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Leadership Insight: Social Networking for Leaders

Guest post by: Tim Schneider

Article Overview: Social networking has had a more profound effect on the business community than anyone could have imagined a mere two years ago. News travels quicker on Twitter than on the wires of Associated Press. Personal relationship status changes are known to thousands within the blink of a keystroke. Holiday and birthday greetings over the internet have put Hallmark on the defensive. Millions have been raised for both worthy and shady charities. Images have been enhanced and careers have been ruined on the unfortunate tag of a picture.

Leadership Insight: Social Networking for Leaders

Social networking has had a more profound effect on the business community than anyone could have imagined a mere two years ago.

News travels quicker on Twitter than on the wires of Associated Press. Personal relationship status changes are known to thousands within the blink of a keystroke. Holiday and birthday greetings over the internet have put Hallmark on the defensive. Millions have been raised for both worthy and shady charities. Images have been enhanced and careers have been ruined on the unfortunate tag of a picture.

Like society as a whole, leaders have struggled with the use of social networking and how to successfully embrace the good while strategically avoiding the bad and risky elements. As with all types of innovation, successful leaders are strategically utilizing social networking for maximum gain and even having some fun with it.

Avoidance is Not a Strategy

Many people and leader types have put their head in the sand regarding the booming social networking phenomenon. Hoping that Facebook and Twitter would soon disappear or that it would be limited only to high school kids, these people are way behind the curve. These may be the same people who are secretly storing an IBM Selectric typewriter in their credenza.

What the avoiders have failed to recognize is that social networking is replacing several commonly and openly embraced tools used by leaders. Have you ever exchanged business cards at a chamber of commerce event? Have you ever sent out your resume’? Have you ever attended your college or high school reunion? Have you attended a conference or trade show? Been on a conference call? Do you write notes to relatives and keep up with your extended family?

If you answered yes, and you probably did, social networking is just a tool that facilitates those activities. From smoke signals to telegraph wires to email to Tweets. Social networking is not an evil empire controlled by teenagers from the Death Star. It is 21^st century tool for credibility management, connecting with team members, networking with peers, job searches, keeping up with industry trends and following breaking news.

There are two common objections that have been echoed repeatedly by those who have not embraced social networking. The first concern revolves around the loss of privacy. Unfortunately, when you accept a leadership position, it is not a nice, neat little eight hour a day job that you can compartmentalize with other segments of your life. It becomes an overriding label for you and your identity to those you lead. The other side of the privacy issue is that your team members want to know you on a human and genuine level as well as on the boss level. Social networking allows a pretty safe way of humanizing while protecting credibility.

The other common objection is about time commitment. It is true that some people can be consumed by social networking. Social networking is not the objective, it is a tool to achieve objectives. It should never be a significant part of a leader’s day but it does need to be a part of it. A little time investment in quality social networking will pay immense dividends.

Some Boundaries

Before embarking in social networking, you need to consider some boundaries and your strategy.

The first and most important boundary is over-disclosure. All leaders are human and all humans have or have had issues in their life. All humans have some little quirks, some of which are cute, some of which are down right disturbing. On all social networking sites, share the information that makes you human but not the information that would challenge your credibility.

A standard rule of thumb would to not share more on a social networking site than you would share in a first or second interaction with a business acquaintance. Would you tell that person you are married, have children, interests, where you are from? Would you tell them you enjoy dressing as a clown or mowing your yard in the nude? Another rule choice is a little more complex and involves social norms. Share on social networking sites what would be considered a social norm for your position and your location.

A second boundary to consider can be a real career killer. Don’t complain about your job, the work you do or your customers. Social networking is not an appropriate tool for leadership venting. Many of your comments become searchable through Google or Bing by your name and many more can be copied, sent or stored by someone else. A big ranting vent about your boss might feel good today but it may come back to haunt you in your next job hunt.

LinkedIn as the Minimum

The best description of LinkedIn is an online version of the business card exchange.

This platform allows users to document their resume’ and contact information in a pretty non-threatening manner. As a social networking resource this has great value for anyone looking for a career change or someone who wants a cloud based platform for key contacts.

Although not as sexy or visually interesting as some social networking sites, it has the most robust roster of professionals and people of influence who utilize the free service. You will not be bombarded with ads and there is very little risk of disclosing any type of sensitive personal information.

One of the great little side benefits of LinkedIn is the number of user and special interest groups in which you can follow discussions. These affinity groups are pretty tightly controlled and a great way to network with professionals within your work interests.

Facebook with Caution

At one time, Facebook was the fastest growing social networking platform but it’s warts have caught up with it and many users have moved on to other forums.

