Alexis Senge JohnsonSkillCloud? No, I didn’t just slam my head on my keyboard and have auto-correct decide my opening line. I meant to write exactly that. I thought iCloud was awesome until I heard about SkillCloud. For those of us who wish there was a platform for companies to appreciate us beyond our resumes, our ramblings have been heard by a team who competed in a two-day “hackathon.” I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but thank goodness there is as it has produced this awesome creation.
SkillCloud is similar to a social network platform, but it’s reason for existence is so that employees can broadcast their talents to their employer. I’ll use my last job in the theme park world as an example. I was hired as a Stage Manager. Three months after I began with the theme park a perfect storm occurred and we were without a performer for the show that I had been managing each day. The problem in this situation was that the show could not be performed without someone in this role. Immediately I stepped up and said I would do it as I could be replaced as the manager, but no one else who was available knew the role that was empty that day. My suggestion was faced by three of my senior managers staring at me like I had three heads.
When I was hired my dance ability was never really discussed and my performance background wasn’t elaborated upon. As someone who had been present at every rehearsal since the show was created and then watched it every day for a living, I knew the show like the back of my hand. It was true I had never been on that stage and or even done the show, but I was confident that with a run through I could make it happen as that is what needed to happen so we didn’t have to cancel a whole day of shows. Three minutes into the on-stage run through my management realized I had more than just a loose knowledge of dance.
It was only three months after this that my Supervisor realized that we were going to have to re-mount the first show I worked on for a temporary two-week run. However, since the show was new we never had anyone else stage it except for the choreographer who created it. As I sat in a meeting watching people scratch their heads about how to pull things together so quickly I stepped up and said I would do it. You would have thought I grew those extra heads again as it hadn’t even been a consideration of the team that I would be able to do it. My background in choreography and show staging didn’t exactly come up in my interview, so I’m not surprised they didn’t know about it.
Once my secrets were out in the open my choreography and staging talents were put to use for our shows on a regular basis. It was the best way to combine my management and performance experience into one fun-filled position that I so passionately enjoyed day in and day out. However, my hidden talents were only put to use because I was bold enough to step forward and offer up my services. I know I tend to be more daring to do things like this than most are and that is where SkillCloud comes in handy. If your company utilized SkillCloud would you admit your hidden skills and talents? There is always the chance that you’re opening a door which makes you more valuable to your company.
