Social media can have a big impact on you as a leader and those you lead. That impact can be positive or it can be negative depending on how you use it.
The Impact of Social Media on Leadership
In this post, I will share two stories on how social media impacted the lives of employees and leaders in the workplace.
Story #1
Today, I heard a story that is very applicable to leadership and blogging. The story was about a person that decided to video himself harassing a restaurant employee as he went through the drive through. He decided to do it to make a point about his personal feelings. It had absolutely nothing to do with the service he received at the restaurant.
Well, after he made his 2-minute video he decided to share it on social media. He posted it on YouTube. He did it to make his point and the video went viral. It became so popular that it had thousands of hits within a short time. With the video going viral on social media, it didn’t take long for word of the video to get back to his boss. The boss watched the video and the employee was fired before he had a chance to get back to work.
I also heard countless stories of people that worked really hard posting YouTube videos, writing their blogs, and doing other things to represent their brand online where they were able to make a name for themselves.
Story #2
There was a story of a lady that was struggling through poverty. Her family was not doing well and they were deep in debt. She decided to start blogging about her financial woes and what they were doing to overcome them. After a few years of blogging, she got her family out of debt and they became financially stable. Because of her success in overcoming debt, her blog became very popular. Many people came to her for advice and her blog propelled her into a position of prominence. From there she became an expert in the field and a leader in financial advising.
What Can You Learn From This?
There are many similarities and differences between these two stories. In both stories, the person made a name for themselves online. They put themselves out there and made themselves vulnerable. Of all the differences, there were two major differences between the stories that led to the different outcomes. The guy who harassed the restaurant worker got fired right away for his negative actions. On the other hand, the lady that blogged about her financial difficulties became a strong leader and very successful.
The Leadership Lesson
As a leader, these two stories teach a valuable lesson. Whatever you do online will almost always get back to your employer, your loved ones, and everyone else you think you can hide it from. You can’t afford to do something online, or in any other aspect of your life, without thinking through the results of your actions. If you do, it may not lead to your downfall as quickly as the harasser, but it will lead to your downfall.
What leadership lessons do you learn from the two stories mentioned above? How do you use social media to make a name for yourself? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
This article also illustrates the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership – Managing self and Social relations are fundamental in leadership 21C!
Welcome Gwyn!
Thank you for your comment. It is so true that since we are in the 21st Century we need to focus on managing ourselves by making smart choices. Too often people think they are invincible because they are in leadership, management, or some other position of authority. Leaders must be smart.
I have just become involved in a hospitality business where previous marketing has been limited to word of mouth. I have started to use social network sites to promote the business and get customers to share feedback and their experience of the night. It is a powerful tool and I have found an invaluable way to get a real feel for the businesses strengths and weaknesses but as the article suggests, it does offer up the weaknesses of the business.
Welcome Christopher!
Thank you for sharing what you are doing in the hospitality business. I think that is a great way to get feedback. It is too bad that more companies don’t take that approach especially because the ultimate goal is to get the right customers and keep them happy. If they are happy, they will tell others about your company and do all they can to spread the word. If you do a bad job the reverse is true as well, so you have to be very careful what you do.
I have been very cautious about social media interactions. What is on the web, stays on the web, good or bad. While social media “can” have a positive influence on someone’s image or career, there is little that can be done if you become the target of someone’s ire or a victim of someone’s campaign to discredit you. As such, I tend to lean towards “topical” or “organizational” posts that focus on concepts rather than something linked to my identity or person. If I have something worth saying, I can say it in a way that presents the idea without concern about improving my personal image or feeding my ego. I think it admirable that some are willing to make themselves vulnerable, yet I always hope they do not fall victim to someone’s capricious nature.