14
“Many organisations
rely on interns
or junior staff to
represent senior
staff online. This may
free up a leader’s
time, however the
knowledge of the
organisation and an
individual’s leadership
qualities cannot be
transferred.”
but they can earn the respect of their followers
by revealing the reasons and thinking behind
the decisions. When carefully planned, the
communication of a decision or a request for
feedback on social media can be extremely
powerful and it can help earn the trust and
respect of followers.
Empathy
When leaders demonstrate empathy and
compassion they show that they care about
those around them. It’s important that leaders
take the time to comprehend the feelings and
emotions of those who they lead, only then
can they really understand those who support
them. Th e same is true online, a leader must be
perceptive of their followers’ needs in order to
be seen as a leader of any community.
Focus
Good leaders are focused. Th ey deal with
one issue at a time and dedicate their full
attention to it. Th is is one of the most valuable
qualities on social media, one that is necessary
to achieve good results. Th e scattered nature
of social media means that only those who
can focus on their audience and deliver their
message consistently can reap the benefi ts of a
great social media presence.
Social Media
Inspirational
Leaders inspire and empower others to be
leaders as well. Inspiring others through social
media can also be very empowering, another
great quality of a leader. Social media posts are
overwhelmingly positive because we want to
attract followers by inspiring them. Ultimately,
while we may appreciate a rant, we rarely
follow those who are consistently negative.
Inspiring others through social media is one
of the best ways to create strong positive
emotional connections with followers.
Passion
One of the strongest traits of leaders is the
passion that they demonstrate. Passion, as well
as commitment, can be decisive in persuading
others to take action, which is crucial in
all forms of leadership. A professional that
comes across as genuinely passionate has a
good chance to succeed, particularly when
the passion is about a community, an industry
or a cause that is greater than the individual’s
success. Passion also drives people and creates
followers online. Not only that, it transforms
passive followers into passionate advocates.
What does this all mean?
Social media off ers excellent opportunities to
be leaders online. With many of us spending
a large part of our working lives online, there
June 2018
may be no better place to demonstrate our
leadership skills.
While it may be tempting to delegate social
media to someone, it is not an ideal way to
manage this type of online communication.
Many organisations rely on interns or junior
staff to represent senior staff online. Th is may
free up a leader’s time, however the knowledge
of the organisation and an individual’s
leadership qualities cannot be transferred. Th is
often leads to less than perfect outcomes.
Working with dedicated professionals
to create high quality content such as blog
posts, White Papers, infographics or videos
can generate great results, provided there is
a collaborative creative process. However,
when this content creates a reaction or
sparks a conversation but the leader does not
engage in dialogue, some of the best benefi ts
of a professional social media presence are
wasted. Only leaders who truly embrace social
media take advantage of the opportunities
to interact with their followers. Th ese are key
opportunities that can result in exponential
follower growth and confi rm leadership status.
Social media is seen by many as the most
human form of digital communication.
Despite its shortcomings, it continues to off er
an open communication channel. Th ose who
use their leadership skills to manage their
social media presence are the ones who are
likely to achieve the best results.