Today we bring you another new feature: A monthly blog with STC’s Executive Director, Susan Burton. (I know, I’m thinking the same thing: Just how awesome IS this new STC blogger that he keeps bringing us new features?) Exec Direct will present a more personal, informal, and direct discussion with Susan Burton on a variety of topics, STC-related and not.
Metablog
Confession: I’d rather go to the dentist than blog.
Writing requires a different mindset from action. I see my job as getting things done, not writing about things to be done. Writing requires me to sllllloowww way down, think things through, and ponder what the impact of my words might be. Even writing a short email in response to a question can disrupt my pace.
I have tried to write this entry three different times: Virtual stage fright. Total fear response. Sweating palms and splitting head. (My whimsical side asks if I was once persecuted for heretical writings in a past life? Or is the fear rational, an observation that social media sometimes makes writers heartless, forgetting there is a real person on the other side?)
In any case, I am diving into my virtual witch pond. Drowned but innocent, or guilty and floating. No matter, the world of social media is demanding that leaders of all types get involved … and so I am.
The Role of “Exec Direct”
I will use this blog to articulate my thoughts about the challenges of running STC as your Executive Director/CEO.
One of the challenges is that the “CEO” role is a shared duty between the chief paid executive and the entire board of directors. In a sense, there is no one CEO. This is why the board always speaks with one voice. That, then, is part of my dilemma on how and when to share my thoughts. I intend to use this blog to convey the complexity and drivers behind decisions. This includes how STC mirrors many of the larger trends happening in associations overall. In doing so, I hope to give you a bit of personal insight into myself and my role at STC.
Hopefully going forward my fear lessens and I get over this social-media stage fright, providing you with some details and background. In the meantime—while I start thinking (and trying not to panic) about my blog for next month—any comments or input are greatly appreciated.
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It’s kind of nice to hear someone as talented and experienced as you fear something. Maybe there is hope for me after all.
“I see my job as getting things done, not writing about things to be done.”
Hi Susan, welcome to the blogosphere. Does your job include communicating with the membership and the general public? That’s what a blog — or actually any writing — does. Communicate.
Therefore, blogging will help you get things done. Now, jump in there. What can you tell us, the members, from your unique perspective? In your wide association experience, what makes this one unique? What are some of the things this organization has in common with others that might surprise the members?
“Writing requires a different mindset from action. I see my job as getting things done, not writing about things to be done. Writing requires me to sllllloowww way down, think things through, and ponder what the impact of my words might be. Even writing a short email in response to a question can disrupt my pace. ”
Just a thought from a completely different perspective:
What’s so bad about slowing down? Endless activity very rarely produces highly desirable results, even for those who are primarily tasked with action.
This passage is also somewhat implies in day to day you are not pondering the impact of your words or thinking through the consequences of your actions. I sincerely hope that’s not true.
Why does your blog say Beta in the top right corner?
This is not a software package. It’s a blog. When you start it, you’re in ‘alpha.’
I think this reflects an IT mindset, maybe take it down.
Just a suggestion…
Thank you, Susan, for your candid discussion of your own “blogging angst.” Many professional, day-job writers share that angst. I think part of our discomfort can come from the dichotomy between the conversational informality that seems to part of blogging and the formal public dissecting of each nuance. My feeling is that any blog that starts the conversation was a successful blog. As a blogger, I reserve the right to change my mind as fluidly as I would in conversation. Looking forward to your future blogs.
Susan,
Welcome to the blogosphere. Love your witch’s pond metaphor. I share some of your angst about “the board speaks as one voice.” Not exactly a shrinking violet, since joining the board, I’ve found myself reticent to speak out. I think this is something members who have not served on the board misunderstand. We’re not hiding — just trying to fulfil our “duty of care.”
Welcome to the petri dish!
Lisa