How Social Media Affects Leadership (Essay Sample)

How Social Media Affects Leadership Name Institution How Social Media Affects Leadership Social media, in one form or another, shapes the way people do things or how they think in many ways because it is highly accessible to people of different classes and age groups. To rightly estimate the impact of social media on leadership, this paper will discuss how social media affects key leadership attributes. Social media can be defined as technologies, both mobile and web-based, that can be employed to achieve communication and allow the creation and the dissemination of information (Mayfield, 2008). Different categories of social media that exist today include social networks, blogs, content communities, wikis, forums, podcasts, as well as microblogging (Mayfield, 2008). Research has substantiated the fact that different companies and institutions that have embraced social media have encountered different experiences while most other companies are experimenting (Brown et al., 2011; Bughin et al., 2011; Bughin, 2010; Zeisser, 2010). According to Qualman (2011), different leadership attributes can be enhanced or threatened by social media. Vision is better achieved by making empowerment of followers measurable (Li, 2010). However, vision is at risk since people obtain a channel to express critique (Safko, 2010). Social media becomes pivotal in the organization of meetings and formulation of ideas thus fostering integrity (Jue, Marr, & Kassotakis, 2009). Jue et al., however, argues that most people find the usage of social media in organizing for meetings becomes like a continuous protocol (2009). Social media eliminates hierarchy enhancing communication by making it faster to reach everyone (Jue, Marr, & Kassotakis, 2009). However, false information can spread due to the impersonal nature of social media, and the leader has no control over what people post (Qualman, 2010). Decision making, one of the key attributes of leadership, becomes adept and efficient because social media makes it easy to search for and analyze facts. Leaders are in a position of making informed decisions based on the facts. It is, however, hard to monitor the influence of those decisions and weigh reactions from employees (Lewis, 2011). Emotional intelligence which plays a pivotal role in decision making and implementation is rendered impossible by social media because expressing and judging of emotions is impossible (Lewis, 2011). In conclusion, social media presents both opportunities and risks to institutions and leaders. To harness the benefits accrued to these platforms, leaders need to be savvy about these technologies and they must monitor the risks associated with them. As shown by this paper, social media can be utilized to enhance such leadership attributes as integrity, vision, communication and decision making. References Brown, B., Chui, M. & Manyika, J. 2011. Are you ready for the era of “ big data ”? McKinsey Quarterly,10. Retrieved from Bughin, J. & Chui, M. 2010. The Rise of the Networked Enterprise. McKinsey Quarterly, 12. Retrieved from Bughin, J., Byers, A.H. & Chui, M., 2011. How social technologies are extending the organization. McKinsey Quarterly, 11. Retrieved from Jue, A. L., Marr, J. A., &...