"Blind Leading The Blind"
Today I am writing this post for another blogger Ben Davis, who had a host of bloggers writing leadership posts for what he’s calling Leadership Week. He asked me to share something about leading in the world of Social Media.
My post is below, you can check it out, as well as posts from other bloggers here.
When you read the phrase “Blind Leading The Blind” what generally comes to mind? The general thought is that people who don’t know what they’re doing leading people who don’t know what they are doing. I’d like to look at this phrase from a totally different perspective.
In the world of social media there are leaders that grow to have a strong voice and garner a specific following. These leaders establish themselves through their daily blog posts, daily tweets or daily facebook updates. They develop a voice that people want to listen to. Many of the people who follow these social media leaders have never physically met or seen them and vice versa. Blind Leading The Blind!
Leading in the world of social media can sometimes be more difficult than leading in a traditional leadership/work setting. The social media leader has to lead purely through relational and content equity. There is no positional equity, hierarchical leadership or formal boss. The social media leader has to answer this daily question from each of their followers: “Why should I listen to, or follow you?” In other words, what are you providing that makes people want to follow you; especially when there are thousands of others who are only a click away.
Here are 5 Quick thoughts to be a successful Blind Leading The Blind social media leader:
- Can You See What I’m Saying? Find your voice. Online voice should be a natural overflow of your IRL (In Real Life) voice. They should not be mutually exclusive, but rather one in the same.
- When You Look At Me Who Do You See? Don’t try to be a copycat or phony. Authenticity is crucial, so Keep it Real! “Do You! It’s A Statement… Not A Question.”
- Can I See You? Be accessible, helpful, respond to tweets, write a guest post for someone, remember that your online success is based upon those who choose to follow you. Key word… choose!
- Can You See My Muscles? Be willing to flex your leadership muscle by tackling the tough issues and providing overall value to the online community.
- Can You See Me? People can’t follow you if you don’t give them anything to follow. Just like the newspaper, you need to deliver regular content. You don’t have to be hyperactive, just active. Write something, tweet something, share something!
Share your thoughts on any these 5 Blind Leading The Blind thoughts or add some additional to the list. Why do you follow social media leaders?
