New technology and social media permeate and influence many areas of society today and the professional world is no exception.
The growth of digital media revolutionized the traditional workplace, introducing new tools and approaches that have altered the way individuals interact and communicate at work.
Although digital platforms have the potential to promote professional development, improve workflow and generate success, the role it plays in the lives of modern workers and businesses is not always positive.
It is important to considers the benefits and limitations in order to effectively implement digital media in the workplace, take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the consequences that come with it.
Benefits:
Digital media facilitates communication and productivity. Can work at anytime and place.Employees can communicate faster and more efficiently than ever, encouraging discussion, feedback, and increasing collaboration.
Digital media created new opportunities for where, when, how and by whom work gets done. Many jobs now can be done anywhere, at any time.
Digital media forms connections, and social and cultural awareness.
Digital media makes it easy to connect with people across social, economic, cultural, religious and political boundaries.
Digital media enhances information sharing and learning. Digital media creates new learning methods, and easy ways to share and gain information. Work can be published and reach people across the world instantly.
Individuals have access to an overflow of information and can gain information continuously, from a wide range of sources.
Digital media increases public engagement and social connection across boundaries.
Individuals and organizations can create an online presence and engage with the public easier than ever. Companies can learn exactly what the public responds to and can respond in real time as events unfold. Individuals can connect with employers.Consequences:
Digital media can threaten job security. Technology replaces the need for some jobs, workers and skills.
Inappropriate use of digital media. Some use social media for social reasons, and become less productive.
individuals can use digital media to make a good or bad impression online.
Unequal opportunity. Modern workers must learn digital skills and adopt to changes. The job market increasingly demands digital kills and literacy in communication technology.
Digital media cannot replace in person communication. Overuse of digital media can create shallow relationships. Young people struggle to interact Face-to-face and cannot make eye contact and use body language effectively. But in-person interaction is essential in order to connect and understand others.
Digital media can facilitate bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Overflow of information can be detrimental. Digital media allows individuals to pick and choose information that already suits their beliefs.
Issue of privacy and surveillance. Employers and company can track users and employees activity. No privacy, information is publicized and activity is tracked.
Digital media has facilitated many benefits for workers, employers and society– enhancing productivity, flexibility, communication, connection, engagement and information sharing. But it does not come without risks and consequences that develop from the overflow of information, social media distractions, dependency on digital media and the demand for new skills and jobs.
Clearly, it is crucial to understand the risks and opportunities that come with the use of digital media in a professional setting, so that both individuals and organizations can adopt to new changes effectively.
Sources:
Sobel Lojeski, R. Reilly, Uniting the Virtual Workforce: Transforming Leadership and Innovation in the Globally Integrated Enterprise (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008)
Leonardi, P. M., Huysman, M. and Steinfield, C. (2013), Enterprise Social Media: Definition, History, and Prospects for the Study of Social Technologies in Organizations. J Comput-Mediat Comm, 19: 1–19. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12029
Clive Shepherd, (2011) “Does social media have a place in workplace learning?”, Strategic Direction, Vol. 27 Issue: 2, pp.3-4, https://doi.org/10.1108/02580541111103882
Thomas, K., Akdere M. (2013), Social Media as Collaborative Media in Workplace Learning Human Resource Development Review Vol 12, Issue 3, pp. 329 – 344
Moran, M., Searman, J., Tinti-Kane, H. (2011) Teaching, Learning, and Sharing:How Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media
Olmstead, K., Lampe, C,, Ellison, N. (2016) Social Media and the Workplace. Pew Research Center.
