I taught a Communication class the other day and a question came up referencing Leadership in the modern age, as It pertained to having an open communication. The class had a great open debate, but several items were brought up that were interesting to contemplate. Leadership in today’s society is going to encompass several key issues:
Your Character: Leadership has always been connected to character, but one key issue that we have to be cognizant of is your character goes beyond the tenets of fairness, honesty, integrity, etc., but your character can also be scrutinized through how you set-up your social profile. There have been several news reports of individuals losing their employment or being barred from employment for what they have posted on their social network page. People check in today’s society. Why is this important for today’s society? Because people check! How effective will your leadership be if you chose to splash a social page with pictures of you inebriated or showing more skin than you should have from a night of partying? Leaders need to be wary of what they post or even if they maintain a social network page. These images can be used against you.
Being Technologically Savvy: In following the warning about social network sites this also reminds Leaders to stay in contact with the growing methods of communication in order to be effective in today’s society. As we see all the new phones and their instant access to others through webmail, apps, and other advanced features, Leaders need to understand that this is double-edged sword. The technology is fantastic and can be harassed to improve efficiency, but also it can be a distraction. Don’t let technology affect in you in these two ways:
A. Don’t be a slave to the technology – if it does not help you stay efficient in your work, eliminate it.
B. Don’t be ignorant to technology – research, and try all forms of technology so that you have a comfort level of familiarity. If you choose to let others do that for you without staying current you may miss key opportunities. Technology is a fast developing area and what was state-of-the-art one minute may not be tomorrow. How will you know if you haven’t looked into it?
Continued Personal Development: Leaders in the 21st Century need to keep themselves educated and pursuing knowledge. Staying in touch with new research or new studies or even new ideas of thought can only benefit your organization. Most importantly, it makes the Leaders own knowledge current and relevant. The pursuit of further education allows the Leader to keep an open-mind to all possibilities and in turn should help the organization react to changes in the world that will affect their bottom-line.
Today’s Leader will be challenged even greater in this Century, as the world in effect has shrunk because of the quickness of information and how easily it can be transmitted to all sources – globally. It is an important facet that must be taken into consideration in order to stay on top of your game.
Anthony Canon is an author of several articles of varying topics. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Communication and Leadership and authored a thesis entitled: “An Rhetorical Analysis of Sports Figures’ Image Repair Discourse”, utilizing Image Restoration Methodologies. He lectures and teaches Communication and Leadership topics at the University level, and also has created several websites. His most current website is http://sogtactical.com. He can also be reached at: canonizedenterprises@yahoo.com.
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