20190427.0430

While it is the case that I was accepted into one of the LinkedIN groups I had sought to enter, it is also the case that it took some days to be accepted into that group. (I am writing a fair bit ahead of posting at this point, which I take to be a good thing. It does sometimes mean I miss the chance for some timely comments, but I have also found that materials written in haste almost always come off less well than might be hoped.) As of this writing, I am still waiting for approval in the other groups I have requested to join, and I confess to some slight annoyance at the delay.

I know that social media groups that are not directly linked with companies are volunteer activities, and I know that there is only so much that can be expected from a volunteer--particularly when non-volunteer activities demand attention. The bills have to be paid before hobbies can be indulged, or such should be the case. (I have seen it go otherwise far too many times...) And I know that the situation I am in as I write this is not one that demands my participation in particular groups; it would be helpful, perhaps, but more if I have to alter my situation than if I am to maintain it. Too, given yesterday's comments, it may well be that not being in the groups is more a benefit than being in them would be. I do not know yet, of course, but I have to entertain the possibility.

At the same time, the prevailing narrative is that business has to move quickly, that the business world has to move quickly. It is also part of the prevailing narrative that all public activity is branding, and it is a commonplace on LinkedIN that people's profiles--including those of group moderators--make much of their current professional positions. That is, they are representing their companies and brands at all times, as I am on that platform for mine. (And I know I still have some work to do in that regard.) For delays to occur in what seems should be a quick scan-and-click job sends a less-than-favorable impression, even with such mitigating factors in place as are noted above. And it is not necessarily that I am a Millennial that I have such an attitude about things; I learned customer service from Boomers who found themselves and find themselves catering to the Greatest Generation and the tag-end of the Lost Generation. If I expect my performance and those of my peers to be a certain way, it is because that performance was and still is demanded of me.

But I am perhaps overly harsh in such things. I do not know that I do better when I am doing work for which I am not paid, and I doubt that the managers of such groups as I have petitioned to enter are compensated for the time they spend on the groups; I ought not to be stricter with others than I am with myself. And I have to think that a great many in business leadership roles might take such a lesson to heart; certainly, a reminder of it from time to time is a helpful thing.