In the past few weeks i’m thinking about sharing knowledge and specifically about sharing it in a workplace context.  People around my age are undoubtedly familiar with term “Manage Up” as a form of career advancement.  If you’re not familiar with the term it’s essentially the “professional” way of saying be a kiss-up,play the game , etc ,etc.  Penelope Trunk over at Brazen Careerist has pointed to this a number of times in the past as a critical skill to get your career to where you want.  Maybe it’s because i’ve  been around the block a few times but there seems to be something missing here.

Some people think managing up is brown nosing, but in fact, a lot of it is about humanizing the workplace. Managing up is about you caring for your boss, and the result will be your boss caring for you.   Peleople Trunk,  Brazen Careerist.

This notion of care for your boss and your boss will care for you is great and nice but what your boss really wants  from you, and listen to this now kids.. is VALUE.  Give them something they can’t get elsewhere and you get to keep your job..and for you in the cheap seats that isn’t a fresh cup of coffee every morning.

We are in an extraordinary time when it comes to workplace dynamics.  The old social construct are breaking down and more and more for my generation work is becoming a two way medium. As digital natives it’s not only our personal lives that can be effected positively by social media and Internet technologies but all of our careers.    Those of us who have grown up online understand the milieu in a way that most of our parents and by extension our managers can’t. What seems innate for us isn’t always that way for everyone.Share your knowledge.  It got you your job and it’ll help you move up . None of this is meant to say you don’t have things to learn from those who have been around longer but there’s no reason you can’t teach as well as learn .  It makes you a valuable employee and in this economic storm it’s always better to have  a foundation of more than coffee and smiles to hold onto.

4 things you know about but your manager (probably) doesn’t

1) Socail Networks are more than just those myspace/facebook.

While facebook and Myspace get all the buzz about social networks it’s easy to forget that there are literally thousands of other ones out there. And likely one in your industry that you’re not involved in. It doesn’t matter if you’re an Architect, Teacher, or spy, there are  other people who do what you do and they want to talk.

2) Blogs aren’t just for talking about radom thoughts.

For many people blogs are still the journalistic equivilant of the 15th Level Duengon master.  In reality the people who are in your industry that are blogging are setting themselves up as the thought leaders and are getting ready to leave the rest of you behind.

3)Twitter, Twitter, Twitter

I know. It takes a while to Get.  It may take even longer to explain but inthe end it, if done properly, Twitter can give your company a human face and give them an option to contact you that doesn’t involve a 27 level phone tree .  Please press 1 to talk to a human. This goes hand in hand with #4

4) Talking to the customer is the best thing you can do.

The business model is and always has been, make your product then use one way top down communication to convince or annoy people enough to just buy it. Rinse and Repeat.  Things are changing. People are expecting a level of communication with thier suppliers. They want a customized experiance when possible and at the very least to feel that thier concerns are being heard if not addressed directly. The case study for this in recent history has been Comcast with thier Twitter Comcast cares but it doesn’t have to be just tech companies or twitter.  The  technology is a tool but the communication is the key idea here.