize your message with a introduction and perhaps a statement like: How can I know if someone I’m connected with is a good prospect for you?

A word on Endorsements

I love when colleagues, employees, and clients I have worked with ask me for endorsements. If someone asks you, take the time and write a thoughtful endorsement that creates a visual in the reader’s mind.  Be honest and generous with your endorsements, and be sure to ask for them.

3. Giving Back

Linked In has hundreds of discussion groups that you can join or even create. (the current limit is 50). Join these groups and engage in intelligent dialogs, by proposing thought-provoking industry questions, as well as answering questions at least several times a week. 

Approach groups with the attitude of “What can I give”, rather than “What can I get”. Offer resources as often as you can, and connect others in your network when you see a good fit.  

Again, for job seekers, recruiters will often look at how active you are in groups to determine your level of expertise, your  collaborative competencies, and your communication style. Be sure to update your status a few times a week. Often times, I update my status by  sharing a  link to a recent article from an trade magazine journal, a new trend I recently came across, or simply a motivational message of my own.
Tip: Avoid selling your services to your groups, sending brief messages with a link to your website.  Again approach all your connections as relationships that you value and want to cultivate. “What can I do for you”, while sharing what you are looking for.

4. Create Trust with consistency and accountability

Live relationships , like social community networking, requires trust to flourish, and that means showing up 100%.

Keep fresh content on your profile via your status or project updates.  Check your Linked In messages frequently.  Stay in touch with members of your group- ideally once a week. 

Share your ideas, projects, a  resource, your blog post, ask how you can help them.  I have had many telephone conversations emerge, and relationships develop as a result of my Linked In Connections.

Does this seem like a lot of work?  It isn’t, once you get into the habit. By following the tips above, you will begin to build relationships of trust in  your social networking.

How alive is your LinkedIn network?

Do you have a potent summary profile, and accurate, catchy title  that describes what problems you solve?

How many groups are you active in?

How many viewers open your profile?

How many phone or in-person conversations have resulted from  Linked-In connection?

Does your Linked In profile needs a lift? I invite you to contact me today to discuss how I can help you!

Have you noticed all the  knowledge sharing  and strategies from thought leaders, managers, coaches, and consultants addressing the Upside of the Downturn.

It’s everywhere- on Guy Kawasaki’s  AllTop portal, in the New York Times new Happy Days Blog,  Psychology Today,  Inc. and many more on-line and print publications.

Human potential seminar leaders like Tony Robbins and T. Harv Eker have adjusted their content delivery in recent months to address the Upside of the Downturn.  It’s a strategic approach, and  it’s more than positive thinking.  (Hope alone is not a strategy).

The Value of Volunteering

One strategy that continues to emerge in various forms when examining the Upside of the Downturn is the increased focus given to the VALUE  of volunteering.

Like many of you, I started volunteering when I was 14.  I worked at one of the first recycling centers in the USA in a small community in northern Illinois 4 nights a week. The proceeds from our efforts helped fund our high school’s symphonic band’s performance at an International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. Since then I have volunteer with over 25 community organizations and businesses and have served on several boards of directors.

Last week I was invited again to deliver my High-Impact Volunteer Management™ seminar as part of the Performance- Focused Leadership Seminar series for Board Presidents, Directors and Committee Chairs for the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce  (42 chambers total).

Businesses and social-profits alike benefit from volunteer capital. One of the re-occurring challenges most organizations encounter is keeping good volunteers (including board members and committee chairs).

Keeping the Good Ones

As in the private industry, the best way to insure volunteer retention is to adopt a strategic approach with a Volunteer Recruitment and Development Plan in place in your organization or business. This includes targeted recruitment, a solid orientation program, low-cost, no-cost recognition, and a performance management/professional development plan in place that includes on-going feedback and performance reviews.

So what is the best way to develop on-going communication and feedback with volunteers?

It’s the  R.A.P. method:

REVIEW the PAST: Take a look at the performance objectives mutually created during the first 30 days of the volunteer’s on-boarding.

ANALYZE the PRESENT: Ask your volunteer what she feels are her major accomplishments in the past (X) months  (particularly as they relate to over-arching organizational goals).

