Discover Human Capability Opportunities To Pay Attention To With LinkedIn

At a recent conference, I sat with 10 groups of 4 to 6 people and in 7 minutes offered each group high level responses to their questions about human capability. They were interested in the answers; I was fascinated with their questions.? This in-person speed teaching was a 90-minute focus group on current hot topics in the HR world.??

I left this exercise not just answering questions based on existing research and practice, but being aware of provocative challenges without established answers that were worth pursuing.? In today’s AI-enabled world, synthesizing previous research with legacy answers can be readily done through OpenAI, ChatGPT, or BardAI.? Business and HR leaders need to provide thought leadership and innovative actions (ideas with impact) by constantly exploring what’s next.?

Pre-COVID I could probe and discover what’s next through in-person learning experiences such as: engaging in open ended interviews, having casual conversations (before, during, and after meals and work), wide ranging coaching sessions, observing leaders and groups in natural work settings, and having question and answer sessions as part of conferences.?

During and post COVID, I have come to appreciate social media, particularly LinkedIn, as another forum for learning what to pay attention to define emerging challenges and opportunities. ?For the last few years, I have posted an article (now with a newsletter) every week (over 200 articles) and spent time (nearly) every day making comments and engaging in dialogue about emerging topics.?

Let me share some tips about how to use LinkedIn to discover emerging human capability challenges and opportunities worth paying attention to even when the conversations are not in person.

1. Focus on ideas more than titles, roles, or positions.? When people post and/or make comments, I care less about who they are and more about what they have to say.? I often call comments and dialogues on LinkedIn my “idea friends” because the ideas encourage critical thinking more than deference to a role or title. ?Ideas are not bounded by role or geography, but by impact. Every week, I learn something new from my LinkedIn idea friends.?
2. Enable global reach.? Not only does LinkedIn allow for “idea friends”, but also creates relationship neighborhoods.?With over 900 million subscribers in 200 countries, LinkedIn allows for global reach.?Many of those I follow, who follow me, and share the most innovative ideas are from countries I would never likely visit. LinkedIn has been a forum where a cohort of colleagues form a community with common interests as they connect with each other.? I enjoy having regular on-line conversations with dozens of colleagues daily or weekly who share and challenge ideas.? I now have idea friends and new relationship neighbors who I have come to know and appreciate even though we have never formally met.?Some days, I am engaged in multiple conversations about new ideas with new neighbors from many countries who help me learn.
3. Access timely ideas.? Writing a book (or doing rigorous research) takes months to frame, more months to do, even more months to edit and analyze, then months to publish and promote.? By the time the book (or research) appears, some of the ideas, findings, and stories may be dated.? With weekly posts, insights can be timely and relevant.? I generally draft my posts on Friday or Saturday, receive great editing Monday, and help posting Tuesday morning.? This cadence ensures timely ideas on current topics and requires constantly listening, observing, and thinking about relevant topics to post each week.?
4. Collaborate with colleagues.? I often run into thoughtful colleagues who have a great idea they want to flesh out and share.? I relish co-publishing with them on LinkedIn as a great opportunity to collaborate to further ideas and relationships.?I have co-authored with over a dozen colleagues and enjoy these learning moments as neighborhood friends share ideas together.
5. Receive timely feedback.? With every post or comment, immediate feedback follows with impressions, comments, likes, and shares.? Sometimes the comments confirm the quality of ideas and sometimes the comments suggest that I overlooked something important. ?Timely feedback lets me learn what I should pay attention to because if is of more or less interest to a broad audience.
6. Respond to ideas.? Sometimes my writing does not communicate what I intend or people misinterpret what I say.? People may disagree with me because they do not understand or are not aware of the work I/we have done. For example, I have had people say that they disagree with me and that “HR should be part of the business” which is what my colleagues and I have been saying for 30 years!? LinkedIn allows clarifying responses.? In another post, I was trying to encourage diverse thinking, but a comment pointed out that my writing did not communicate this intent. ?I was able to quickly respond to the comment by sharing what I intended.? Learning occurs when I find out if what I intend to share comes across.
7. Scale impact.? Books and articles that shape timeless ideas with solid research and compelling stories may have long term impact.? LinkedIn posts may have a scalable impact, at least in the short term.? The number of views of LinkedIn posts in a week generally far exceeds book sales over time.? Books and research articles may sustain ideas, but LinkedIn posts scale impact in the short term.?

The sum of these efforts makes LinkedIn a viable means to determine what ideas to pay attention to.? Because of LinkedIn, I have written recently about evolutions in human capability topics such as: employee experience, personalization, mental health, generational differences, hybrid work, culture, uncertainty, regulatory disclosures, ?paradox, agility, analytics, chatGPT, HR value, and so forth.

LinkedIn (like any social media) is not a flawless way to learn what to pay attention to:

• 1100 to 1200 words posts do not allow for thorough presentations,
• weekly posts are often not as rigorous, edited, or well written as articles or books,
• the half-life (when 50% have read post) is often about a week,
• at times there are trolls who are less interested in learning than disrupting or posturing

In a world where AI can quickly synthesize the past, the ability to identify leading future trends will continue to come from personal and face to face interactions (like the focus group), and also from using social media (like LinkedIn) to recognize and offer insights on timely issues. ?

Where do you find your new insights?? How do you use social media (e.g., LinkedIn) to anticipate your future?

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Dave Ulrich?is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a partner at The RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations and leaders deliver value.