What I Am Up To

“You don’t write about your job anymore.”

After a couple of gentle prods, I was reminded that I don’t talk about my work as much as I used to. The nature of my work with Alabama Power is quite different than what I did with the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is in the spotlight whenever there is a major disaster, and I’ve had more than a few inquiries from people who wanted to know more about the relief effort in Haiti. In contrast, when a regulated electric utility deals with a storm, the goal is to work quickly and restore power, then fade back into the background.

So what are you doing there, anyway?

When I came to Alabama Power, fresh off having my position eliminated, my role was primarily in internal communications. I edited the news on the company site, inherited a number of geek-related communications projects. It involved a broad array of internal needs, including the exploration of social media.

You sold Alabama Power on Social Media Koolaid?

No, I didn’t really “sell” them on anything. I was, by every account, quite patient. No one wants to hear from the guy who busts down your door each morning screaming “Blog Twitter Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Foursquare Twitter Blog  Facebook Blog Blog!”

Instead, I merely posed questions to my boss. And we had some rich conversations about how and why some of these tools might integrate into communication goals. Not as enterprises in their own right, but toward a high-level purpose (like everything else we do.)

Then one day late last fall, my boss and my VP approached me and said “It’s time.” While I still play a role in scattered geeky-tech communications projects and research, social media will be a huge part of what I do.

So now you’re the face of Alabama Power on social media?

Nope. Not at all. Some companies have elected to take that approach. We’re not.

I don’t want to be the face of the company. I am not a company spokesperson, and that is not my role.

The way we’ve defined my job is as an internal facilitator. I don’t want to be the guy who “owns” the social media accounts. Rather, I am the guy who helps people in other departments and divisions figure out if they need to be in social media, how they might use it, and how to get started.

Photo by Linda N.

Maybe you could think of me as the Instructor Pilot. I ask you why you want to learn how to fly, help you chart some flight paths, show you where all the dials and gauges are, and fly with you until you’re comfortable enough.

I have no desire to be the “Social Media Guy,” because that doesn’t scale. I can only monitor so many accounts, moderate so many conversations, and cultivate so many communities. But if I can show others how to do it, with the right spirit and attitude, then I be a part of something bigger.

To that extent, we’re doing that too. I’m one of more than two-dozen Southern Company employees working on a committee to set some standards and direction. Unlike some corporations, it didn’t bog down into micro-managing, but has stayed at a high-level framework which leaves us purposeful yet nimble in an ever-shifting environment.

Coaching, Not Doing

Sure, coaches ought to have a little experience in what they teach. But the best manager is one who realizes his job is to bring the best out of others, not to belittle them by reminding him how much better he is at what they do. (Really great managers surround themselves with people who surpass their own skills.)

In a way, I’ve been teasing toward this for months. I wrote about “Building a Dynasty,” and the differences between practitioners, teachers and coaches. In “Coaching is an Art” I expounded on the qualities of a coach. I wrote those as I was developing the mindset for this position. Officially, I am a “Communications Strategist,” which is exactly what I was before. (Salary stayed the same, too…) However, I want to approach the job from the perspective of the coach – one who is graded on how many games his team wins, how much their skills improve, and not on how many free throws he can make in a row.

And that is what I have been up to lately.