Barton, D., Grant, A., and Horn M., (2012) Leading in the 21st century
Xiongfei Cao, Xitong Guo, Douglas Vogel, Xi Zhang, (2016) “Exploring the influence of social media on employee work performance”, Vol. 26 Issue: 2
The internet has been one of the most innovative inventions of mankind. It has the ability to distribute information at an alarming rate and enables quick communication amongst a vast amount of people. It accomplishes this feat on a scale that was previously unimaginable and has revolutionized countless aspects of the world we know today. Over the past decade, the way we use the internet has been significantly influenced by social media. Understanding the impact of social media on a personal, social, and also institutional level can maximize its utility. Social media is a platform which enables a communication among individuals, communities, and organization. The authors of “Users of the World, Unite!” describe social media as a “group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Online social networks have permeated their ways into our lives and allow us to create digital identities of ourselves, create groups and micro-societies to rally behind a common interest, and keep in touch those we find around the clock. The new found powers of social media also calls for a new type of leader. A leader can no longer be one thing, but a dynamic and ever changing individual. Not only do leaders but amplify traditional aspects of leaders, but to tap into their ability to deal with a corporation’s social and political dynamics needs as well.
Leaders In Organizational Infrastructure
Traditional infrastructure has a defined formal organization with explicit systems of accountability.
An enabling organizational infrastructure marries vertical accountability with networked horizontal collaboration that is not mutually destructive.
How can the leader embrace the value of sharing expertise and perspectives with family, friends, colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders around the world?
Companies used to have a formal organization with systems of defined accountability. Now, leaders that are finding themselves utilizing new media realize they have to divide themselves between two goals. They must establish an organizational and technical infrastructure that encourages free exchange while lowering the risk of irresponsible use. This is because below the formal organization, an informal kind of organization always existed, which now gets amplified through social media. Roland Deiser describes this shared responsibility as “employees must observe standards of transparency and integrity, refrain from speaking on behalf of the company without authorization, and be clear in their social messaging that their views are personal” (Deiser, 2013). Leaders must create a social architecture that provides a meaningful space for internal and external interactions. For instance, it used to be common that many firms to ban the use of social media by the employee during office times. Now leaders must create a network that blends traditional formal networks with the emerging informal networks spawning from social media.
Leaders in Dissemination Dynamics
Traditional dissemination of information usually occurs through a controlled and linear chain.
Social media allows leaders to reverse the process and the recipients are now the origin.
Messages are rebroadcast and repurposed at will by recipients who repost videos, retweet and comment on blogs, and use fragments of other people’s content to create their own mash-ups.
This type of leader needs to understand how the information should be released and predict what the message of the end product will be.
They also need to take note of who the key influencers are and leverage their authority to push content through the right channels.
Leaders have traditionally distributed information along a controlled linear chain that begins at development and ends with the employee. While this distribution method will never expire, social media brings in a new method by reversing the process. Roland Deiser states “Social communication makes distribution the starting point and then invites company audiences to cocreate and contextualize content to create new meaning”. Messages are now broadcasted by those who receive messages, they retweet, comment on blogs, and use fragments of other people’s content to create their own messages. Social media follows a dynamic that determine whether the content goes viral or not, business leaders must become experts in controlling that information and thus letting them control the communication through the organization. It boils down to know what to say and how to say it and knowing how the messages will be transformed when releasing to a wider audience.
Leaders In Analytics
Social media will always be creating new trends and innovations.
Leaders must always be experimenting and looking for new opportunities, business models, and even a newer way to lead.
This type of leader experiments with new technologies and makes sure to capture the advantages of early adoption.
Ever since the dawn of the Web 2.0, the next generation of connectivity is already knocking on the door. Developing technology is always opening new opportunities, new business models, and even a new way to lead in the nearby future. An important aspect of a leader is being able to predict and stay on top of all of the emerging trends and innovations. Leaders that are able to monitor ongoing developments and experiment with new technologies are able to take advantage of the newest technology. A good example would be when GE turned to the new platform Snapchat to help celebrate the 45th anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. Kate Maddox quotes the global director of innovation of GE: “ “Snapchat is one of these new social platforms that is so interesting from a storytelling perspective. It fits into the world of erasable media — media that goes away after a period of time” (Maddox 2014) The concept behind the launch itself, though, is a perfect example of one of the philosophies that GE continually keeps when it comes to social media. They choose to experiment often with new platforms and see what works.
