Professional development and on-the-job training is changing. With the speed of transformation in our technologically driven world, we are finding new ways to learn. Google (search for) the solution to any work problem. Ask your Twitter followers for their suggestions. Post a question on Facebook. Heck, you can learn how to knit from a video online, why not apply the wonders of the online world to work (or volunteer) problems? Today, thanks to the Internet, we can be simultaneously self-sufficient and more dependent on others (the kindness of strangers) than at any other time in history.
Today’s curious and expanding minds can find the answers to almost any question online but sometimes direct human interaction can’t be replaced. As people look to further their careers, many look for mentors to help guide them. Simultaneously, many people look to their volunteer activities to also provide career expanding experience.
A bit of training and managing comes with every new employee or volunteer. “Here’s where we keep the copier paper.” “This is how we set up a conference call.” “This is the way “we” do it here.” But mentoring is more than imparting the mechanics of a job. Mentors provide career advice at a higher level. Mentors can help you determine work-life balance. Mentors can help you see the trees in the forest and help you find your way out of the woods before dark. Mentors can be bosses but the role is less concerned with the here and now of getting tasks completed than a boss is.
Mentoring too has undergone a transformation. While establishing a one-on-one relationship with a respected professional in your field, one who can guide you and make introductions for you to other respected professionals, is still one of the best ways to expand your professional horizons, now you can also turn to groups. Enter crowdsourced mentoring.
Crowdsourcing tasks are ones traditionally performed by specific individuals that are offered to a group of people or community (crowd) assembled through an open call. Wikipedia is a good example of crowdsourcing. The word “crowdsourcing” has become shorthand for the trend of leveraging the masses online but given the right environment, you can crowdsource in person too.
Today’s curious and expanding minds can find the answers to almost any question online but sometimes direct human interaction can’t be replaced.
For the last several years, I’ve been running a networking group called the Nonprofit Executives. Nonprofit Executives is focused on connecting professionals committed to the nonprofit sector and those who wish to be. We link nonprofit professionals to new opportunities, resources and each other, with the intension of developing careers and furthering the level of knowledge and expertise of the group members.
While the group frequently has guest speakers and educational presentations of interest to nonprofit executives, some of the most popular Nonprofit Executives events are the signature networking events. In these events, everyone in the room has the opportunity to tell their story or give their pitch, and receive feedback from the group. These sessions tend to focus on the sharing of real world experiences and professional development. Where one person is looking for details on how to perform a specific task, they may be able to impart their deep knowledge of another. And where a more traditional mentor is limited in the number of people in their network and the experiences they have to share, the group seems to have an almost limitless supply.
Through Nonprofit Executives, I’ve had the pleasure of helping people break into the nonprofit field and providing nonprofit professionals an opportunity to receive guidance from one another. Crowdsourced mentoring may be the new thing in this day and age, but mentoring in general is just plain effective. So whether just for a morning or for an entire day, find an event with likeminded individuals and put yourself out there. Everyone has something to share, and you may just receive that great piece of advice you’ve been looking for.
