{"id":5354,"date":"2014-03-18T08:10:02","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T08:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5354"},"modified":"2014-04-08T23:31:50","modified_gmt":"2014-04-08T23:31:50","slug":"5354","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/5354\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories of Leadership: Moving Beyond Authority to Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SocialVoiceBranding_Conductor<\/a><\/h3>\n

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THEME #5 of\u00a0Post Series on Humanizing Brand Storytelling<\/span><\/h3>\n

A brand’s story is comprised of many elements, phases, and characters. \u00a0One of the most important being the leadership story of a brand. \u00a0The rise of social networks has played an important role in bringing the stories of great brands, and the leaders behind these great brands, \u00a0to life. \u00a0Social networks have democratized communication between business and people, as well as the conversation regarding leadership.\u00a0 Through social networks, anyone can connect to the inspiring words and shared wisdom of leaders everywhere. \u00a0Conversely, leaders themselves have access to unlimited sources of inspiration to fuel their vision.\u00a0\u00a0 Social networks have also redefined how we perceive leaders – and in the process, elevated our expectations.\u00a0 Today, it takes far more than the respect for a title, or recognition of authority, to earn the support and trust of followers. People look for reasons TO BELIEVE in the vision of one potential leader over that of another.\u00a0 When these reasons are grounded in humanizing leadership traits that transcend policy or promise \u2013 people can then connect emotionally to a bigger, and unify ideal and story.<\/p>\n

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Authority vs. Influence<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

There are many synonyms used in relation to leadership.\u00a0 Although similar, the nuances are important and distinct.\u00a0 Take for example \u201cauthority\u201d.\u00a0 You can have authority without being influential \u2013 and vice versa.\u00a0 Authority without influence requires others to respond because they have to \u2013 not because they want to.<\/p>\n

Authority is given <\/b>and can be bought, unlike influence that is earned <\/b>through trust, <\/b>respect, and engagement.\u00a0 Leadership is often confused with corporate signs of authority such as seniority, pay scale, or company role.\u00a0 But these are only superficial benefits or symbols of leadership.\u00a0\u00a0 An executive can be awarded a promotion, higher salary, and a new position.\u00a0 But such authority is no indication of their ability to create a positive influence on others. \u00a0Influence is about the impact and response, emotional or otherwise, which a leader can ultimately have or create.\u00a0 \u00a0Only influence can activate emotion in a way that inspires change in ways that can become transformative.<\/p>\n

Leadership vs. Management <\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

In the same way that authority and influence, relate but differ in meaning and outcomes, we see the same with regards to leadership and \u201cmanagement.\u201d\u00a0 Management implies \u201chow\u201d teams and businesses deal with process, policy and resources.\u00a0 Whereas leadership is about giving people the reasons \u201cwhy\u201d they should believe, engage, and be influenced by the vision of another.<\/p>\n

Leadership requires more than history or prior experience. \u00a0\u00a0Competence is not enough to earn the support of others.\u00a0\u00a0 After all, ability to manage is expected and required of those in leadership roles.\u00a0\u00a0 Leaders must have the emotional intelligence needed to inspire employees into action, and the intuition needed to develop human potential.\u00a0\u00a0 Consider the many executives who are recruited from one position to take-on a similar role in a new company.\u00a0 Regardless of the newly appointed title and authority, if these incoming leaders are unable to unite disparate interests, and work through others to create impact, they will not succeed in meeting their leadership and business objectives.<\/p>\n

Leadership through social<\/span><\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, most executives in C-Level positions today are not leveraging the unique opportunity social offers in building a leadership following.\u00a0 According to 2013 Social CEO Report<\/span><\/a> Are America\u2019s Top CEOs Getting More Social?<\/span><\/p>\n

