The Social Leader

I talk a lot about the power of social media in the business world. It has become a primary communication, marketing, recruiting, networking and branding channel to reach more people better and faster than at any time in history. It doesn’t really matter if I wanted the world to become a digital place…or if I was hoping the world of work would be completely dominated by these tools. It wasn’t up to me…or you. But I decided to embrace it instead of resisting.

I consider myself a social leader.

Social has taken over…and I pity the leaders who still believe resisting is actually an option. They look old…they look out of touch…and candidly I would never work for someone that far behind. Ever.
 
(hint…no one else under the age of 35 will either…)

Healthcare
Think for a moment about the tools patients use every day to gather information. They use the web…they use social media…they read blogs.

If you’re a healthcare leader and you’re not using these tools how in the world are you supposed to connect with your patients?

Think for a moment about how people look for jobs? They use the web…they use social media…they read blogs.

If you’re leading an organization that is trying to hire talented people to help you execute your strategic plans (think —> every hospital everywhere) how in the world are you supposed to connect with applicants and differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Labels
Sometimes people label me as the social media guy, and fail to see the link between my acceptance of the world as a digital place and my skills and experience. It’s as if being a social leader negates all of the work I’d done prior to the last few years. 

It makes me laugh sometimes. And it also makes me feel bad for those leaders that are intimidated by social media. They’re just as qualified as I am to be a social leader in their discipline. The difference is they don’t have the courage to try.

That’s right. Courage solves it. In fact, courage solves just about everything, don’t you think?

How About You
Do you want to be a social leader? What’s holding you back? I have the same amount of time each day that you do. Is it that your “organization doesn’t allow the use of social media?” Well your patients, employees, and candidates are using it every day.

It’s time to go for it. I’ll help, because sometimes it can be scary at first. Hmmm…I guess courage really does sum it all up after all.

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses.