Leadership in a Socially Calibrated Business

Presenter: Lee Bryant, Headshift

Social media is a new world, especially for corporate executives.  Bryant started by dispelling a few myths about leadership as it applies to social media within the business world.

Myth 1. Flat structures don’t need leaders
In fact, social business opens up new opportunities for traditional leadership strengths.  Those who have strengths in communication, strategy, planning, engaging people will naturally rise to the top.

Myth 2. Distributed leadership is based on distributing process, not passion
Passion works better than process control, such as Zappos – if they don’t see a connected purpose, they’re not going to do well.  Common purpose is more important than strategic planning.  He used an example of a military exercise in which the defense had no plan, but was able to pull off a victory repeatedly.  A famous quote – “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders… instead teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

The question is how can we actually do this and make it repeatable.  And what to do if you don’t have exceptional leaders?  What does social business have to offer?

Connected systems and social networks allow for intimacy & presence at scale.  In the past, good leaders “walked the floor” and had a physical presence with their employees.  Social networks now allow you to virtually walk the floor as a leader.  Social media also encourages personal quests and re-invention on the edges of the organization.  Essentially it helps like-minded folks organize, encourage each other, and share information.  Leaders should open the taps on internal social media to create feeds and flows of data.  Sharing of information internally improves performance and reduces friction.

Smart leaders don’t limit employees access to, or ability to hold conversations.  Real leaders thrive in open culture with feedback.  Typically they thrive on being challenged to solve problems and improve situations.  It takes moving beyond carrot and stick thinking to connect with peoples’ intrinsic motivation and sense of purpose – and then enabling them network.  You must provide them with the tools to do so.

Harness the power of open data to evolve.  Data gives you feedback, and you can use to adjust what you’re doing based on the needs of the customer (or employees).  A social business strategy and infrastructure create the conditions for buisnesses to evolve and succeed.

Ecosystems + passion + active listening = transformation

What does corporate America think of 2.0?

Do mainstream companies get Twitter? Are executives in non-high tech industries embracing social technologies and the communities that form on top of them, or are they scared to death?

A report from the field was delivered at South by Southwest Interactive today by MIT scientist Andrew McAfee, who coined the phrase “Enterprise 2.0.”

McAfee laid out some good news and some bad news about the corporate mindset on the free-form collaboration that is 2.0, and offered some advice on how to talk to your boss about social tools that are evolving around the user:

• Corporate mindset challenges: We are risk-averse, busy, budget constrained, uninterested in social revolution, hostile to auto-obsolescence, ROI-seeking, and convinced of our own uniqueness.

• Some good news: We can be swayed by theory, evidence, narratives, peers; we’re afraid of being left behind.

• Talking to the boss: Present theories and frameworks, not jargon. Use data, case studies, and narratives. Make it relevant to our business; combat “time-wasting narcissism” perceptions about social tools.

According to McAfee, social software is maturing and we’re beginning to see more evidence of the business benefits of 2.0 (McKinsey Study, CEO case studies). Only time will tell if a tipping point is in the cards.