This post contains publicly available content and my responses to exercises from this unit of the course created by Julian Stodd and Sea Salt Learning.
As I started the course, I decided that I would go for 100% completion of all exercises given that there was a leaderboard for completion and learner engagement. On the back of that decision, I decided to do the exercises using “wild mind writing”.
Introduction
Social Leadership is a form of authority that is founded upon our reputation, earned within the community. In this level, we will explore the foundations of Social Leadership, and also explore the conditions for success.
Overview
Social Leadership is a key aspect of the Social Age, as it's about the nature of authority itself.
Video
My response:
This is more like it :)
So many resonances with my recent online experiences.
Some components of a training pathway for aspiring social leaders:-
- Adam Grant's Givers and Takers
- Platform
- Michael Hyatt's Embassies etc
- WOL 12 week virtual circle with strangers
- John Maxwell's Level 5 Leaders: see below
- this MOOC (based on what I know now thus far on the course I may mandate a sequence through and add content bridging the formal and social worlds more than is currently the case)
- then actually living and working out loud.
I am on a continual quest to be a potent combination of organisational and social leader across the relevant communities in all areas of my life. This is at my core. In so being, I want to move the game on furthering the mission of each of those communities.
A guide to developing Social Leadership
What were your thoughts on this?
My response;
I am continuing to think that this course's view of leaders in formal leadership roles as always being "bad" is not applicable to all leaders or all organisations. Many such leaders are aspiring to, and working towards, level 5 leadership per the John Maxwell model (text summary; video summary)
In summary, the levels are defined as follows:-
1. Position: leader's authority comes only from the position that they hold.
2. Permission: people choose to follow the leader because they want to.
3. Production: people follow the leader because of their track record.
4. People Development: such leaders identify and develop as many leaders as they can by investing in them and helping them grow.
5. Pinnacle: such leaders invest their lives into the lives of others for the long haul.
An emerging view from me as i go through this course is that social leadership is simply a further set of tools, attitudes and mindsets that a fully-grounded leader will deploy as they perform their leadership and managerial roles as leaders of, followers of and participants in multiple formal and informal teams/ communities in the organisations in which they function.
My take (as an aspiring level 5 leader in multiple communities) is that some of the social age material we are covering on this course will be valuable in leaders' quests to the pinnacle of level 5.
... (wondering whether the course will cover at any point how social leadership impacts services/outputs of particular organisation types, industries and services and whether some are more impacted by the social age and why and how) ...
1.3. 10 Reasons for Social Leadership
Making a case for Social Leadership: ten reasons why we need it.
I hope you enjoyed these ten reasons. What would your 'reason for Social Leadership', be?
My response:
Social leadership provides further tools and techniques to address the challenges of delivering world class service in physical and virtual organisations by equipping willing individuals and the organisations that nurture, employ or engage them.
1.4. The Tension Between Formal And Social Leadership
Social Leadership is not an alternative to formal authority, but sits alongside it, creating a unique tension which we need to maintain.
Name two ways that Formal leadership and Social Leadership can be opposed.
My response:
Formal leaders per this MOOC's "definition" would say to social leaders "what are you doing to directly further the mission of the organisation AND to directly impact the bottom line (whatever metrics apply to the organisation in question?"
Social leaders per this MOOC's "definition" would say to formal leaders "your use of formal power is so outdated that unless you adopt social age thinking you and our organisation are doomed to certain extinction".
1.5. Challenge
Thinking about some challenges around Social Leadership.
Video
My response:
The "intrapreneur" role came to mind while watching the video. Doing things underground in the first instance. Not doing a sheep dip approach to change.
After posting this comment, I have just read a Seth Godin blog post and had to come back and add the link! Real-time learning:
Drip by drip & the thunderclap.
The nightmare may be to enlist conscripts and not volunteers. Euan Semple quotes Peter Drucker (
"In a knowledge economy there are no such things as conscripts - there are only volunteers. The trouble is we have trained our managers to manage conscripts."
Need clear examples where social leadership has brought specific and concrete benefit to the person and the organisation.
Challenge to move all staff on in this area not just young leaders and to do so in appropriate cringe-free ways.
1.6. Recognise and help others succeed
Who is taking this journey with you? Engage with someone else who is taking this course, and see how you can help each other to succeed.
My response:
Posting my challenge in the hope that a fellow learner will read and respond. Happy to address your challenge with you. Feel free to DM me on Twitter @srjf. Happy to exchange DMs or do a Zoom call etc in response to this exercise. I have a track record for this. I did a call with @joitske earlier in the course.
I am fully internet savvy. I am working for an IT services company where much of our work is confidential for client reasons. All of us are police security checked to a significant level. You would think with the work that we do delivering robust, highly secure business and technical solutions involving the internet for clients of all sizes across the UK that the Social Age would have arrived already for us. It has not. We have no enterprise social network. There would appear to be no need or requirement or desire to go down this route. If you were in my position how would you tackle the task of starting the Social Age journey in my organisation?
1.7. Social Leadership
Reflections on Social Leadership.
Describe in one sentence what Social Leadership means.
My response:
Social Leadership is a form of leadership that seeks to challenge the formal legitimate authority held by those with positional leadership roles in the line management hierarchy of the organisation with reputation authority that has been bestowed on such leaders as a result of their authentic storytelling and collaborating in speaking truth to power in communities and spaces across the organisation.
1.8. A great Social Leader
Can you think of an example of someone who is a great Social Leader?
Michelle Ockers, a lady based in Sydney, Australia.
I "met" Michelle last year via #ATD2016 backchannel. She introduced me to #wol, #pkm and Twitter chats and so much more! We have exchanged numerous tweets. posts etc as we both continue on our lifelong learning quest. She has been in these past few months hugely inspirational to me. A real Social Leader role model to emulate and "work" with. She introduces herself in this video.
Another fantastic post and I wasn't aware of Michelle's video. I wonder what organisation's are doing to enable their senior leaders to become social leaders? Is this part of their development? I know that some organisations use companies like Korn Ferry to do assessments on Learning Agility and the like, but unsure if this is actually something that is considered?
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