The Invisible Mentor

Take Control Of Your Professional Development The Podcamp Way

February 22nd, 2010 |

When it comes to taking control of your professional development, how do you rate yourself?

I spent this weekend at Podcamp Toronto, the first time I have ever attended. I am not going to focus on the the sessions I attended, but on what the organizers said during orientation, which resonated with what I have consistently said on this blog.

Podcamp, the unconference, is different from other conferences because it’s organized by participants for participants. Connie Crosby, one of the key organizers emphasized that participants are responsible for their own learning, that is, take control of their own professional development. With that in mind, participants were encouraged to leave sessions if they felt that they weren’t getting what they needed (A concept called The Rule of Two Feet), and attend others to see if there was a better fit for them.

Other key aspects of Podcamp unconferences are the sharing, paying it forward and flexibility. Presenters who are also participants share their knowledge, wisdom and experiences so that others may learn from them. Many who have attended previous unconferences subsequently present at later unconferences, honoring the idea of paying it forward. And when you attend these unconferences, there are slots left free for sessions that participants can fill if they want to expand and continue a conversation, or start a conversation they see missing. Traditional conferences can learn from the flexibility of unconferences, as well as practice the Rule of Two Feet to increase attendee satisfaction.

A model such as this, fills some very basic needs, and people learn from their peers or those who have traveled further down the path they are on. When the economy slows down, training budgets are the first ones that are slashed. How do you respond when this occurs? Do you place your professional development on hold, waiting for the economy to pick up? Or are you proactive and take your professional development into your own hands? I hope it’s the latter and that you are taking care of your continuous learning.

How might you apply the idea of the unconference to your life? What are ways in which you can take care of your professional development? One way is to get a group of friends together, where each friend would present to the others on a topic that they are very knowledgeable and/or passionate about. This could be organized as a potluck dinner because food makes everything better. Each person in the group would benefit, and may even learn about a model or concept that could be applied in their field or industry.

Another way to apply the concept is to teach others what you know, so that they may learn, and in the process you will deepen your knowledge in the subject.

Let’s keep the conversation going, please comment.

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For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

On February 22, 2010, from noon to 1 pm EST, I will be the guest speaker on a teleseminar on women re-inventing themselves. If you can attend, the call in details are Conference Dial-In: 1-712-432-3100, Conference Code: 932589.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons via Apture