“Knowledge workers in today's workforce are individuals who are valued for their ability to act and communicate with knowledge within a specific subject area.”[i]  Most of you reading this entry probably consider yourselves to be knowledge workers.  You probably also work with a bunch of other knowledge workers.  There is a good chance that the organization you work for employs quite a number of knowledge workers and does so in hopes of recognizing the value stated in the definition noted above (i.e., to take advantage of the knowledge they have in a specific subject area).  The definition also emphasizes the importance of the ability to take action. It should go without saying that to help knowledge workers be most effective, they should be enabled to connect and communicate with other knowledge workers to improve innovation, problem solving, etc.

In reading the title of a recent article posted on MarketWatch, “Accenture Study Finds U.S. Workers under Pressure to Improve Skills, but Need More Support from Employers,” my initial reaction was, “Well, duh.”  This is in no way meant to be a slam on Accenture’s work.  In fact, I’m glad that someone has done some research to back up this obvious claim with statistics (since there are many out there who ignore the obvious without some type of empirical proof).  My reaction was more in response to the idea that some managers and leaders out there don’t recognize that their workers face this challenging situation, or perhaps that they turn a blind eye toward it.

There are a number of reasons why people offer their time and expertise in mentoring.  Some of the most common include:

• A desire to help others
• Wanting to give back
• Doing one’s part to better the organization

If none of the above do it for you, try this: get involved in mentoring because it’s the selfish thing to do.

We’ve solved something!  (at least according to Micahael Rochelle, Chief Consultant and Analyst for the Brandon Hall Group).  We were speaking with Michael a few weeks ago about our solution (i.e., what it has done for organizations, as well as what it will do moving forward with some of our upcoming enhancements).  After taking it in and reflecting, Michael said, “You’ve solved something.”

There was an interesting piece posted on Business Insider a couple of weeks ago that talks about how organizations need to look at providing the millennial generation with a mentor, instead of a cash bonus, to improve retention (http://www.businessinsider.com/young-workers-mentor-2011-7).  While I agree with the part of the message that focuses on the fact that money is not the most important driver, I think we need to take a look at what it is that millennials are really asking for.

Caveat: I know that my position on this is somewhat biased given what we do at Triple Creek.  But hey, this is a blog and I’m entitled to be opinionated, right?

In my last blog entry, I wrote about the marriage of people-centric and people-first learning approaches (http://www.3creek.com/index.php?/612-the-marriage-of-people-centric-and-people-first-learning.html).  As I reflected on what I wrote, I can’t help but think about something that one of our shareholders likes to say from time-to-time: “We’re gonna be big!”  The reality is that the time is considerably more right for Open Mentoring than it ever has been before.  Why?  Allow me to expound by looking at what organizations need from their learning practices today:

Who is in the best position to determine what an individual needs to learn?  I’ll give you a moment to think about it…………….  The correct answer is……………. the individual him or herself.  It’s not the organization or some other type of external entity.  The individual may lean on advice and feedback from others in the process of determining their specific needs, but at the end of the day, that individual is in the best position to identify what they need. 

Few people, if any, like being wrong.  It’s human nature to want to be right, sometimes even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  How many times have you seen someone continue to defend a seemingly indefensible position, driven to do so by pure stubbornness?  (I’ve been a guilty party in this type of exercise).  Some people handle it better than others and I’m willing to admit that I’m probably not one of them. 

There has been quite a bit written recently about generational differences and the subsequent implications for organizations when addressing a myriad of workforce issues.  I myself have written multiple blog entries about the topic of generational differences, and now it is time for another.