3 Reasons Executives Need to Lead in Social Business

Executives need to lead by example through their attitudes, motivations and behaviour to catalyse their teams to embrace the digital economy.

The digital economy refers to an economy that is based on digital computing technologies, although we increasingly perceive this as conducting business through markets based on the internet and the World Wide Web. The digital economy is also sometimes called the Internet Economy, NewEconomy, or Web Economy (Wikipedia).

Communication as a part of the digital economy has been transformed by social platforms and technology that assist to accelerate the way business occurs and empower the customer to educate themselves prior to interacting with a brand.

So, why should executives lead in the digital economy? The economic impact on your business is directly linked to your online identity and the online connections you have across your owned businesses properties and through your communication. Honing the interconnectedness internally and externally across personnel, customers, organisations and devices is fast becoming a key differentiator.

3 Reasons Executives Need to Lead in Social Business

1. Attracting talent. Prospective hires are evaluating their hiring managers, executive teams and future peers by doing online due diligence. Having strong professional brand representation for employees and the organisation on LinkedIn and Twitter evidences an interest in being forward-looking and embracing the future evolution of how communication works in the digital economy. Future employees feel that their growth will occur alongside their organisation’s transformation.
2. Setting the example. Simply stated, when in charge, inspire those that work with you by living the standard and setting the example. Leadership is about doing what is right, empathizing with your team, and catalysing others to do something by first undertaking the change yourself. Guide, motivate and develop your social identity and begin to engage with insights and information in social channels to be the beacon of change.
3. Narrating the corporate story. Providing social proof and living the message both on and offline accelerates individual, team and organisational performance. Gone are the days of glad handing at the major trade shows and expecting revenue to come by simply following up by phone calls, emails and newsletters. Executives and employees must remain in front of their customers by interacting in context of the customer’s day digitally and offline. Understanding where you have earned the right to communicate, in what frequency, in what channel, on what device and with insights and valued content – which you should create in your own voice rather than rely solely on marketing – earns trust, authority, reputation and influence for yourself, and the brand.

Closing Thoughts

• How you organise, structure and re-position to evolve from the conventional norms of communication will impact how people, organisations and technologies interact with you and evaluate your products, services, and brand story.
• Executives need to lead by example through their attitudes, motivations and behaviour to catalyse their teams to embrace the digital economy.

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