The Magic of Including People
Participation is a powerful thing. There’s nothing more magical than including others into your circle, be it at a social event, at work, or in the larger context of using social networks and media. Here are some thoughts about how this impacts your work and your life overall.
Building Networks Fosters Support
In building a social network, I try my best to be as inclusive of people as I can. In the online world, this means that if someone I don’t know adds me to Facebook, I accept, because it might be that they read my blog or follow my Twitters, and maybe they are great folks who know something, and have something to add to the conversation. Why should I exclude them.
The more folks in a network, the more likely someone I’m connected with knows something. I decided to ask a question about professional speaking today, and asked seven people in my network. When I need support, I have a network to reach out to, and I use it regularly. Conversely, I try to be as helpful as possible all the time, too.
Including People in Social Events
During the Podcasting and New Media Expo, I did my best to connect up people I knew from different circles, such that maybe some new friendships or partnerships would form. Why? Because there are LOTS of great people doing great work out there, and it’s not so likely that we’re all going to know each other. Better that I make an effort to help folks make new friends, so that something cool might happen in the future.
And it’s not hard. You just say something like, “C.C., have you met Joel Mark Witt? This guy has the best presence I’ve seen in a while. His podcast totally blew me away. Joel, if you want tips on speaking, C.C. knows how to give a gripping presentation while still seeming human in the process.” Poof. They both have starting points for conversation. Now, if nothing takes off from there, it might just be bad timing, or bad chemistry, but you’ve given it a shot.
Including People at Work
The key to great work relationships is participation. This goes from the leaders down to the smallest elements of a team. If you’re part of a group at work, participation better be the mainstay of your operating method. And you can’t fake this. Believe me. You might say team, team, team, but if you can’t walk that talk, it will show almost immediately.
Ways to include people at work might be to seek solutions to challenges through the team’s methods, instead of simply dictating an order. If you’re not sure about your team, start with small challenges, and work your way up with each success. Provide guidelines and edges to what you want the team to accomplish, but give them the satisfaction of recommending and implementing a solution. Even if you do this SOME of the time, it’s a great leg up.
Including Family
There are ways to do this in the house. My five-year-old daughter is definitely part of the team wherever we can include her in the picture. She helps my wife bake things. She makes decisions on how we’ll spend free time by making choices we offer to her. She participates in my travel experiences, by charting out my trips on a map, and by keeping close attention to my flight rewards program, so that she knows when I’ll get a free ticket (because she and I have a date in Manhattan when I get that next ticket).
Every time my daughter feels included, she feels stronger, smarter, and more confident. And it’s in that example, in what I know she feels, that I tie this all together. People, when given the chance to participate, feel like they’re PART of something and like they matter. The more you do this in every thing you conceive, and in every project you’re a part of, the more the rewards will come rushing back in upon you.
How about you? Do you take steps to make people feel included? How do YOU feel when you’re included, or not? Any advice for the rest of us?
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Photo credit we3m
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Comments
:) This is a great post! I think it would have been even better with a personal example of teamwork, perhaps a good and bad example.
I didn’t know that you worked with Jeff Pulver (until the previous post) but I noticed good synergy between the two of you from his blogtv show, perhaps you could illustrate your point with a paragraph on that one day?
Our training supervisor at my current employer (I am one of those marketing/PR types that you tweet about, lol) illustrates this point with the behavior model… being that 70% of us all are people oriented to some degree, then its not a stretch to see how important teamwork and a sense of belonging play into life.
I’m working on this with out staff - inviting people to meetings for clients or processes they’ve had no contact with so that we (and they) get a new perspective. What I find is that people get excited about being included - and if they can’t make it, that’s OK. Everyone likes to be asked.
I travel a lot for business and pleasure - and I love to call my niece and nephew and talk about where I am so they see the world is bigger than their town. So I bought them a globe and they track where I am and where I’ve been. I also bring them back a token (or whatever) from the subway/transport system from the places I’m at. It keeps a line of communication open between us and expands their imagination.
For those who have yet to meet Mr. Brogan in real life, these words are both preached and practi8ced upon.
Chris - thank you for the introductions and including me in several of the circles during the Social Media Breakfast!
The PNME was actually the first podcast conference Marc and I had ever been too. While at times it was overwhelming, it was people like you, Jim and Charlie that made us feel included. Thank you so much for being friendly and approchable.
And on a sidenote I agree, Joel has an amazing presence. I love his podcast and we probably would have never met him if not for you guys.
Chris, nice blog.
An email from one of my friends to his friend was about 15 words long, kind of like your template…
“Hey, M, meet Dr.M. He’s ____. M’s ____. Hope you guys enjoy working together.”
That email, 3 weeks back, has led up to a book proposal sitting on the desk of a major New York publishing house!
It gave me a HUGE new perspective about participatory involvement, and more important, the role of playing ‘connector’. I’m now in the advantageous position of knowing many groups of people, and will work on bringing them together more actively, now that I’m convinced about how beneficial a quick word in the right place can be.
As for getting people to participate as part of ‘ownership’ of a concept, it is that exact approach that’s taken my non-profit Foundation from start up to being able to fund 22 heart operations in under 4 years.
I’m often blown away by how incredibly supportive, energetic and inspiring my helpers are - and that’s because they feel INVOLVED in helping a child through supporting my project.
See 2 examples of participatory projects here:
http://www.CHDinfo.com/squidoo.htm
Dr.Mani
Hi Chris, this is an interesting post, applicable on many levels as you point out.
I apologize ahead of time for such a long comment, but sometimes being included is life-changing…
I manage the Advanced Prosthetics/Amputee Studies Research Program for the Army. This program manages the research that benefits our amputee soldiers at places such as the new Military Advanced Training Center @ Walter Reed Army Medical Center in DC, and the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX.
While engaging with some of the worlds leading medical researchers, I have Project Officers that run much of the day-to-day “administrivia” of the program. It would be easy for them to disconnect from the meat of the project & sink into the paperwork. Because these amputee soldiers have literally given so much, I feel a strong obligation to give them back as much as possible. So instead of leaving these Project Officer’s to do only paperwork, I give them direct responsibility for key phases of our research efforts. With this responsibility, they become personally invested in the projects success.
Yes, including them like this helps my workload, but most importantly, it results in a positive outcome & benefit for our soldiers, and it gives these Project Officers a rewarding personal stake in a very rewarding program that is bringing great things our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines.
Everyone that has worked as a part of this program has been touched and changed by the experience of working with these stronger-than-real-life young people. Without being included, we would have missed the opportunity to have our lives changed for the better.
Thank you for letting me share that.
[…] your investors, your partners. Chris Brogan wrote about this in the aptly titled post, “The Magic of Including People“. Unfortunately in the PR world we also must beat down a perception of what PR is, or in this […]
Chris:
And everytime I feel included, I feel so grateful. When I was a boy, I frequently felt left out because I couldn’t keep up with the ongoing conversation. Since we’ve already met, you know what I’m referring to. I’ve been deaf since birth and while I consider myself an expert lip-reader, I don’t always keep up with conversations.
You are a master of including people. When I met you at SOBCon08, you were very approachable, friendly and articulate. I felt like you were including me in your world and I thank you for that. You definitely walk the talk!
Here, here. Great thoughts. Including the inclusiveness issue with your daughter hits home with me. I have a two-year-old son and can sometimes dismiss including him because of his age. When I do, however, the difference is noticeable! Good stuff.
See you in Vegas next month!