If you find value in this Website, you can thank leadership over social technology. When I first joined Edelman several months ago, then president of Digital, Rick Murray and I briefly discussed his vision for this site. “Open, informative, useful, best in class”. These were the words used to describe what we wanted to do here. There were competing visions for what the experience should be here well before my time—but Rick’s vision is what prevailed. Of course it needed to be executed—and this required a team, and the right technology. But it also required a cultural shift to occur. We had to know that we would be supported in our endeavor to become regular content creators and conversation catalysts and that our behavior would be rewarded and not punished.
It’s an unfortunate reality in our current state of affairs that we often chase after the latest technology, buzzword or use “ROI” as a defensive shield to protect corporate status instead of justifying business value. The simple truth is that leaders and leadership is more important than ever, because social technologies are so potentially disruptive and powerful. But it takes vision to see where you are going. It also takes a healthy amount of risk from the people up at the top. Charlene Li‘s new book Open Leadership provides insights into the relationship between social technology and leadership and offers examples that are worth digesting.
Let this short post also serve as a reminder that if your organization is really interested in tapping the power of “social”, you are going to need some real leaders to pave the way and provide the support for the people who will inevitably become the change agents you desperately need to move forward. No amount of social media will provide this, and historically there has never been a substitute for leadership. Are you trying to “move the needle” on your initiatives with limited success? Chances are, you need help from a true leader. If you know of one, send them this post as a reminder that their time is indeed now.
