Conquering Competition by Storm: Master the 6 Core Skills of the Social Leader

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Social Media has taken business with a strong hand of thunder. Companies are now recognizing Social Media as a disruptive force that gathers strength rather than attenuate. In fact, having a good grasp of Organizational Social Media Literacy has become a company’s source of competitive advantage.

Social Media literacy is not yet an element of leadership competency models or performance reviews. Yet, companies who have developed a critical mass of leaders who have mastered the 6 dimensions of Organizational Media Literacy are seeing a brighter future. They are more creative, innovative, and agile. Their degree of global integration is higher. Today, this has critically become important for business when faced with a highly volatile and disruptive business dynamics.

The transformational power of Social Media has opened great business opportunities and interconnectivity. However, on the other end are great risks companies must face. These risks must be properly mitigated. Achieving this would require a new type of leader.

The Birth of a New Type of Leader

The dynamics of Social Media has amplified the need for qualities that are necessary to become an effective leader.

• The ability to undertake strategic creativity
• The ability to facilitate authentic communication
• The ability to deal with the corporation’s social and political dynamics
• The ability to design an agile and responsive organization

With the advent of Social Media, these new traits have been boosted with new dimensions.

• The ability to create compelling, engaging multimedia content
•  The ability to excel at co-creation and collaboration which are the currencies of the Social Media world
•  The ability to understand the nature of different Social Media tools and unruly forces they can unleash

Today’s leader must also need to be a good Social Media Leader to be effective. He or she must have an operative handle of the different facets of Social Media.

What is Organizational Media Literacy?

Organizational Media Literacy is the interplay of leadership skills and related organizational design principles. Organizational Media Literacy is defined along 6 Dimensions that are independent and feed on one another.

The 6 Dimensions of Social Media Literacy outlines the critical capabilities that leaders must master to capitalize the full potential of Social Media.

The 6 Dimensions of Social Media Literacy

Having the 6-dimensional set of skills and organizational capabilities can enable leaders to create an enterprise level of media literacy.

The Leader as Producer

As Producer, the Leader must create compelling content. As Producer, the Social Media Leader must develop creative competencies such as authenticity, storytelling, and artistic vision. Technical skills must be honed especially in video production.

The Leader as Distributor

As Distributor, the Leader must leverage dissemination dynamics. As Distributor, the Social Media Leader must understand cross-platform dynamics and what causes messages to go viral. The capability to build and sustain a body of social followers has become essentially important.

The Leader as Recipient

As Recipient, the Leader must manage communication overflow. As Recipient, the Social Media Leader must be able to create resonance via selective replies and linking. Essentially, he or she must be able to make sense of the noise through intelligent filtering.

In today’s Social Media realm, greater demands are put on executives. With information getting shared within seconds, correspondingly response is expected also within seconds.

The Leader as Adviser and Orchestrator

As Adviser and Orchestrator, the Leader must drive strategic Social Media utilization. As Adviser and Orchestrator, the Social Media Leader must be able to enable and support a 360-degree environment in Social Media usage. The ability to coordinate and channel activities within span of control has become essential.

The Leader as Architect

As Architect, the Leader must create an enabling organizational infrastructure. As Architect, the Social Media leader must be able to balance vertical accountability and horizontal collaboration. Leveraging Social Media for key business functions has come to a fore.

The Leader as Analyst

As Analyst, the Leader must stay ahead of the curve. As Analyst the Social Media Leader must monitor dynamics of Social Media industry. Understanding cultural and behavioral impact is a strength that needs to be build.

The next generation of connectivity–the Internet of Things (IoT)–will link together appliances, cars and all kinds of objects. By 2020, there will be about 50 billion connected devices. This transformation will open a lot of new opportunities. Being responsive is to be prepared. Social Media Leaders must start setting up the fundamentals for creating an agile, responsive organization.

Interested in gaining more understanding on Organizational Social Media Literacy? You can learn more and download an editable PowerPoint about 6 Core Skills of the Social Leader here on the Flevy documents marketplace.

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