How Wired Are You for Social Collaboration?

Social is the new normal in business and organizations. It requires individuals to adopt new behaviors related to networking, collaboration, agility etc.

But is everyone “wired” for social collaboration, i.e. equipped with the relevant skills and mindset?

How much are you ready for new ways of working? Take the test.

1. When writing a mail to someone you don’t know, you start with:
   A - Dear Sir
   B - Dear Mr. Doe
   C - Dear John
   

2. Your leadership most important values:
   A - Discipline & Execution
   B - ROI
   C - Trust & Autonomy
   

3. Lunch at the workplace
   A - You only have lunch with clients, or grab a sandwich at your desk. Time is money.
   B - You have lunch with co-workers that have the same hierarchical grade as yours – or higher when possible. Conversations are more interesting.
   C - You have lunch with people you like
   

4. Important information coming from your CEO. You prefer to:
   A - Be invited by the CEO to an Executives closed meeting (you enjoy being with your peers, other important executives), then decide who you will cascade the info to and when.
   B - Receive the information in the quarterly executives meeting, the day before it is communicated to all employees. No need for you to cascade it.
   C - Receive the information together with everyone else. The faster everyone is informed, the better.
   
   

5. Your company has set up an internal social network.
   A - You’ve never checked it. You are already overloaded with information, email is enough, your job is so critical for the company that you can’t afford to waste time chatting.
   B - You’ve checked it once but it looked complex. You will try to learn how it works when you have time. The problem is you never have time.
   C - You’re a frequent user. It has enabled you to connect with a wide variety of colleagues, to crowd source ideas and collect useful input for your projects. As a result, you feel more engaged in your job.
   

6. External social networks
   A - You don’t use this sort of things. It’s amazing how much people have lost the sense of privacy. Real-life contacts are so much more valuable than virtual connections.
   B - You have a Facebook account, mostly to spy on your teenager child.
   C - You tweet on a regular basis and you love to experiment new social media and applications.
   

7. Communities at work
   A - You dislike the idea of communities. You are an autonomous, self-started individual; you don’t need to regroup with others to feel strong
   B - You have set up a community at work. You even have appointed all members yourself. Currently, the only posts come from you, but you are confident someday the community will take off and live on its own.
   C - You are a member of several communities. You know the most successful ones are grassroots. It’s for you to listen first, understand then engage and you’re keen on strategizing change from a community perspective.
   

Answers (do I really need to explain?)

• You have ticked a majority of A: not sure you will ever be ready for social collaboration – you’re the “20th Century” archetype. Be aware you may have a toxic effect on your team, on your organization, and on your business achievements.

• You have ticked a majority of B: you are not wired yet, but there is hope. Surround yourself with social collaboration practionners and activitists, and be prepared to learn.

• You have ticked a majority of C: here you are, game changers! The 21st Century is counting on you to make a difference. Bring in the new mindsets and the future of work!

Thoughts?