Monday, May 18, 2009

Torn Between Two Worlds, Or Am I?

I've spent the last month off-line working in two worlds, the face-to-face classroom and learning more about social networking. I continue to be excited about both. To me, there is nothing better than students who are fully engaged in a live discussion/argument/debate/dialogue. When someone gets up and starts to walk around because they just can't contain their energy, I know I've got them.

Likewise, the abandonment with which people engage in Facebook, Twitter, Ning, MySpace, etc., creates whole new exciting educational possibilities that didn't exist a few years ago. I recently read the fastest growing group of people on Facebook are women over 40. Forget the NetGen, we're all living-on-line.

However, I'm seeing something troublesome begin to happen. It appears to be the assumption that some of us are either too old, not techie enough or just not interested in the online or "modern" environment. I've seen it with computer skills but most recently in an assumption that a traditional pipe organist cannot or will not, learn to play non-traditional church music on electronic keyboards. The problem is that the parties involved aren't being asked if they have the interest to learn. An assumption is made, action is taken and that's it.

We all have preferred ways of doing things. In the public section it's called WIIFM.."What's in it for me?" Very few of us move out of our comfort zones unless we can see something in it for ourselves. WIIFM could be new friends, a new skill, greater happiness, a more healthy life or a benefit for the community. Whatever it is, it has to have meaning for the people we're asking to change.

Most people don't immediately jump into whatever is new. That's for the cutting edge junkies. Something comes into wide-spread use when people begin to see how it can positively impact their lives. I remember telling a friend I thought phones with cameras in them were stupid. Then I found myself on vacation and camera-less but with a phone. You better believe the next phone I got had a camera. My point is this...if you are a person who is leading a technology change, don't assume those who say things like "Twitter is stupid" are not on board and never will be. Give them a chance by helping them see the possibilities.
  1. Help them by teaching them or by leading them to the resources so they can teach themselves. The more someone uses something the more comfortable they become.
  2. Remember the "learner's mind," that is, how confusing something new is to someone who knows nothing about it.
  3. Ask them if they have an interest in learning about non-traditional music played on an electronic instrument or in understanding what an RSS feed is and does. Don't assume and then make decisions based upon your assumptions.
  4. If after all of that, you decide the person really isn't going to be able to adapt, be kind to them. They deserve more than "you no longer fit our organization."

What's in it for you? How about living the values that demonstrate great leadership? Those don't change, no matter what world you inhabit.