What executives can learn from influencers on the web

How long is a leader a leader? As long as other people follow her ideas, initiatives, etc. If no more people follow her, the manager is no longer a manager. They are simply ineffective - and can probably look for a new job in the medium term.

Executives share this fate with influencers on the Internet: They, too, are only influencers as long as they have followers. And the remarkable thing is: Their followers follow them entirely voluntarily; they allow themselves to be influenced and inspired by their ideas completely without coercion.

This is also the goal of modern leadership. It aims to create a milieu in which other people are

• Volunteer to help achieve common goals, and
• to review their thoughts and actions on their own initiative to see to what extent they are contributing to this.

Achieving this goal becomes all the more important the more managers manage their employees at a distance - for example, because they largely work in a home office. So it's worth looking at the phenomenon of influencers. Below are nine theses on what makes them successful.

 

Thesis 1: Influencers show themselves

One important success factor for all influencers on the web - as banal as it sounds - is that they make sure they are visible. For example, by regularly feeding their social media channels and maintaining their virtual network.

The same applies to all people who are or would like to be influencers. For example, since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, it is striking how often our top politicians sit on TV talk shows in the evening after a hard day's work in order to communicate their thoughts and actions to the population and get them to support their decisions.

In other words, a manager who only hides behind his desk will never become an influencer, because one prerequisite for this is: you have to seek communication with your network partners.

 

Thesis 2: Influencers recognizably stand for certain values

Almost all successful influencers have a clear message or stand recognizably for certain values. This should also be the case with leaders: Otherwise, they are unpredictable for their network partners. If their thoughts and actions sway like a reed in the wind from their point of view, they will not trust them. And this leads to them not being willing to follow them and their ideas either. But this is especially important in uncertain times like the current ones - trust is the decisive success factor.

 

Thesis 3: Influencers stage their appearances

Successful influencers do not leave their appearance to chance. They stage their appearances to achieve the desired effect. In this respect, many managers still have potential for development.

This is evident, for example, in the online meetings that have been taking place increasingly since the outbreak of the pandemic. As an observer, you notice this time and again:

• It is not uncommon for executives to log in late,
• they often wear very casual leisure wear when they work in the home office,
• they not infrequently hang limply on their chair and
• in the background you can see for example a beach picture with palm trees

One message that managers always want to convey to their employees in online meetings is: "We're increasingly working from home, but otherwise it's business as usual. But their appearance often sends the opposite message.

Such a mishap rarely happens to an executive who sees himself as an influencer, because he reflects before every public appearance, whether in the real or digital world: What effect do I want to achieve or what message do I want to convey, and how should I present myself as a result?

 

Thesis 4: Influencers want to be a trusted brand

Behind the staging of appearances is also the desire of influencers to establish themselves as a brand. Two factors characterize a brand:

1. It is recognizable due to its appearance.
2. It gives customers a promise of performance. Just as, for example, the Audi company does with the slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik" or BMW does with the slogan "Freude am Fahren".

Leaders should also be recognizable to their network partners for certain core beliefs and attitudes - for example:

• "You can rely on what I say."
• "I'm ready to break new ground."

Furthermore, they should make a value proposition to their "followers" - for example:

• "I involve you in my decision-making processes to the extent possible."
• "When push comes to shove, I've got your back."

 

Thesis 5: Influencers spark on many channels

Influencers communicate with their followers not only through one medium like Twitter, but on different channels. And this depends on the message they want to convey and the effect they want to achieve.

Today, managers also need this competence. They need to know which messages I can announce by e-mail, in online meetings or via social media, and when I should seek a face-to-face conversation. So executives need a certain level of media competence. They need to know the strengths and weaknesses of the various communication and information channels and use them in a targeted manner.

 

Thesis 6: Influencers interact with their followers

Influencers are only influencers as long as they have followers. If the latter refuse to follow them, they are no longer influencers. Influencers are aware of this dependency. They therefore try to communicate as much as possible with their followers, for example in chat forums, in order to find out, among other things:

• How satisfied are they with my performance?
• What issues are they concerned about?
• What interests do they have?
• How do they view certain issues?

Influencers use this info to improve their online presence and make sure they're not a flash in the pan. They also incorporate their followers' feedback into their posts in a recognizable way to signal to them: I take care of you and your interests; you are important to me. Managers should act in a similar way.

 

Thesis 7: Influencers also show themselves as people with feelings

Almost all influencers on the Internet also give their followers a measured amount of insight into their private and emotional lives - primarily in order to be experienced as a person and to build an emotional relationship with them. Many managers also do this when communicating with their employees - for example, by including information about their hobbies in the conversation. Or by mentioning during the conversation that the Corona situation also makes them feel insecure.

These statements are often the impetus for their employees to also open up and give their manager an insight into their emotional life. In this respect, such "revelations" on the part of managers are particularly important in the current Corona situation, in which their employees are often highly unsettled. And what if the employees are in the home office or on short-time work and therefore many normal occasions for conversation are eliminated? Then managers should consider to what extent they can use social media to partially compensate for this, so that their emotional relationship with employees does not break down.

 

Thesis 8: Influencers react calmly to criticism

Influencers also make mistakes (from the point of view of their followers) - for example, because they misjudge their mood or interests. Then they often receive harsh criticism, which sometimes results in a shitstorm. Experienced influencers never react to this in an offended manner, which is visible to the outside world. Instead, they use the critical feedback as an opportunity to enter into an even more intensive dialog with their followers and explain the reasons for their actions. They also admit mistakes according to the maxim "Shit happens, I'm only human," apologize for them and learn from them. Managers should react in a similar way to criticism, because this ultimately shows the employees' "involvement" and gives them the opportunity to take countermeasures if necessary.

 

Thesis 9: Influencers are ready to break new ground

Influencers often have to break new ground, too - for example,

• because their target group is increasingly migrating from Facebook to Instagram
• because following a trend, she develops new preferences
• because they have developed themselves further.

Then influencers also face the challenge of setting a new course.

These "strategy changes" are often met with resistance from their followers, and in some cases they even cancel their allegiance. Nevertheless, influencers take this path again and again when overriding goals require it. Managers must also have a corresponding backbone. For all the empathy, willingness to compromise and loyalty they show in contact with their employees, they must always remain clear: Certain goals such as "Our company must make a profit" or "It must not run into liquidity problems" are non-negotiable. This is essential because of their function in the organization.