Benefits and Best Practices for Writing on Steemit—Part 3: How to Inspire Those Around You
Many leaders believe it is best to keep things “strictly business” with employees or people they oversee. The idea is that the more employees know about you as a leader, the less they will respect you or be willing to follow you. This mentality has been quite prevalent for pastors. That’s why generations of pastors and similar leaders always wore a shirt and a tie, even when outside of their offices.
We have a reputation to project and protect, many think.
You can’t get too close to those you are trying to lead, many
believe.
As a result, leaders pull back and separate themselves. This is one of the reasons why leaders are some of the loneliest people around. They feel they have to be perfect. They have to project an image. They have to give the right answer. They have to confidently lead the charge. The reality is, this kind of thinking is emotionally draining and exhausting. I know. I have been there.
But is this actually true?
Does being authentic and more open make people think less of you and be less willing to follow you? A study by Weber Shandwick found the opposite to be true. While 26% of CEO’s are viewed as being inspiring by their leadership team, that number jumps up to 43% when the CEO shares on social media, which they define as “social sharing.”
The same holds for being perceived as “open and accessible.” It jumps from 37% to 48% when the CEO’s is involved in social sharing. But here’s the really fascinating part: In every single leadership attribute that was analyzed, the impact is magnified when the CEO blogs.
What do you think about these statistics? Do they catch you by surprise?
The reason why these statistics are true is because appropriate sharing on social media and blogs helps to humanize you.
Leaders need to be humanized because, just by virtue of being a leader, people tend to deify you. They put you on a pedestal. As a result, they will be less likely to connect with you and share the important things that a leader needs to be aware of.
The more human you come across as a leader, the better because transparency corresponds to trust. Of course, not every thought needs to be shared. The picture of every dinner platter does not need to be tweeted—that is called oversharing—but there are appropriate ways to share that will help people connect to you as a leader.
I believe a leader should not just blog about things that are going well, but they should also share about mistakes and times they have failed. I have done that many times on my personal blog. I have shared about experiments that have gone bad. I have shared some frustrations and doubts I have. And here is what I have noticed when leaders I admire share and allow me to see the chinks in their armor: I admire them even more. I become committed to them. I sacrifice more for them.
Now let's back up a tiny bit.
What I'm sharing in this post might seem a little odd, perhaps, especially given the fact that I'm blogging on Steemit anonymously. I admire accounts who use their real names like @jerrybanfield and so many others. In this post, I mention why it wouldn't be wise for me to do so as a pastor of a large church, though. Also, posts like these have scared me away a little as well.
But, I adhere very closely to these principles in all the social media platforms that I'm on, which is quite a few: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Until recently, I was also using SnapChat quite often.
No matter what platform you're active on, here's the bottom line: The perfect leader who never fails and whose life is always perfect is a myth. Everyone knows that. So why try to fake it? Be real, and in the process, you could end up inspiring those around you more than ever before.
Did you find this post helpful? If so, please Upvote, Resteem, and follow me @leaderinsights to receive every future post. This is part two of an important series called Benefits and Best Practices for Writing on Steemit. You won't want to miss any future post.
This post has received a 1.80 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @leaderinsights.
thanks!
Hello you might like @bellyrub it is much like @booster
Nice post!
Thanks, dude!
Hi @leaderinsights, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Hey, thank you so much! Very kind of you. In a few moments, I'll be posting another blog post, but this one on a very different topic. I'm taking a mini break from this series. Happy day!
You're welcome. Sometimes a break is as good as a rest. Will be watching for your future posts.