Musing…
“Make
tea, not war.” – Monty Python
Charise’s
Turn:
My
first instinct for a subject for this blog entry was tea -- as in having a cup
of tea, sharing tea. People who know me know my love of tea, how I only brew loose
tealeaves that have more taste than any tea bag infused cups from Starbucks, or
from any restaurant for that matter. But the matter at hand is how my subject
shifts from tea. In a recent Liz Lerman Dance movement lab we were asked to
fill in the blanks for “I am the ___ who _____“, with both words and
movement. For me, this became “I
am the friend who makes tea”.
Tea, friendship, hospitality, sharing…segue to social capital.
At
a recent Mentorcoach conference, Ellen Ostrow, PhD introduced the concept of
social capital. “Resources reside
in relationships”; and “competency is not enough…connection is everything”, are
my takeaways from what she said. We need avenues to share our creativity with
others, and that requires connection -- formal, informal, personal and
professional.
Self-promotion
can be pretty lonely, isolating even. You can make yourself a lovely website
that sits. One way to build your social capital is to interface with other websites
or organizations that showcase what you do, extending your reach beyond your
own website, office, business, shop, or studio. I recently joined the Expat
Coach Association, and along with my co-author Debra Bryson, gave an interview
at their request. They featured us as expat coaches of the month for July. This
coach of the month interview reaches a wider audience then we could have found on
our own. It's akin to inviting more people to pull up a chair and listen.
Get Fired Up:
The
value behind nurturing social capital is altruism. Give an interview, idea, or
an invitation to experience what you have to offer. Explore your niche, your specialty, your interests to see
what else is out there. You’re not alone – reap the benefit of connecting.
Share a cup of tea.
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