Client
Iain McAndrew
“Get writing, it helps you develop your ideas and thinking, both professionally and personally.” Iain McAndrew
I’ve worked with Lucy Gower over a number of years now and she always encourages people to share their ideas. Whether it’s in their team, on the conference circuit or writing blogs and articles.
She’s often offered up her blog to me as a platform to share my ideas on, and in the past I’ve often declined. There are so many great bloggers out there. I’ve spoken on a conference platform, yet felt apprehensive about stepping into the world of putting pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – and unleashing my ideas into an unsuspecting world. I expect most of us feel like that at some point in our career, fine to say something at your team meeting, when in the company of peers or even on a conference platform, but writing something and publishing it for anyone in the world to read and potentially criticise is a bit more daunting.
Lucy kept encouraging me that my ideas should be shared more widely, that I could be missing the opportunity to find like-minded people – or people who disagree – to help build and formulate better thinking and better ideas. If you don’t share, then what’s the point? What if you have that game-changing idea or, that challenging question but not the answer? If you are never bold enough to open up your ideas and challenges to the widest possible audience and let others help, you ultimately lessen the opportunity to make them become reality.
I’ve now written several blogs for www.lucyinnovation.co.uk – a blog for people interested in fundraising innovation – and have had a range of comments and opinions from others; some positive and encouraging, others more challenging. All the comments are helping me refine my own thoughts in the process.
Putting my ideas out there has helped to build my blogging confidence, connect with more like-minded individuals who challenge my own thinking and I’ve ultimately enjoyed the process. Although, as someone who doesn’t consider themselves a writer, I have to admit it has been painful at times. Lucy will not compromise if your blog does not make sense to the target audience, making the experience a learning curve that I’m pleased to have personally challenged myself to accomplish.
Now when I want to write a blog, I know if I go through Lucy and her team, they will be honest about the topic and how its written and their feedback has only served to make my blogs more considered and impactful.
It’s not about perfection, but it’s about building confidence, sharing ideas and helping you and others think differently about the world we live and work in. Better done than perfect.
In a digital world, the skill of blogging is helpful. It helps you convey more impact through less verbage. Anyone hoping to build their own personal or organisational brand could do well to blog – both recruiters and employers look for it. And, in the day-to-day world of social engagement, the digital fluency required to communicate and share across social networks are no longer ones reserved for the young or the techno geek. A CV in the post isn’t enough any more. Social capital is important.
If you are thinking about blogging, and haven’t quite got round to it, I really encourage you to take the plunge. It’s great to be able to have a platform to share and build ideas and in doing so build your ecosystem of relationships with others who will challenge you to make those ideas better, drive you to make them happen or, take you off in a completely different (and more exciting) direction.
Start today by downloading ‘How to write a brilliant blog’.