Chief Learning Officer magazine - Outsourcing Increase in 2010?

Chief Learning Officer magazine - Outsourcing Increase in 2010?

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Yellow Giraffe Learning Partners Celebrates 6 Months

The first six months at Yellow Giraffe Learning Partners, LLC have been a whirlwind of networking, designing programs, meeting deadlines, and building relationships. On the business side, designing business cards, setting up the website and learning all about small business taxes have been a fun and challenging learning curve.

Special thanks to all of my clients and their continued trust in our relationship as we co-create learning solutions! Also, I want to thank Lance Saeger (http://www.nparallel.com/) for working with me to create an engaging and memorable logo and business card, and Jane Neumiller-Bustad (http://www.creativemindconsulting.com/) for jump-starting my website strategy. Last but not least, I need to thank my VERY supportive family and friends for all of the faith, good vibes, and strong shoulders to lean on as this process has come to fruition.

All of you have been a crucial piece to my successful six months in business full-time for myself, and I thank you wholeheartedly.

Leadership and Social Media

Recently I heard from a friend who was reprimanded at work for being active on LinkedIn. His boss asked him directly if he were looking for a new job. He said, "No. I am not. I have been asked to provide recommendations for some colleagues who have recently lost jobs."

A couple of things come to mind when an employee is put in this situation:

1. How did the boss know the employee was on LinkedIn, if he/she is not on it as well?

2. What is the effect on the working relationship between an employee and his/her organization when these questions are asked?

* The employee is now afraid to write recommendations for business partners, and is averse to using LinkedIn as a networking and learning tool for his work.
* The boss, the leader in this organization, is not providing trust. How then, will employees be able to give trust in return?

3. There is a lack of understanding about what the capabilities are of LinkedIn. It is not just for job seekers; it can lead to new clients, it can be a way to keep up with business relationships, and a way to learn using social media, to name a few applications. And yes, it can also be used for job searching.

What thoughts do you have on this situation, and how would you handle it?