Conclusion
The potential of social media is immense and constantly growing. The change calls upon a new leader that can capitalize on the power of media while lowering risk. Social media amplifies what the informal organization that stayed quietly under traditional structure. Social media allows authentic communication and the ability to deal with internal and external communication within a company. Leaders must understand how to make a technologically linked social infrastructure that constantly promotes interaction across all platforms. A leader must understand organizational infrastructure, dissemination dynamics, and be an analyst in order to adhere to the growing technologies. Social-media engagement confronts leaders of the older ways of organizations. When a leader is able to embrace the power of social media as well as get their company on a similar media literacy, it will provide a constant loop of positive feedback and productivity.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
Generally, there is a consensus among leadership scholars that any form of leadership requires a considerable amount of engagement and interpersonal connection. However, with the proliferation of social technology, it is now pertinent to consider its impact on leadership. Especially, since personal communication has been a dominate framework in terms of accessing leadership. Therefore, the central question is whether social technology serves to amplify leadership capabilities or deters it. The ultimate goal of this article is to answer how social technology impacts leadership, primarily in terms of presenting engagement and interpersonal relationship.
The simplest answer to how social technology impacts leadership is that it greatly amplifies the importance of leadership. Surinder Kahai states in the article, “Yes, Leadership Changes in a Web 2.0 World,” that “With proliferation of technology-mediated virtual teams, there is greater need and expectation for leaders to provide us with an inspiring purpose and structure that hold the team together and propel it forward despite the numerous challenges of working virtually.” In terms of how engagement and interpersonal relationship applies with leadership and social technology, a clear response is apparent within this statement. The response is that in instances where social technology is the dominate means of communication there’s a greater need for leaders to be engaging and interpersonal with members. Since that’s the primary way they could inspire purpose and structure for their team.
Considering, the dominate framework in terms of accessing leadership was once personal communication. Social technology currently transcended the role of leadership from what it used to be. Thus, the ability for leaders to apply technology towards engagement and interpersonal connection is actually profound. Dominic Barton, Andrew Grant, and Michelle Horn in their article, “Leading in the 21st century,” question six leaders on the personal and professional challenges of leadership currently. In reference to why leaders must prepare for the long term and reallocate resources accordingly, one of the interviewees presented this sentiment, “the accelerating pace of technological innovation makes this aspect of a leader’s role more important than ever.” Within this statement, there’s the idea that the execution of leadership responsibilities connects with technology’s affluence. Logically, a leader could be highly capable at long-term planning and allocating resources accordingly, however, without the ability to personally engage and relate through social media, leadership loses importance in that context.
Ultimately, social media allows leaders to amplify their leadership presence with engagement and interpersonal connections. There are several real-life examples that illustrate the impact of social technology on leadership is profound. Additionally, social technology allows leaders to transcend leadership from what it used to be. Christine Gamlen Flury in the article, “Social Media as a Leadership Tool for Nurse Executives” examines how nurses can use social media as a leadership communication tool. She writes, in reference to the value social media offers, that “showing gratitude is essential for leaders and social media provides an excellent and efficient platform for highlighting and thanking employees for their many efforts such as managing a new initiative, meeting a patient experience goal, or community building” This statement reveals exactly how leaders can present engagement and interpersonal connection through social media. Additionally, it reveals how important social technology can be in illustrating leadership.
Glenn Llopis in a Forbes article stated, “Having a personal brand is a leadership requirement. It enables you to be a better leader, a more authentic leader that can create greater overall impact.” The ideas apparent in this statement are obvious and straightforward. Additionally, Gleen Llopis states in a Youtube video that a “personal brand is the essence of leadership.” Lastly, the findings from the research study, “The effect of social media on personal branding efforts of top-level executives,” reveal “With a well-planned brand management on social media, and with a high level of engagement, top-level executives of companies may create value both themselves and the other brands of their company.”
Conclusion
Overall, the facts are social media allows leaders the opportunity to present their leadership through engagement and interpersonal connection, and also practically through personal branding. Socail media also amplifies leadership presence through engagement and interpersonal connection. This means its a technology that can have practical benefits in terms of leaders promoting, branding or advertising themselves.
– Elorm Ocansey
References
Barton, D., Grant, A., & Horn, M. (2012). Leading in the 21st century. (cover story). Mckinsey Quarterly, (3), 30-47.
