Thursday 10 January 2013

Living in Your Own Word Cloud



Happy New Year everyone! All of us at Global Learning hope you had a lovely holiday season and that you are looking forward to a brilliantly unexpected 2013, filled with innovation. 

Sometimes it’s the smallest things that catch our eye and lend a simple explanation to an even more complex pondering. 

You may laugh, but as of late I cannot stop thinking about word clouds.   

What is a word cloud? You have certainly seen them; as they are everywhere. A word cloud is a digital graphic of a grouping of words, bound in relation by the common goal of describing a single existence or concept. 

For example, we recently added a word cloud as our @eGlobalLearning Twitter profile background. It consists of the phrase “Be Different” written in a variety of languages. 



One of our favourite Twitter go-to’s @MaryFWinters of The Winters Group and Let’s Talk About Work, also updated The Inclusion Solutions Blog banner to include a fantastic word cloud: 



I am moved by the simplicity of the concept of a word cloud because it enables us to tangibly showcase just how vast the diversity of something or someone can be. We are not only representatives of our visible demographics. Each of us is comprised of our own word cloud; a cosmic list of descriptions based on our genealogy, environment, life experiences, passions, and personal wisdom. This list is our own identity.  

What if we incorporate even just the idea of a word cloud creation into our everyday thinking? We actually do it already, and it has the potential to instigate a sense of pre-determined empathy and compassion when we interact with one another.

When we meet new people, go to new places of business, or attempt to deconstruct a situation, we should encourage our brains to immediately begin the process of building a word cloud.

What exactly does your word cloud look like?

What exactly does your word cloud look like in comparison to others?

The process of building our own word cloud creates the opportunity to understand that every individual comes to the table with traits and situational experiences that we may never be privy to.  

It’s a great opportunity for both sides of the employment interview table to take stock of what and who they are there to represent. As an employer, it’s your duty to fully represent organizational culture, expectations and expertise, while the potential employee must have a sincere understanding of who they are and what they are bringing to the table. 

Take a few minutes to sit down and develop a word cloud of your own, or one for your organization. Include everything you can possible think of – even pieces that you may not wish to share with others. It’s a brilliant way to examine exactly what each of us is made of. 
 
Diversity is the power of the individual. Inclusion utilizes those powerful individuals to spark innovation at every opportunity possible.


“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”  - Rabindranath Tagore
 

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