Send to KindleRandom Thoughts on Leadership
Here are a few random thoughts and observations.
I’ve seen a lot of figures about social media lately that seem to indicate everyone on the planet has a Facebook account; you’re nobody if you’re not Tweeting; and your business will quickly go the way of the dinosaur if you aren’t frantically using social media. But wait! I also see that a large number of Facebook accounts are not “real,” whatever that means, only about 8% of internet users actually use Twitter, (Helle Dale) and several studies show the actual number of people who buy because of Facebook is really small. We think of social media as the younger generation’s territory but my admittedly unscientific experiential statistics say that isn’t so. Most everyone I know who is active on Facebook is my age. Most of the younger people I know are not.
So, what does that mean for leaders? An incredible amount of time is being wasted on social media, and it isn’t necessarily workers sending pictures of their cats. It may be in your marketing department. Social media might not be a complete waste for your organization, but like everything else, take a careful look at what you’re adopting beforehand. Don’t buy into the hype until you’ve done your own due diligence.
It’s political season again. I’m proud to be a citizen of a country that can boast over 200 years of bloodless government transition. I’m not always as proud of how that transition happens. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just get the real facts about the candidates so as to make a truly informed decision? Unfortunately, that’s probably never going to happen, and therein lies the lesson for leaders.
In order to select the right people for public office, we voters must dig a little deeper than just what we see on TV. That applies to our organizations as well. Leaders who take everything they’re told at face value aren’t very good leaders.
Speaking of what we hear, I’m troubled by a trend that’s becoming more and more common: intolerance of other’s opinions. I was absolutely amazed at the reaction to Dan Cathy’s comments on marriage. When did we get to the point where an individual’s opinion was worthy of such public vitriol, especially when that person is known to hold such views? Unfortunately, the Chick-fil-A dust up is not unique.
As a leader, we have to remember that it isn’t about whether gay marriage is okay. It’s about keeping an even keel in the workplace. While that seems almost impossible these days, it’s easier when everyone knows they will be treated with respect, no matter what they may look like or believe in. Leaders must lead the way to developing that sort of workplace.
Find the truth, act on facts, and treat people fairly. Not a bad formula for leadership success.
