Executives and leaders frequently tell me they don’t have time to participate in digital spaces. For years, I endorsed this perspective, recognizing that most of them had already made the connections necessary to successfully run their organizations and create impact in the broader community.
It’s become increasingly clear, though, that social media plays an outsized role in the dissemination of ideas and in influencing behavior change locally and globally. Like it or not, leaders can no longer afford to opt out of digital discourse because, as international relations scholar P.W. Singer and digital forensic researcher Emerson T. Brooking say in LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, it’s where “battles for not just every issue you care about, but for the future itself,” are playing out.
Imagine Ukrainian President Zelenskyy deciding he didn’t have the time to be active on social media while leading his nation’s defense against Putin’s invasion. It would certainly be an understandable choice with so many life-and-death situations demanding his attention.
But without Zelenskyy’s digital leadership, would the world be as invested in the plight of Ukraine? Would the Ukrainian cabinet be as empowered to call upon government and business leaders around the globe to support their cause? Would the countless Ukrainian citizens who have taken to social media to share their experiences and point individuals from all nations toward concrete ways of helping be as bold and persistent without their president’s example?
We care about Ukraine because President Zelenskyy — and multitudes of Ukrainians following his lead — flood social media with reminders of why we must.
It’s a powerful example of how vital a tool social media can be for leaders.
Researchers estimate that every action on Facebook can be seen by up to 40,000 people. The things we choose to amplify, comment on and talk about in our own posts impact what those in our networks (and beyond) know. It shapes their perception of issues and events.
“People trust sideways, not upwards,” says foresight strategist Sean Pillot de Chenecey in The Post-Truth Business: How to Rebuild Brand Authenticity in a Distrusting World. “We believe each other far more than we believe branded messages,” he adds. In LikeWar, Singer and Brooking make a similar observation about the power of messages disseminated by people we know: “If it comes from friends and family, it is inherently more believable.”
As tempting as it may be to avoid social media as much as possible — or, for those of us who use it regularly — get caught up in whatever topic dominates social media platforms on a given day, we have the power to change the subject and influence what tens of thousands of people see (and think). Once upon a time, when there were only a handful of channels that decided which stories were worthy of telling, we could complain about “the media” setting the agenda for where we focused our attention. Now, however, we play a big role in determining which stories and ideas gain traction.
Have you thought about where you want to direct the attention of others via your social media activity? What stories do you want to tell? What issues do you want to highlight? What future do you want to build?
Leadership in a digital world includes setting our own agendas for social media focus and discussion. In doing so, we help direct people in our networks to the things we deem worthy of attention and consideration.
Thoughtfully and purposefully using social media to share our hearts, expertise and unique perspective shifts digital discourse from negativity and strife toward hopeful and productive dialogue about where we go from here. It also creates entry points for connection with people and ideas we might not encounter within our existing networks.
Those ever-expanding connections make us better leaders as well. The more intertwined we see our lives with those of our fellow humans, the more we realize their needs are linked to our needs. We become more invested in seeking out mutually beneficial approaches and outcomes. We stop seeing the world as a competition and start seeing it as a canvas for collaboration.
Our shared humanity is the bridge between them and us. As we’ve seen with Ukraine, social media makes their story our story. And as our stories intertwine, it becomes increasingly obvious that we share responsibility for building a better world for all of us, together.
NOTE: This first appeared in Colorado Springs Business Journal.