Office Hours: Creating Consistent Value
It's not just for academia anymore
One of the things that have been consistently true over the last several years for me around building relevancy and thought leadership is being able to provide value.
Now more than ever, people are looking for authentic connections with people who they relate to in one way or another and can help them with the myriad of questions, ideas or thoughts they might have about their situation.
Being available (whether in writing, audio or real-time) to lend your insights not only provides that value-add for the people you want to influence and be connected with, but it also helps to create the invisible layer of trust and authenticity that ultimately no one else can replicate. Your unique way of conversation, life experiences and professional insights all help to create what I like to call “authentic investments” — this is what gives your brand and platform its superpower. Relationships are everything in the long run.
One great way to do this and respect your own schedule is to open up office hours. While traditionally related to academia, office hours help you do a few things while building your brand platform:
shows that you are ready to serve and provide value (rule #1!)
creates a consistent, ongoing way for people to connect with you in real time
gives you insight into what your audience has questions about (you’ll no doubt see patterns over time) — which you can turn into more content, services, etc.
doesn’t have your schedule chopped up into “do you have a few minutes to chat?” segments that often disturb your own productivity
feel good about giving back!
Finally, you don’t want to get caught up in the scheduling back and forth emails trap when you launch your office hours. I’d highly recommend the following setup sequence:
Sign up for an account with a calendar service such as Calendly (where you can choose specific times for people to book on your calendar and for certain events)
Choose a day or two in your week in which you’ll reserve a 1-2 hour block of time dedicated to office hours (I reserve Thursdays and Fridays from 2-4pm)
Assign a link to office hours with those specifications — here’s mine
Share widely! Whether you let people know on your social media platforms or in emails to your colleagues/network — this helps to send out the beacon that you’re open to help share your expertise/knowledge.
Now more than ever, it’s time to practice servant leadership. That’s what builds the foundation for real impact and ultimately your brand’s influence.