Roles

Here’s a starter-kit list of roles that people play. I’m putting them in pairs because nobody can do this by themselves — we all need the help of others as we progress. I’ve also built a little drawing which puts these in a never ending circle because we’re always turning back into newcomers as we explore another facet of the organization. I decided to beat the term “translation” to death in these descriptions.  I think ICANN needs to “translate” what it does for a wide range of audiences to make it easier for them to participate.

Newcomer <-> Recruiter

A newcomer is likely to be just as bewildered by that experience as most of the rest of us have been. They need a “recruiter” greet them, welcome them into the flow, translate what’s going on into terms they can understand, find out what their interests and goals are and get them introduced to a few “guides” who can take them to the next step.

Explorer <-> Guide

As the newcomer finds their place, they will want to explore information and conversations that are relevant to their interests and they need a “guide” to call on to translate their questions into pointers toward information or people that they’re trying to find.

Student <-> Teacher

As the person progresses they need a positive, low-risk way to learn the skills and knowledge they need in order to be able to contribute. And, like any student, they need a teacher or two. I’ve always thought that we are missing a huge opportunity in the GNSO Constituencies by not consciously using the process of preparing public comments as a place for less experienced members to develop their policy-making skills in a more intimate, less risky environment than a full-blown working-group. I’d love to see newer members of Constituencies consciously brought into progressively richer roles in the teams that write public comments for Constituencies.

Researcher <-> Expert

Another person who needs a very specific kind of partner is a person who comes to ICANN to research — either to find an answer to a policy-related question, find the best way to handle a problem or complaint that they have with a provider, or to discover whether there is data within the ICANN community that can help with formal academic research. Again, here is a person with fairly clear questions who needs help sifting and sorting through all the information that’s available here — another form of translation, this time provided by a librarian or an “expert” in my taxonomy.  This person may not want to build new skills, they’re just here for answers.  But filling that “expert” role could be a great opportunity for somebody who’s already here.

Teammate <-> Coach

A person who is experiencing a policy-making drafting-team (e.g. within a constituency) or working group for the first few times has a lot of things to learn, and many of those things aren’t obvious right at the start. And this person may not feel comfortable asking questions of the whole group for a wide variety of reasons. They would benefit from a “coach” — a person who makes it clear that they are available to answer *any* question, no matter how small. This person is translating a sometimes-mysterious team process for a teammate who is learning the ropes.

Leader <-> Mentor

As our person progresses, they eventually take up a leadership role, and once again could use the help of others to navigate new duties — yet another form of translation, this time delivered by a mentor who helps the emerging leader be effective in their chosen role.

Information

I also think there are all kinds of information assets that participants use and access in different ways depending on what their role is at the moment. Another kind of translation! 🙂 Here’s another starter-kit list:

• Organizational structures
• Documents
• Transcripts
• Email archives
• Models
• Processes
• Tools and techniques
• Outreach materials

I think there’s a gigantic opportunity to make this “career progression” and “information discovery” easier and more available to people wanting to participate at the bottom of the bottom-up process. I’m not sure that there’s much need for new technology to do all this — my thoughts run more toward setting goals, rewarding people who help, etc. But a dab of cool tech here and there might help…