Karaduman, İ. (2013). The Effect of Social Media on Personal Branding Efforts of Top Level Executives. Procedia – Social And Behavioral Sciences, 99(The Proceedings of 9th International Strategic Management Conference), 465-473. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.515
It is no surprise that social media has changed immensely over time, and it is now so prevalent in our society, with leaders using the digital world to connect with the public. Social media networks are a unique way of communicating real-time messages to the specific audiences that leaders want to reach. Nowadays, most leaders have social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Since social media allows for the ability to quickly connect with the general public, leaders are using the ever changing social media world to engage with their followers, show their personality using innovative ways, and share their values since it is all about self-image and online persona in today’s society.
To begin, social media has changed the way in which leaders are engaging with their followers. Since the focus is on how one portrays himself or herself, leaders may take more time to craft their online presence. The 140 character limit on Twitter limits the thoughts of leaders and makes them think how they want to portray themselves online. What they post will be seen by millions and can really affect how they are seen. As Kahai (2010) explains, we do not necessarily need face-to-face communication in order to connect and expand. “Web 2.0 can help spread the word about a leader’s admirable qualities and behaviors far and wide and enable the development of charisma among distant followers,” which maximizes a leader’s opportunities and benefits, as they are shown to be charismatic and moral in person and online (Kahai, 2010, p. 1). His take is that the lack of nonverbal cues in electronic media can remove focus on interpersonal differences, which leaders can use to their advantage by focusing on the commonily between them and their followers in order to stay connected. Therefore, it does not have to be about the physical interaction because with electronic media, the what leaders write online is what can make others relate, allowing a bond to be created between a leader and the public. Along with this, Ercetin and Bisaso (2016) explain that the frequency in which a leader utilizes social media will influence the way people perceive him or her. If a leader uses platforms in the professional or formal sense, they would be perceived as responsible, and any decision he or she makes will influence how followers perceive them. Ideally, leaders try to craft themselves to be a better version of themselves online.
Next, social media changes the way in which leaders are operating in the social media world in how they choose to show their personality in innovative ways. Leaders often imagine the audience online and are constructed “in order to present themselves appropriately, based on technological affordances and immediate social context” (Marwick & Boyd, 2010, p. 2). As the articles explains, there is a disconnect between a leader’s followers and who they are following. For example, John Mayer has 1,226, 844+ followers, but he only follows 47. Since so many people follow him, he has the power to show off his true self with all of his connections. As one celebrity explains, which may be applicable a leader’s similar situation, individuals with a lot of followers do not tailor their tweets to different audiences because there are no tweets that reach absolutely everybody, but they all at least appeal to someone. Therefore, leaders try to mix up the content of their tweets, with topics ranging from political messaging, information, and news. Furthermore, Oholakiya (2017) found that Bill Gates uses social media to posts articles on LinkedIn to keep readers engaged, while Justin Trudeau was the first politician to hold a Snapchat Live Story Q&A. These platforms are allowing leaders to be inventive and spark more engagements by coming up with creative ideas to increase followers and make their posts go viral. The way in which they go about distributing new information shows that they are creative in finding new ways to stand out.
Authenticity
The last way that leaders are using social media in the changing digital world that represents a shift in the balance of power, is that leaders use it as a platform to display their values and authentic selves to show that they are just like everyone else. As Deiser and Newton state, authenticity is important because leaders have to “develop a distinctive voice that stands out from the noise, and that is credible and authentic” (Deiser & Newton, 2015). In doing so, leaders show their values to have followers relate to their brand by sharing personal stories, career advice, and being personable, which will allow the audience to get a look into the leader’s life. The most successful CEOs are known for their generosity, and social media gives them a platform to share their values and causes. A lot of people now use Facebook or Instagram Live to record themselves talking about an issue, with their followers having the ability to go on at the same time wherever they are. Leaders need to excel in collaboration and create compelling multimedia content by having a strong social media presence to get their message across. As the article states, “in the future, social media savvy may no longer be something that’s “nice-to-have” for prospective CEOs. Instead, it could be a powerful selection criterion that helps companies to identify CEOs who are well-prepared to lead.” (Neal, 2017).
