Technology has revolutionized the nature of relationships between leaders and their followers and customers. Yet, many leaders remain stuck at arm's-length from those they lead and serve.
In this age of transparency, business leaders can no longer hide behind specialized teams to interact with customers, expect direct reports to keep tabs on how employees are doing, and depend on the digital natives in their organization to stay abreast of new technologies.
Charlene Li helps leaders adapt to the demands and opportunities of digital leadership in "THE ENGAGED LEADER: A Strategy for Your Digital Transformation." Li notes, "This transformation is not optional. Those who choose not to make this change will be abandoned for those who inspire people to follow them."
"To be a true digital leader requires a metamorphosis: you must connect directly by listening, sharing, and engaging using digital technologies," argues Li. "This metamorphosis is not easy, comfortable, or painless--if your palms aren't sweaty or your stomach isn't churning, then you probably aren't really practicing digital leadership."
Engagement is where the biggest change happens on the road to becoming an engaged leader. Listening helps leaders see the context of a given issue more clearly and separate the signals from the noise. That way, they can get an accurate baseline assessment of which individuals and issues they should engage with.
Having an effective means to interact with followers enables leaders to improve and transform relationships like never before. Yet, they need to do so carefully and intentionally.
The transformation to digital leader should not take over your lives or overshadow the nature of your work. The job of a leader is to motivate others to act on behalf of the organization and provide them with inspiration and direction. Social and digital tools make that job easier--they don't replace it.
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Source: Charlene Li: The Engaged Leader: A Strategy for Your Digital Transformation