PLAN the FUTURE: Ask your volunteer what changes/support she would like to see in the future.

If you are wanting to enhance volunteer performance and retention in your organization, be sure you can meet the following needs* of your volunteers:

• I need a sense of belonging.
• I need to be part of the organizational planning of our objectives.
• I need organizational goals and objectives that are clear and obtainable.
• I need to feel that what I am doing has real purpose and contributes to welfare of the organization and community at large.
• I need autonomy and collaboration in setting standards for performance.
• I need to know what is expected of me (not a laundry list of “duties”.)
• I need to have challenging responsibilities within my range of interests and abilities.
• I need feedback about my performance and our progress.
• I need to be kept informed.
• I need to have good rapport with and confidence in the leadership of the organization.
• I need recognition, as it is due.

(The Volunteer Creed, adapted from The Effective Management of Volunteer Programs, Marlene Wilson)

Performance Management is an on-going year-round communication process undertaken in collaboration with a volunteer and her organizational leader(s).  With mutual goal setting, on -going communication, individual recognition, and the R.A.P method, your volunteers can become your organization’s  greatest evangelists.

Need help developing a High-Impact Volunteer Management Plan for your business, organization, or upcoming event? Please contact me for a complimentary (20- minute) consultation.

It’s been over a month since I have posted on this blog, however, if you have been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you know why.

Right now, rather than another 10:00PM sunset swim in the Mediterranean, OR bicycling and strolling along some of the most enchanting 13th century countryside caminos, I choose to fulfill my need to CONNECT with all of you.

When I first received an offer to spend some time “en retiro”, living on the north side of the island of Mallorca, Spain,  I was very confused  about what TO DO, fearing what I would leave “behind” if I actually left my home, community, live and social networks, and other “opportunities”for 4-6 weeks.  It was an obvious reminder of the need to LET GO!

Did you know that Americans actually take less annual holiday time (i.e. vacation) than any other ‘Western” country in the world?  Reason: FEAR that by letting go of routine that their “career/business” will fall apart or that they won ‘t get ahead!  My question- Ahead of what?  Aren ‘t we all in this global transformation together?

When is the last time you gave yourself the beautiful gift of just BEING?  For those of who have, you know how much clearer and more effective (focused and intentional) you are internally, as well as once back on the  “playing field”.

Awakened Entrepreneurs™ Create Decisions based on Needs/Values

I used an NVC method (universal needs- based process from Marshall Rosenberg) to make the decision.  What needs will be fulfilled if I go?  What needs will be fulfilled if I stay? Not only was my list longer for going, but I got more in touch with what is important to me.

Bottom line: Do what FEELS good- and in my case that meant my physical body-
(warm Mediterrannean sun &  sea,  healthy, fresh food, lots of movement outdoors) Simply YES!! Now Mallorca, is in no way Spain, unless, of course, you refer to Maui, the USA. But I used to live and work in Madrid and Barcelona, and the idea of spending time on the island of Mallorca seemed like a good choice. ( And then that night,  after taking myself through this personal exercise, I received a loud message in a dream- clear and simple:  GO TO SPAIN

DOING vs. BEING

Particularly in our fast-paced culture, DOING has much more perceived value that BEING. How often are you asked “ How are you?” – if the response is anything other than BUSY, something must be wrong. Yet, wouldn ‘t we all agree that all work and no play/rest makes anyone dull (rather than vibrant), inflexible and, well, uninteresting. How many relationships and dreams (personal and professional) are not realized as a result of this “busy/work” epidemic?

Especially in these times of information overload, including fear- based marketing and propaganda, I find “unplugging” essential in order to access one’s truth, values, goals, direction  and strategies for living in purpose in order to make our greatest contributions (to self and others)

The Awakened Entrepreneur™ understands the essential need for regular  “unplugging” -be it a long weekend retreat with no technology (yes, that!) or several weeks (3-4?!) of an actual holiday is exactly what is needed in order to optimize our engines for peak performance.  Tony Robbins claims it takes 21 days to break/change any habit, which is another way of saying it takes 21 days to drop into a new reality.

