Write. Read. Share.

I’m going into my eighth year of having an HR blog. It’s something I truly enjoy. It gives me a chance to share my thoughts, perspectives and ideas. I have always liked being creative, and having a platform like this gives me a chance to see what hits the page. I was a relatively early adopter of HR blogging and I admired the folks who were already active, visible and vocal when I started.

Many of the bloggers I read have tapered off. I understand that. It’s hard to come up with content, be consistent and sustain a blog. I miss seeing their work, but appreciate all that they did to bring the world of Human Resources to the business arena !!

Now, there are several new HR professionals who have started their own blogs. They are at various stages of their careers and come from different industries. It’s honestly exciting and reminds me of when blogging first began.

At the same time, there’s a concerning trend that is honestly disappointing. I keeps seeing more and more tweets and blog posts bemoaning that these new bloggers aren’t sharing anything “new”. They only contain retreads of ideas. Or, even worse, people spending so much more time tearing the ideas of others down instead of trying to listen and understand someone else’s perspective. The darkness, negativity and cynicism seems to be rampant, growing and prevalent. It doesn’t make sense.

When, in the history of society, did tearing things down ever result in building things up ??

I want to see this change. I want people to see people share all types of perspectives and insights. It’s not a matter of agreeing with everything that’s written. However, it does mean allowing all voices to be expressed. There is more than enough room for everyone’s blog. We don’t need to constrain things. Keep in mind that these new bloggers are reaching a new audience as well. The work they’re creating is solid and has real value. With that in mind, I’d encourage you to follow a new model – Write. Read. Share.

Write

As I mentioned earlier, writing for me is a release. I seem to have ideas constantly swirling around in my brain just trying to burst out. In fact, I write a weekly email for a global forum called the HR Net that I’ve been doing for 19 years. I write a song parody about HR and have written over 500 songs. Again, they just need to get out. Writing is cathartic. It’s key to get your ideas in front of others so they can be consumed, critiqued and understood. I think that getting your ideas down is where you should focus, and however you choose to approach this is fine. There’s no one method that works for everyone. The most important facet is to take the first step and write.

Read

I’m a voracious reader. I have been for as long as I can remember. I have two to three books going at a time, and they’re rarely from the same genre. I also read the blogs of many people they range from curated sites which gather the works of many authors to individuals who I enjoy learning from. You see, I read to learn. I don’t want to ever fall into the trap that my voice alone is all there is to know on any subject or facet of HR, work or life. With billions of people roaming the planet at the same time, I have to believe that they myriad of thoughts available is endless.

Share

Writing and reading are wonderful, but they are also self-serving. If I only express myself by writing and then only personally learn from reading, then the impact of that information is limited to my personal capacity. I think that sharing the work of others even more important than writing. I am a zealot about being others focused. It is in my core. I have never felt challenged, diminished or obstructed by shining the light on others. If you look back in history, the only way people learned was by sharing.

From now on, be encouraging of others. Let’s stop the trend of negativity for good. You have the time. Remember this – If you have time to write, you have time to read. If you have time to read, you have time to share.

Go forward and write what’s in your heart and on your mind. Read what others say and learn from them. And, share broadly and often so that our HR and business community can grow.

Write. Read. Share.