Social Media and Leadership

SOCIAL MEDIA AND LEADERSHIP1

Social Media and Leadership

Carrie G. Connolly

Virginia Commonwealth University

Social Media and Leadership

When Facebook first began in 2004, its outreach was limited. Useraccounts could only be established by those who had an email account with “.edu.” However, eight years later, Facebook was open to anyone who was at least 13 years of age. In addition, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn have since been created, adding more opportunities for leaders to reach out via social media (Stoller, 2013). The digital age makes it possible to receive information at the simple touch of a screen. Leaders can benefit from increased communication to help educate others and to create more awareness about their goals. When analyzing leadership through the frames of Bolman and Deal (2008), one can see that social media directly impacts a leader’s ability to increase communication and create stronger relationships.

The Political Frame

Leaders who are fighting for scarce resources often use the political frame. The political frame views leadership in terms of acquiring scarce resources and taking whatever actions are necessary to gain those resources (Bolman Deal, 2008). Political leaders can be seen in every organization, not just in government politics. Political leaders reach out to key stakeholders and create relationships with those individuals. A political leader understands the importance of the one on one interaction to form relationships. In order to identify the key stakeholders, political leaders evaluate power within an organization. Political leaders think about which stakeholders will be essential in certain situations and form relationships accordingly. In addition, leaders who use the political frame have a strong understanding of their own goals and interests (Bolman Deal, 2008). Political leaders are not easily swayed as they are set in acquiring the resources needed to continue their leadership and reach their goal.

At first glance, it may appear that social media is not a strong venue for political leaders due to their need to create personal relationships. However, as social media expands into a user’s personal life, relationships can be created online (Stoller, 2013.) Enli and Skogerbo (2013) state that political leaders find social media a preferred venue because it allows the leader to interact directly with the stakeholders. Enli and Skogerbo (2008) use the example of stakeholders being voters in a government election. Enli and Skogerbo (2008) note that personal characteristics in addition to the political platform play a role in government elections, and social media allows leaders to share both with voters. Social media alsogives voters a better look at the personal side of each candidate. Additionally, Facebook creates dialogue with voters and leaders while increasing awareness about the leader’s campaign. Leaders can clarify their platform separately from the associated political party through Facebook posts rather than relying on the party to market their campaign (EnliSkogerbo, 2013). The dialogue that takes place on Facebook can also assist leaders with assessing power and identifying interests which is essential when using the political frame.

Through the use of social media, leaders in the political frame are able to reach more stakeholders and create a more personalized image. The increased exposure of the leader’s personal life in social media fosters stronger relationships with stakeholders. The stronger relationships allow leaders in the political frame to acquire scarce resources, such as winning elections. However, Enli and Skogerbo (2013) state that the downfall is that leaders can select what they choose to post on social media, and thus social media users may not receive an accurate image of the leader. Leaders can choose which role they want to play on social media. Users need to be cautious of accepting everything they read online and seek credible sources.

The Symbolic Frame

As leaders begin to play a specific role, much like playing a role in a theatrical play, their leadership framestransition into symbolic leadership frames. Leaders who use the symbolic frame use symbols or images to represent key ideas or their vision. Symbolic leaders take the risk of playing a role in situations and model the way for their followers. By modeling the way, leaders help inspire their employees to follow suite and commit themselves to the initiative. In addition to leading by example, symbolic leaders tell stories and use their symbols to motivate others and create buy in to the vision. One of the main strengths of symbolic leaders is the ability to create meaning (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

Symbolic leaders are able to use social media to increase their communication and create meaning to their goals and interests. Social media allows leaders to share visual pictures and symbols that relate to the leader. For example, Twitter handles, the user name associated with the account, and tweets have a strong symbolic meaning. Twitter only allows 140 characters in a post, which forces leaders to be more strategic about tweets (Stoller, 2013). Twitter also allows users to select a picture to accompany the twitter handle. Symbolic leaders should select an image that relates or helps assign meaning to their vision. While Twitter limits the ability to tell stories based on the character limit, blogging is the perfect venue for a symbolic leader. Blogging gives symbolic leaders the opportunity to tell stories and have users post comments to engage in conversation with the leader (Stoller, 2013).

As a symbolic leader determines what role to play, the leader should also begin to consider the branding associated with that role. Social media can assist leaders with creating a digital leadership brand and marketing that brand. Leaders can select what they post on their social media sites. Leaders can decide to only share the good, and thus, they may give users a skewed perspective of their life (EnliSkogerbo, 2013). Stoller (2013) notes that leaders in higher education can use social media to complement the existing leadership brand,which may have already been created through attendance at national conferences, networking events, and publications. Stoller (2013) mentions the concern that many leaders post the same information and are hesitant to share stories of failure. Stories of failure could help other professionalslearn from the mistakes, but to be consistent in playing a role, leaders often do not expose these shortcomings in social media. The question that arises is if leaders are being authentic in their social media posts or are they playing a role of an ideal leader? Many leaders struggle to balance work and family, and yet according to the posts on social media, somehow those leaders with large social media followers seem to do it so well (Stoller, 2013). Bolman and Deal (2008) reiterate that symbolic leaders act in a certain manner and expect followers to do the same as they lead by example. In social media leaders show a balance of work and personal life, which gives the leader more credibility, and thus followers begin to invest in the leader.