68% of CEOs have absolutely no presence on any of the major social networks.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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Of the 28 Fortune 500 CEOs on Twitter only 3.8% are tweeting an average of .98 tweets per day.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"SocialVoiceBranding.com_CEO.com\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The low utilization of social networks by C-suite executives makes the leaders who are actively social – all the more inspiring.\u00a0 They use social networks for its true purpose \u2013 to connect with others, instead of the common use by executives as a media channel or PR requirement.\u00a0 As a result, people can better understand these leaders on a human level.\u00a0 Followers gain a better understanding of what inspires them, how they think, and the authenticity of their interest and engagement with others.\u00a0 Tony Hsieh, Richard Branson, Ralph Lauren and Steve Forbes, are great examples of this exceptional group of socially connected leaders. They make themselves accessible to all \u2013 not just employees or investors.\u00a0 Their social engagement is just one of the ways their leadership vision inspires, influences behavior, and shape perspectives.<\/p>\n

Beyond the C-Suite<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Leadership can be expressed through all levels of business and across all industries.\u00a0 It is not exclusive to those in C-level positions.\u00a0\u00a0 There are far more leading corporate voices coming from outside of the C-Suite.\u00a0 These are the leaders who have become recognized through their respective industries, public speaking, thought-leadership work, and community of followers.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of these leaders come from departments that used to be accessible only to employees and business partners.\u00a0 These departments include R&D, engineering, IT, supply chain, customer service etc.\u00a0 \u00a0Social networks have given people a level of access to the leading minds behind the many products and services that we have come to love.\u00a0\u00a0 The social connections allow us to celebrate and follow their work and adventures on a more human and personal level.<\/p>\n

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\"SocialVoiceBranding.com_GEHomePage\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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We can see, for example, how\u00a0a loyal community following has developed in support of the great minds at GE. \u00a0Right on their homepage you are introduced to work, recent posts, and personalities, of some of GE\u2019s top talent.\u00a0 Or how about Google\u2019s Aaron Koblin, Creative Director of the Data Arts Team, who has developed a rock-star like following through solo projects<\/a> and inspiring TED talks<\/a>.\u00a0 And his fellow googler, Jeff Dean aka \u201cThe Baddest Engineer\u201d<\/a> who\u2019s been attributed to having a Chuck Norris-like mythic presence. \u00a0Or the leading voices that represent corporate CSR interests such as Dave Stangis<\/a>, VP of Public Affairs for the Campbell Soup Company, or John Friedman<\/a>, CSR Communications for Sodexo.\u00a0 I\u2019ve met both of them via social and have come to learn more about their respective companies through their engagement and shared knowledge.\u00a0\u00a0 They are true leaders in their own right.<\/p>\n

These examples are not representative of traditional leadership positions.\u00a0 Nor do they have to be.\u00a0\u00a0 On many levels, most importantly emotional and social, they have become far more powerful. \u00a0\u00a0None of them talk about being leaders in their social bios.\u00a0 And I doubt that was their intent and motivator\u00a0for doing the work that they do.\u00a0 Their humanity shines through in the manner with which they share their work, bold thinking, and social engagement.\u00a0 They are recognized as being true leaders in the most authentic way – through the advocacy and response from their followers.<\/p>\n

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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.<\/h3>\n

\u2014John Quincy Adams<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

A leader’s human connection has the power to create true impact by inspiring minds and emboldening hearts to take action. \u00a0When leaders connect to people on matters of principle and purpose over policy or authority – they inspire the kind of progress and advocacy that brands need in order for their stories to live on.<\/p>\n

by\u00a0Anneliza Humlen of SocialVoice LLC<\/a>. \u00a0\/\u00a0@ADHumlen<\/a><\/p>\n

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Related post recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022Humanizing Storytelling Principle #4 – Evolving\u00a0stories beyond closed to open social collaborative<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022Humanizing Storytelling Principle #3 – From Demographics to Social Communities<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Humanizing\u00a0Storytelling Principle #2 – From Mass Media Push to Engaging Relationships<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Humanizing Storytelling Principle #1 – From Corporate Size & Stats to the People Within<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a07 Ways to Humanize Storytelling for Business & Brands<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THEME #5 of\u00a0Post Series on Humanizing Brand Storytelling A brand’s story is comprised of many elements, phases, and characters. \u00a0One of the most important being the leadership story of a brand. \u00a0The rise of social networks has played an important role in bringing the stories of great brands, and the leaders behind these great brands, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,1904],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-annelizahumlen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5354"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5394,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5354\/revisions\/5394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}