Having reinvented myself a number of times in personal and professional pursuits, I’ve consistently been a big advocate of work-life balance. Starting back in the mid- 90s, I introduced a personal needs/values assessment component in all of my leadership seminars that continues to serve as a transformative catalyst for organizational and business leaders.

I am very impressed with the models that Mallorca is advocating from progressive youth education, Transition Towns (using Appreciative Inquiry) to local organic food production, permaculture, biking as preferred transportation, reducing meat in one’s diet (and revealing the truths about the costs of the meat industry),  to a very sophisticated recycling system (including compost) throughout the City of Palma.  The official unemployment rate in Spain is over 20%, (one of the highest in Europe),  however  that isn’t stopping most from finding new ways to connect, collaborate (an inherent value in this culture), and reinvent, once again, a 700+ year old way of being.

Most importantly, the general philosophy here is TRANQUILLA- and this includes the time you take to connect with those you know  (and don’t know) throughout your daily activities.

And so here I am concluding a month of  (once again) witnessing  who I am, what I value, what I deeply desire-

The Result- a simplified life style with real time connections/dialogs that support personal and planetary health, wellness, sustainability, and collaboration-all essential elements for the Awakened Entrepreneur™.

Commit and Do It!

Action is the anecdote to despair- Joan Baez

In the past few days, I’ve been reading hundreds of posts, messages with warm new year ‘s wishes along with workshop and seminar offerings focused on intentions, resolutions, manifesting miracles, etc. etc. for the New Year.

Yet, how many of us have spent our months or even years with good intentions– intentions to change this or that and find that year after year, like good green citizens, that we keep recycling these intentions?

I am all for intentions-they are the first step for change or transforming any behavior. However, it’s the intentions  that are held with desire, clearly communicated and acted upon, that actually BECOME change or achievements. One of my mentors, Tony Robbins is famous for his “Take Massive Action” mantra.

This year’s theme for me is a COMMITMENT to ACTION!

I have found that actively practicing the following  helps me stay in integrity with myself, others, and my commitments:

• I take responsibility for everything in my life- I let go of being a victim
• I practice the Gratitude Scan ™    (see previous post)
• I engage in on-going Forgiveness- releasing old resentments opens the door to massive flow, new energy, and manifestation.   Forgiveness releases the prisoner- YOU- to Freedom in it’s ultimate form of unconditional love.
• I ask myself daily:  “What made me happy today?”- not Who, but What?  What action did I commit to today that brought me happiness? How do I feel as a result?
• I transform my “To-Do” lists into “To Be ” lists.  What will I become as a result of taking action and achieving my goals?

So who is on your team?

Intentions are only as good as the determination (commitment) to DO IT! Staying committed is an on-going process-and we can’t do it alone.  Fortify your partnerships and strengthen your participation with  like-minded communities, who will support your intentions and hold you accountable for  taking ACTION towards the changes we want this  year.

Let’s make 2009 the year we actually  BECOME our dreams and the changes we wish to see.

Here is a wonderful exercise adapted from Tony Robbins‘ Awakening the Giant Within, introducing three guiding principles to lasting change:

RAISE YOUR STANDARDS

Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. Write down all the things you will no longer accept or tolerate in your life, and all the things that you aspire to becoming. This is an exercise in deep personal honesty (telling yourself the truth 100% of time). Frequently ask yourself: What am I pretending not to know?

CHANGE YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS

Our beliefs are like unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what’s possible and what’s impossible, what we can and can not do. They shape every action, every thought, and every feeling that we experience. As a result, changing our belief systems is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives. We must develop a sense of certainty that we can and will meet the new standards before we actually do.

CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY

In order to keep your commitment, you need the best strategies for achieving results. If you have set a higher standard, and you can get yourself to believe, then you certainly can figure out the strategies. One of the best strategies in almost any case is to find a role-model, someone who’s already getting the results you want, and then tap into their knowledge.

Read about successful people. The most successful people have had mentors in every stage of their life. Who you associate with does help determine your happiness and success.

Many small business and career development organizations offer free mentoring services with a rich pool of volunteer, seasoned superstars, ready to share with you their experience, knowledge, and expertise.