Leadership 101:  Back to Basics

http://leadershipbasics101.wordpress.com/

Topic:  Basic best behaviors and models for effective leadership based on the content of an in-house leadership development program that has been offered since 1998.

Audience:  Leaders at my organization:

• most of whom have completed the in-house leadership development program so this will act as a reminder/support mechanism for behavior change, as well as an opportunity for them to share their stories of success and struggles and perhaps receive tips and encouragment from each other as they grow together to be the best they can be, and 
• others whom faculty hope will complete the program soon, such as new leaders or those who plan to move into leadership, who may use this tool as a spark for growth, even if they choose not to attend the program.
• Note:  The live piece of the program is fantastic because it puts the participants into "real-play" situations where they practice using the skills taught and they give/receive feedback to/from peers and faculty about their use of the behaviors.  They are encouraged and pushed to step outside of their comfort zones and try on these new skills to see how they will work before going into a live situation back "at the office." Transformations occur during class, but faculty is not certain the behaviors are maintained long term outside of the classroom for many.  
• I am one of the faculty members, so writing the blog should build trust in me into the blog for the readers who've attended the course, and introduce me to those who attend after reading the blog.  My hope is that (after this class) my fellow faculty members will begin to write posts with me. 

Blog Used:  WordPress

Widgets: 

• Search - to allow users to search the blog for key words so they can find the information they want quickly.
• Blog Subscriptions - to allow users to receive e-mails when new posts are made, because most of the users are accustomed to using e-mail at work but maybe not blogs.
• Recent Posts - to allow users to quickly see what's been posted recently in case they don't visit regularly.
• Archives - to allow users to peruse postings at their leisure.

Theme:  Twenty Ten by the Word Press team

Reactions to moderated comments:   I"m not yet sure what my reaction to moderated blogging is.  From a reader standpoint, it was a little odd not to see my post show up immediately.  I also did not always have a message telling me the blog was moderated...so one time I actually sent the same message twice thinking I had imagined sending it the first time.  From a writer standpoint, I didn't have a lot of visitors who commented so it was not a great pilot test for me.  I can see where having a moderated blog might help censor the comment content, but then I struggle with not allowing folks to speak their mind.  I am still undecided on the "to moderate or not to moderate" question.

Since this is for work...

Describe how you will set up your blog:  public, invited readers, or moderated, and explain why.

I will set up my work blog as a public blog because the list of leaders is over 400 and I really don't want to have to keep up with leadership changes.  Also, the information that will be provided in the posts is good information for informal leaders, parents, and anyone else who just wants to be have more effective relationships with people.  I may have to reconsider, however, because my organization has requested that we not use it's name when blogging.  I don't think I will use the name but the people who comment may.

What blog program did you use and why?

I plan to ask at work if there is a special blog I should use.  If not, I will use either eblogger or WordPress becasue they are free and after this class I will have expereince using both.  Most likely, I will use WordPress since I will have already posted several times and can just pick up from there.

Were there any existing policies for blog use in your place of work?

My organization is currently in the process of creating a social media policy. 

Were you asked to contribute to establishing blog policies for your work place?

I have not been asked to be a part of creating the new policy.  The leader of the team is not too technical though so I somewhat expect I might be called in to cover the aspect of the possibilities of how employees may socialize electronically since I've been asking around about it.