Facebook was originally designed for college students to keep up on the social happenings on campus and it has nearly burst at the seems with users from grandma to your dog. Everyone who is everyone is on Facebook.

This platform is a great way to connect with former classmates, team members, friends, neighbors and even make new friends. Many people report reconnecting with people that they never would have communicated with if it were not for Facebook. It allows for finding friends, posting pictures, sharing conversations and sending private messages. On the surface, it is all pretty benign stuff.

In a previous section, a couple of cautionary tales were discussed and most of these have come from the use of Facebook. Many Facebook users engage in dialogs as if they were only talking to their most intimate friends and not a much wider audience.

As a leader, you cannot pick and choose how you are seen and judged. You are always on the clock and that includes your internet and Facebook presence. So those cute pictures of the beer bong during spring break 1987 should probably be left un-scanned and not uploaded. Your fringe political views should remained on the fringe and not published for all to see.

Should you have a Facebook presence? Absolutely.

Should you exercise caution in your Facebook presence? Absolutely.

Twitter is the Wild West of the Internet

Twitter is the most interesting of all the social networking platforms because it is still evolving at such a quick rate and they were able to invent their own vocabulary.

Thanks to the 140 character social networking platform, common workplace words now include tweep, tweet up, hash tag and tweet. Twitter is a micro-blog in which users post 140 character updates in real time to their followers. A tweep is a person following another. A tweet up is a Twitter meeting using unique hash tags that label and identify a set of tweets.

Lost? You probably are if you are over the age of 30. Twitter is the fastest growing social network because it has been embraced quickly by generations X, Y and Text. It allows the instant assimilation of information that comes with text messaging except to a broad range of people at the same time.

From a leadership prospective, Twitter becomes a great tool to stay connected with team members and share information. That article you used to cut out of the paper and circulate with a little distribution note can now be shared to all your followers with the flick of a URL. Twitter also has a unique back and forth protocol that is accessed by returning a tweet or through direct messages. Twitter is also a very good tool for managing your individual leadership brand and reinforcing key messages.

The one specific caution related to Twitter is the addicting nature of seeing the world unfold in front of you in real time. If you are not careful with your time and social networking strategy, you may loose track of hours reading other tweets and connecting them to a conversation thread.

Some Others to Consider

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are not the only social networks that leaders should consider utilizing. This list is not all encompassing but will provide the most common social network platforms.

Plaxo is very similar to LinkedIn but also includes some features found on Facebook. It is not as widely used as either of those two but many professionals are found on Plaxo.

Merchant Circle is a small business listing service that also offers some micro blogging functionality and ratings. If you lead a small business enterprise, this platform should be included in your strategy.

Windows Spaces is an emerging social network that is backed by the might and influence of Microsoft. It appears to have all of the functional features of Facebook but lacks the visual appeal and familiar feel. Since it’s launch, it has not gained much traction or press.

Before Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter was MySpace. The early pioneer of social networking took a great deal of turns and twists as it evolved. In it’s current form, it is not a good social networking platform for leaders or professionals. It continues to serve a market of musicians, artists and teenagers but may well remake itself again.

Skype is not a social networking platform but it has some social networking features. It is a software program that supports and facilitates video conferencing between two or more computer users. The social networking aspect comes from the production of a contact list that represents your friends or video conferencing contacts.

Social Networking Strategy

Like all elements of your leadership image management, you must effectively strategize your social networking approach. As previously indicated, avoidance is not an option and neither is an approach that overly convolutes the lines between appropriate and over-disclosure levels.

The starting approach in strategy is consistency. The headlines, catch phrases and profile pictures that you use across all social networking platforms should be consistent and complimentary. The same profile picture you use for LinkedIn should be used for Facebook and Twitter as well. This consistency assists you in reinforcing your leadership image and brand.

The next strategy decision you make will be about frequency the posting and making that update process a normal part of your leadership routine. Too much posting and updating will have people questioning when you work and too little will have you disengaged from the purpose and intent of social networking. The easiest solution to this challenge is to devote 30 minutes daily to read, review and update your primary social networks. This devotion will keep you connected without being swallowed by the chatter.

Content richness becomes the final strategy point to consider. Don’t be overly anxious to update followers and friends on the daily minutiae that is your life. Provide updates that are meaningful to others and reinforce who you are and your core values. Avoid always regurgitating quotes or articles from others and provide some original content in your updates. Be as inspiring on social networks as you are in person.

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Article Tags: facebook, leadership, linkedin, management, social networking, twitter



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