A critical factor for growth and sustainability in any business is leadership. A key indicator of a business’s trajectory lies in its leadership structure. Over the years we have seen mega business struggle as a result of poor leadership.
In recent times, we have seen the power of social media in different spheres of life – from technology, entertainment, religion, business and even leadership. We’ve seen how individuals have positioned themselves as ‘influencers’ and thus created a shift in the mindsets of people directly or indirectly. We have also seen a host of business leaders leverage social media as a tool to promote their core values thereby positively influencing people’s perception of their brands.
In this article, we will address 3 critical leadership challenges and how some popular business leaders have leveraged social as a tool to project the right values and promote their businesses.
The 3 Critical Leadership challenges include:
- Thinking Big: Great businesses need leaders who are visionary and have the ability to see beyond the small details. For any business to truly thrive amidst stiff competition, it needs to have leaders with the ability to conceive lofty ideas and drive their teams to great heights. Our experience in business has taught us that one of the greatest leadership challenges businesses face is the inability of their leaders to think big and maintain the discipline to achieve big goals.One leader in the business world that has consistently shown his ability to see the big picture and drive his team to achieve great feats is Elon Musk (Tesla). Leveraging the power of social media, Elon has continuously shown to the world that he has built a business with a reputation for achieving the impossible. Through his posts and videos on social media platforms, Elon continues to showcase bravery and audacity which are tenets every business leader needs to adopt.
- Authenticity: There is no better time than now for business leaders to show authenticity and genuine interest in serving stakeholders interest. The business world needs leaders whose passion transcend beyond profit-making, business leaders who can inspire the younger generation to see business beyond the immediate benefits.An example of a business leader who has inspired a lot of young people to start businesses and stay true to their calling is Jack Ma (Alibaba Group). Jack Ma has been able to consistently influence a lot of young people through his quotes and videos on social media platforms. Over the years, he has been able to effectively leverage social media to educate young people on the core values upon which his has built his brand – patience, perseverance, diligence, industry and integrity.
- Empathy: Empathy is one of the critical components of Emotional Intelligence and business leaders need this in their role setting the culture and tempo for their organizations.Modern-day business leaders can learn a very critical lesson from Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group). A picture of him posing close to an employee who was tired and fell asleep while on duty went viral on social media. In that picture, it was obvious that Sir Richard Branson displayed a high level of empathy – putting himself in the position of the employee. This singular act not only served as an example for other business leaders but also boosted the brand image of the Virgin Group. Branson continues to leverage social media to give a personal feel to his companies, employees and customers.
I hope this article inspires you to start leveraging social media as an effective tool to drive positive change while promoting your business brand. There is a lot you can do to bring about the change the business world desperately yearns for.
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