Knowledge Center
The 60-Second Consultant
A minute of wisdom
Current Edition
#19: 9 December 2008
If Obama Is "President 2.0", What About Employees?
By Timothy Bentley
Headlines have described Barack Obama as "President 2.0". The term reflects his collaborative style of relating to people in the US and the world. It evokes his use of new social media collectively known as Web 2.0.
These Internet capabilities are revolutionary because they give everyone a voice, and encourage feedback loops.
A paradigm shift is underway that makes obsolete our old views of what makes an organization successful.
Because of the current economic crunch, it's all the more urgent to identify those special employees who are capable of leading their organizations into an uncharted future. Below, I'll suggest questions you can use in 360-degree feedback to discover who they are.
We used to rely on supervisors to point them out, but discovered that this reinforces old paradigms of leadership.
That's why many organizations are turning to 360-degree feedback. To expand their circle of assessment to include a wide range of perspectives, is in itself a "2.0" act.
But here's the challenge: the 360 questionnaires we used in the past may overlook competencies that could guide us through the economic recovery and into the years of prosperity to come.
So here are some questions you might want to add, to identify those remarkable employees who are, or are becoming, "2.0".
Web Awareness
- Understands the emerging media of Web 2.0
- Uses social media to listen and communicate up, down, and around
- Encourages others in the organization to use new media
Openness To New Information
- Scans social, political, and technological developments for opportunities and threats to the organization
- Communicates with people outside the organization in order to stay current with developments
- Understands the changing interests and expectations of employees, customers, and suppliers
Flexibility
- Questions traditional organizational assumptions
- Shows flexibility in thinking, experimenting with ideas outside the box
- Asks for feedback and uses it to plan personal and professional changes
Under the old paradigm, we often overlooked staff who rated highly on these traits. We based succession planning more on who they knew than what they knew.
Find them. Nurture them. Reward them. Promote them.
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