I believe when one shares their passion for innovation, strategies, and technical knowledge, you will get more in return. Before SourceCon, the practice of sharing information wasn’t standard, as industry-wide peers seemed to be fiercely competitive with one another. Though many staffing professionals hold their knowledge and practical experiences close, believing that sharing knowledge is educating your competitors.
Thankfully, we have gradually shifted from the motto “Knowledge is Power” to “Sharing and Caring is Power.” Now, we know sharing our collective knowledge not only supports the community but also builds our personal and professional brand. Most innovation and inspiration is directly gained from sharing information and discussions. Tossing ideas form one person to another or collaborating with a team allows everyone the opportunity to add their new insights and perspectives.
The practice of regularly sharing information within your team should be a universal practice, but is it? Do you take what you learn from conferences or events and disperse the knowledge gained with more than just your immediate team? How do you take the knowledge and turn into a powerful resource for those who are being onboarding OR maybe influencing the way we think of the role of sourcing?
SourceCon has been demonstrating this type of knowledge power since 2007, proving year after year that sharing makes our industry stronger, and our place (person or company, tech or non-tech) in it more beneficial. I learned a long time ago that sharing information is the most effective factor for success among professionals. This could change the way we approach metrics and view internal competition, while nurturing each of us is better and make improved approaches.
So how do we take this amazing information and turn it into positive power for our industry? Glad you asked.
Participate in the conversation in whatever way you’re comfortable. If it’s creating tips or a space for knowledge sharing at work, blogging, writing articles, attending or speaking at conferences, the key is joining the conversation.
If you’re comfortable with writing content for others to read you’ll need to start with a topic or question and know the answers while writing your thoughts. Start with what is important to you while keeping your audience in mind, with the goal of having them walk away with a potential solution to a shared topic. This will give you value and more importantly add value to our community as a whole.
Sharing knowledge in conversations can also a great way to discover and spark further ideas from others. There might be situations where your solution does not apply fully and having someone bring their ideas would be a win/win situation. It happens to me all the time, how about you? New perspectives create new ideas and spark innovation that we want in our industry.
By sharing, we spread knowledge while simultaneously encouraging new voices to join the conversation. SourceCon is constantly doing this by helping others grow, and when any of us grow, our community grows. In addition to conferences, you can share knowledge at local meetups, host webinars or classes, and of course volunteer to present at local sourcing chapters.
If you think they have nothing to share, remember, we were all was once in your shoes and thought no one would want to hear what we have to say. Now, I couldn’t disagree more! We all have a voice, bringing with it a different point of views. If you’re reluctant to share because you feel like you’re not an established SME, remember we’ve all been there! Well, our industry needs more new voices, and like technology, our industry is evolving with individuals like, you who may have a lot to say! Your opinion and experiences matter and our industry need to be there for you as you are there for us.
There are so many benefits to joining the conversation and the community, but probably the most exciting side of sharing knowledge is sharing your perspective and networking!! It can not only lead to new tools, methods, ideas, innovations, connections, but also a potential opportunity for writing or speaking engagements, job opportunities the list is endless. So, raise your hand, ask to present, ask to practice, we are all in it together and want to learn from you!