Are You a Curator or an Editor?

How much are you curating these days versus editing?

Corporate curators spark, shape and sway conversations while editors adjust and refine prose for publication or film for production.

“Curate” is the term de jour among the creative set, especially for the authentically-minded who believe they “have a discerning eye and great taste,” explained Alex Williams recently in The New York Times.

Those who “curate” cull and select. Used to be the term was “edit”—as in carefully editing a selection of merchandise.

In the communications world, “edit” has a distinctive definition. Those who edit usually alter text to make it easier to read or conform with standards.

Editors tend to be craftspeople associated with controlling the message. These days, now that two-way conversations are more preferred and powerful than a tightly, well-massaged message, we in leadership communications need to rethink our emphasis and skills.

As Mark Schumann, this year’s chair of IABC, said in his thought-provoking closing keynote “Communicator 2020” at the IABC Pacific Plains Region Exchange 2009 Conference, “We love to edit. But we’ve got to move away from editing to stimulating the conversation.” Mark also went on to talk about how we have to come to grips with the fact that we can’t control messages any more. We need to move from control to influence.

From my perspective, Mark’s advice is more appropriate for communicators today rather than 11 years from now. And with “curate” such a fashionable code word, it’s timely that we adopt it as our approach.

Just as we need to be specialized Sherpas instead of ventriloquists (See From Ventriloquists to Sherpas), we need to be curators instead of primarily editors. (But please don’t stop editing with all the bad grammar out there. See my blog rant about all the bad grammar, misspellings, and word misusage that definitely requires editing help, 5 Foolproof Ways to Avoid Hurting Your Reputation. I just believe we need to do more than edit.)

What makes an effective corporate curator from a leadership communications perspective?

How about these five guiding principles:

1.     We listen.

2.     We start conversations.

3.     We encourage many people to take part.

4.     We seek out the inclusion of diverse voices, especially if we notice a small subset are dominating the conversation.

5.     We summarize the key points and connect the dots, linking the conversation to the organization’s business strategy and other big themes.

6.     We measure the effectiveness of our conversations, including the number of people who participate, the quality, the actions taken, and the outcomes that result.

7.     We revive, remix and restart conversations.

Curating is also a LEAN way to work. You’re adding value to your clients and customers with a minimal outlay of time and other resources.

What do you think?

Liz Guthridge is a consultant, author, and trainer specializing in strategic change communications. Department leaders of Fortune 1000 companies hire Liz and her firm Connect Consulting Group LLC when they need their people—who are confused, angry or in denial—to adopt complex new initiatives so they can quickly change the way they work. For more information, contact Liz, liz.guthridge@connectconsultinggroup.com or 510-527-1213. Follow Liz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lizguthridge.