June 2018
Social Media
13
Only leaders succeed
on social media
Social Media guru and founder of Social Media Chefs consultancy,
Miguel Neves, offers a toolkit for making a success as an SM leader
Leadership
Defi ning leadership is not an easy task. Th ere
are diff erent styles of leadership, diff erent
methods and diff erent measures of success. A
review of popular books and articles on the
traits of good leadership brings up qualities
such as decisiveness, accountability, confi dence,
integrity, ability to inspire and passion. Th e
same qualities are also important when we
communicate online through social media on a
professional level.
Words matter, leadership matters; and the
traits of good leadership are just as important
online as they are offl ine.
So what are the traits or qualities of leaders
and how can they help us succeed on social
media? Let’s look at a few.
Good communicating skills
Being a good communicator is an essential
skill for any leader. Leaders engage plenty of
one-on-one communication, public speaking,
writing and, of course, meetings. Being a
good communicator on social media is just as
important. Regardless of which platforms we
are active on, it is important to communicate
well.
Th ere are specifi c nuances to
communicating via social media that need fi ne
tuning, and it’s important to remember that
good communication fl ows in both directions.
A good communicator is a good listener and
this is an important skill to focus on when
using social media.
Confi dence
Good leaders instil confi dence in their
followers. Th ey always appear to be confi dent
and positive. We don’t tend to follow those
who are negative or low on confi dence. On
social media most people do their best to
appear confi dent. Th is may be staged to
some extent as the public nature of social
media means that it is benefi cial to portray a
confi dent image. However, if followers detect
that this confi dence is not genuine, it can
appear deceitful and go against you.
Integrity
Integrity, honesty and accountability are key
qualities of leaders, qualities that earn trust
equally from subordinates and from followers
on social media. Th ese qualities are only
revealed over time and they come through
little by little through each online interaction.
When they are missing it is easy to become
disengaged and stop considering that person
a leader.
Decisiveness
Leaders must often make diffi cult decisions.
Even leaders can make the wrong decision,
“Words matter, leadership matters; and
the traits of good leadership are just as
important online as they are offl ine.”