How Social Media has Evolved and What the Future Looks Like
When using different online apps and platforms, leaders have to be confident that they can lead use it perpetually in the 21st century. Leaders need to be on a platform that will be around years in the future. They cannot be on a platform that will eventually die out. For example, Vine’s future was increasingly uncertain and it did not move fast enough to differentiate from other competitive apps like Snapchat. There was more interest in Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, and Vine was failing to make enough money. This resulted in Vine being discontinued in 2016. However, Facebook has been around and will continue to stay around for a very long time. Every day this social media platform is evolving, and leaders have the ability to play around with the constant new changes to lead in this century. The changes are meant to maximize the time people spend scrolling through the network. Facebook is typically the platform of choice for most leaders in terms of community engagement. Barack Obama started using this platform in 2007 as a tool during the election campaigns. Having a Facebook presence has become a regular part of any social media political campaign and is one of the better ways to interact and engage with citizens and audiences. Leaders utilize the features in good ways, including posting photos and videos, adding links to other websites, and making status updates. Facebook has also come out with the different reactions one can respond to a post with, including love, haha, wow, sad, and angry. With features like livestreaming and instant videos, Facebook and Instagram are popular social media platforms among leaders, with new changes and updates being made and tested constantly.
Facebook has enhanced features that include Facebook Live, Messenger Day, Facebook 360, advertising capabilities, and a group video chat that allows up to 50 users at once. With a social media platform like Facebook, new and innovative changes are always happening often, Facebook is not a platform that will be dying out any time soon due to its interactive features and new trends that can be for personal use as well as business promotions and a consistent platform for leaders.
Nowadays, if a leader were not to be active on social media or have any online presence, that may seem a little strange since it has been evolving over time and most people are on these platforms now. It would make people wonder how these leaders communicate with the public, which plays such a big role in a leader’s credibility. Social media is interesting in that it puts a lens on the creation of oneself and how this construction affects us in many ways. Social media has evidently become a communicator’s most powerful tool and a part of their daily lives, strengthening their role as a leader. Due to the ever changing social media world, leaders have been able to utilize social media platforms in innovative ways to create content, network with influencers, engage audiences, establish thought leadership, and lead in the 21st century.
Ercetin, S. S., & Bisaso, S. M. (2016). The effect of social media and social networking on perceptions of leadership and leaders. Springer International Publishing, 105-117.
Marwick, A. E., & Boyd, D. (2010). I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New Media & Society, 13(1), 1-20.
Who, in particular, benefits the most from personal branding tactics? Thought leaders.
A thought leader is someone whose views on a subject are taken to be authoritative and influential.
A thought leader can build their following on social platforms through the usage of “Personal Branding” which is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.
This new phenomenon of personal branding has flourished on social media. Leaders have begun to synchronize their core message, image, and voice in order to make their persona recognizable as a brand. Users create their personal brand with profile pictures, account handles, summaries, objectives, and most importantly, content.
