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Future proof your career: Tweet !

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"So can you share with the audience, "what do you use twitter for ?" asked my host at the Twitter office'

" Might be easier if you asked what I don't use twitter for'' I said. The audience laughed (half in jest, half in disbelief). I went onto explain what my day had been like till that moment.

6.30 AM :Wake up. Check twitter. Find 3 new people who had joined my tribe by retweeting my slidedeck "How to lead (when you no longer ride a horse to work).

8 AM: Break my promise to not use screen during breakfast because the twitter chatunfolding had too many interesting insights on social leadership.

8.30 AM - Skype with Mike Howard (Global CSO of Microsoft) - who I met on twitter and invited him to Asia's first trending twitter chat for leaders (#ihrchat) as guest. Disclaimer: I am the host of this chat and Mike is an amazing social leader.

9 AM - One hour interview with Navi Radjou (World acclaimed innovation author) whose work I came across recommended to me on Twitter.

10 AM - Respond to people who are (still) not on twitter but on email. 12 noon - At the Twitter office giving a talk on why leaders simply can not afford to ignore the potential of twitter.

Now before you tell me you are not a host of a twitter chat nor have any aspirations for interviewing global leaders, consider Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD of a roughly $16 billion conglomerate who spends a fair amount of time interacting on twitter (even with ppl like me). What do you think he gets from being on Twitter so much ? Surely the man has other important things to take care of. He is a front runner in what is likely to be a key differentiating advantage for leaders of our times. That is, he is a social leader.Social leadership is a capability you can't ignore. If you are serious about future proofing your career. Why ?

1. Social media is there to stay. It is the most powerful means of creating a personal learning network, curating ideas and learning without boundaries and hierarchies. Interesting conversations, connections and insights all unfolding at the same time.  Learning and staying ahead of the competition is a powerful way to future proof your career. Twitter in my experience is exactly this experience on steroids.
 

2. Social media provides an opportunity for you to find your tribe and build your personal brand irrespective of whether you are an intern or an MD. If Facebook is a social graph, Linkedin a professional graph, then Twitter is an interest graph. For me #ihrchatcommunity has been that tribe. I belong to a few other tribes whose hashtags I follow closely. The networks your create online are in your pocket and a tweet away always. Ultimately, your network is your net worth.

3. The emergent nature of Twitter, which no doubt can be daunting at first, has the opportunity to let interesting ideas emerge to the top. It also is a wonderful place for serendipity. It allows you to be open to connections that sometimes surprise you and connect things in a way that is not possible in the limited interaction space of daily life sometimes.

So there you have it ! That is why I consider Twitter an important part of my day and my professional journey. And an important way to future proof your career.

Follow me on twitter @tanvi_gautam and www.leadershiftinc.com