The Human Resources Frame

The human resources frame encourages leaders to incorporate the personal side of social media into the workplace. Leaders using the human resources frame show continued support for their employees through the creation of relationships and belief in an individual’s ability to succeed. The leaders’ support alsogives employees confidence to believe in their own abilities (Bolman Deal, 2008). Human resource leaders take the extra step to get to know their fellow colleagues, supervisees, and supervisors. They believe that the investment in the personal side of others will help achieve the overall goal of the organization. Teamwork, motivational speeches, and empowerment are characteristics of a leader using the human resources frame (Bolman Deal, 2008). An investment in the individual is an investment in the organization.

Leaders who use the human resources frame are always searching for ways to connect with employees on a more personal level to empower employees and reach organizational goals. Social media is one way to start empowering employees and begin connecting on a personal level. Employees can be tasked with the responsibility of monitoring social media sites. Users are more likely to return to sites that are kept up to date and where leaders are engaging in dialogue (Briones, Kuch, Liu, & Jin, 2010). Leaders can identify employees who have a strong understanding of social media and empower them to use their creativity to communicate with users online. This shows a high level of trust to communicate the mission and goals of the organization with thousands of online users.

Blogging is another example of social media that strengthens leaderships in the human resources frame. Blogs give a unique glance at an organization and its leadership. Blogs provide an opportunity for users to read reflective descriptions about the leader and the organization. It allows the professional world to merge with one’s personality and social life. Unlike social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs give leaders the chance to write in full detail and begin building strong relationships based on dialogue. Briones et al. (2010) states that interactive blogs often create positive outlooks on the workplace and a more supportive work environment. A leader in the human resources frame should not only take time to write a personal blog, but the leader should also take time out to read the blogs of colleagues. The personal insight gained after reading the blogsshould then be used by the leader to assist in the assignment of tasks that are appropriate to the individual’s strengths and professional development needs. In addition, the leader would be more attune to the struggles of employees (Stoller, 2013). Discussions in the office place can focus on work as well as home life based on the information found on the blogs. Users who are reading the blogs from outside of the organization will also feel an increased personal connection with the employees of the organization. A small change, such as incorporating blogging into the office environment can make a large impact.

The Structural Frame

There are some leaders who may be resistant to change and prefer to stay with facts and data rather than use personal life from social media to achieve organizational goals. Leaders who excel using procedures, policy, and organization use the structural frame. Structural leaders build and maintain organizations based off of data, facts, and clear expectations of employees. While structural leaders use policies and procedures that are already in place, these leaders also have strong analytical skills to create new policies. Leaders do extensive research to plan ahead for potential outcomes and create detailed steps for implanting new plans (Bolman Deal, 2008). Even though social media changes daily and is a new venture for many, structural leaders can still create plans on how to successfully use social media in the workplace to increase communication with users.

As social media moves towards the norm in customer communication, leaders need to begin planning new policies and procedures on how to build and maintain relationships online (Briones et al., 2010). Stoller (2013) notes increased satisfaction and connection in the community with the addition of social media. High satisfaction requires sending out accurate information online. The internet allows the sharing of ideas to happen faster than ever before. A structural leader will need to set a policy on how posts are approved within the organization before posting to a social media site. Organizations must consider the audience as well in order to select the appropriate social media outlet. A formal process embedded in a strategic plan is now essential for any leader (Stoller, 2013).

Structural leaders may rejoice in the notion that social media can also give additional data about stakeholders that previously was difficult to acquire. Data such as age, education, hobbies, and marital status can all be collected online. Structural leaders can select social medial outlets that provide them with the most important user data. Organizations that do not create new policies and procedures thatutilize social media will find it much more challenging to engage users who now rely so heavily on social media (Stoller, 2013). Engaging users is key to building relationships online.

Conclusion

Social media can be used with a variety of leadership styles as seen in the leadership frames of Bolman and Deal (2008). Social media is an outlet for leaders to engage stakeholders and build relationships. Leaders can participate in dialogue with online users and share professional information as well as personal experiences. Social media allows users to get information faster than ever before, and it continues to grow and increase its outreach. Leaders can use this opportunity to create awareness about organizational goals and establish new relationships.

References

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership

(4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Briones, R. L., Kuch, B., Liu, B. R., & Jin, Y. (2010). Keeping up with the digital age: How

the American Red Cross uses social media to build relationships. Public Relations

Review. 37 (2011).

Enli, G. S. & Skogerbo, E. (2013). Personalized campaigns in party centered politics: Twitter

and Facebook as arenas for political communication. Information, Communication and

Society, 16(5).

Stoller, E. (2013). Our shared future: Social media, leadership, vulnerability, and digital

identity. Journal of College & Character, 14(1).