One example of how a strong personal brand can change your life and elevate your leadership status is Chip & Joanna Gaines, owners of Magnolia Farms, and stars of the hit TV Show “Fixer Upper”. The couple began renovating houses on HGTV’s TV Show “Fixer Upper” and leveraged this platform to gain a following for their personal brand. Since then they have created the “Magnolia” brand and turned their hometown Waco, Texas into a tourist attraction with fans from allover traveling to see their farm and purchase Magnolia Farms branded products. Their brand does well because of a few key reasons. First, they invest a lot in social media to make sure they are keeping their fans entertained and informed. Second, both on and off their TV show they maintain a likable sense of humor that streamlines their brand voice. Lastly, they let their fans get a sneak peek into their actual lives by featuring their children. Families see this brand as relatable and want to enjoy it together. That is why they have become so successful. Finally, they have stayed active and built upon their successes by using social media marketing to promote their expanded retail and dining locations. Provided is a link to their online store if you would like to browse and take a look at their personal brand for inspiration. Their Online Store
As a direct result of personal branding, “regular people” if you will, can make a name for themselves. If someone is an expert on a subject and desires to spread their knowledge, they can now gain a following and achieve business success by building an attractive online brand. The individual is empowered.“Science creates a world where individuals can play the role of the collective. Two boys create Google. One boy creates Facebook. Another individual creates Apple. These gentlemen changed the world without political parties or armies or fortunes. No one anticipated this. And they themselves did not know what would happen as a result” (Barton et al, 2012). Today, even of you may not have the monetary means to hire an agent and gain a following, social media provides that opportunity for you. In an article I found online about personal branding tips for success, the author shared his story of leaving the corporate world to become an author. He was able to achieve success through forming a strong personal brand (Springett, 2017). He advises that if your brand is relatable, focused, and backed with heavy use of hashtags and trending words you will be able to attract a large following. Social media makes all of this possible by breaking the boundaries of communication. Being a thought leader and backing it with a strong personal brand will “increase your strategic visibility” which is “visibility and standing with the people who matter” (Brosseau). The people who matter, in this case, are the people who share the leader’s focused passion, and will thus search for those keywords on their social media platforms. Then the leader can develop an audience who genuinely wants to listen, and the leader can share their expertise in a certain topic through their personal brand (Brosseau).
Now corporate leaders must have a personal brand in order to succeed in the business world. Society has become digitally saturated in all areas of living, so“if you don’t have a powerful and visible personal brand, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage in almost every aspect of your professional, business and personal life” (Sweetwood, 2017). Due to the fact that personal branding is now pervasive, it has created a new standard for social media accounts. You can no longer just post when you feel like it. You can no longer post about whatever you want. You need to decipher your voice on social media, and you need a consistent feel across all of your content. The timing of your posts needs to be frequent and accurate to your audience’s lifestyle. Also, since social media marketing has slowly surpassed traditional marketing, “personal branding has become a requirement for anyone looking to grow their business” (Sweetwood, 2017). As has been noted, social media can help a business leader gain followers or customers, but it can also help retain them. Social media allows for easy, real-time interaction with customers to make them feel valued. Companies are encouraged to empower their employees to use their personal profiles to extend the business’ brand on social media. Additionally, if you are someone who is just “starting a business whether the business is online or they are trying to spread awareness online. Your personal brand can help you become a “rainmaker” who attracts customers, clients, and partners to your brand” (Brosseau). It is evident that social media personal branding can benefit a business in all stages of customer interaction.
Finally, the act of creating a personal brand involves steps that allow leaders to better understand and connect to their core values. Examples of core values a person may have can be seen in the above word cloud. Personal branding involves streamlining one’s voice on all social platforms and carrying that brand through into your day-to-day communication style. While a personal brand may begin on a digital platform, it will eventually extend into one’s entire life. “Personal branding is about making a full-time commitment to the journey of defining yourself as a leader”(Glenn Lopis Group). Our class performed a core values and personal mission statement exercise, which is a recommended first step to creating a personal brand. Your personal brand is not just about self-promotion or being visible online, Fisher explains, “it’s identifying who you are as a leader, how you treat people, how you want to be known – in and out of the office.” (Montgomery). A good personal brand is true to one’s self and passions, which will make it easy to extend from your online identity into your daily life. “Part of creating an authentic personal brand often means giving the public a glimpse into your personal life.” (Montgomery). This will humanize your profile and allow your followers to actually listen and connect to your brand.
All in all, social media facilitates personal branding that can then facilitate online success for thought leaders. This success is measured by gaining a large, loyal followingwith your personal brand. Success can be achieved in the corporate world by empowering employees to extend the company’s brand on their social profiles. Success can be achieved at an individual level by focusing inwards and developing a brand that aligns with one’s core values. A personal brand must be consistent and follow trends in order to stay relevant in today’s digitally saturated world. But if done right, a personal brand can lead you to become the next Mark Zuckerberg.
New technology and social media permeate and influence many areas of society today and the professional world is no exception.
Some use social media for social reasons, and become less productive.
Leadership & the Network Revolution 