Online Leadership Creates Offline Results
I don’t know if you’re like me, but watching reality television is one of my guilty pleasures. It doesn’t matter if I’m watching someone live with strangers to lose weight, live with strangers to find a mate, or live with strangers on an island— I’m hooked because I’m always interested to watch what the participants will think and decide to do next.
I was recently casted as a member of a new reality show. The premise of the show is simple: Over the course of several months, contestants must live their life solely through screens— working, exercising, learning, dating, and eating with devices and apps playing the supporting role.
The name of the show? The Year 2020.
I’ve been particularly interested in one main character. “The Boss.” Now that many of us are working from home, for some, the title of boss doesn’t have the same power dynamics. Others are using this unique reality to become “The Boss”. In each case, and many scenarios in between, I’ve come to realize a common idea that I’d like to expand on:
Successful Online Leadership, Creates Successful Offline Results.
Warren G. Bennis said, that “Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.” Increasingly, as we become inundated with screens, good leaders are able to ILLUSTRATE the a vision and share it with the team.
What does that look like?
It could be a video week in review and upcoming announcements, it could be a tweet or instagram post of a mockup for the upcoming project, it could be a social good campaign that demonstrates a big concept on a mini-scale. These online actions help the team and the ultimate clients digest a big vision into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Good leaders online and in real life create a vision and extend that vision to others.
In extending vision to others, good leaders IDENTIFY collaborative partners. People power is always the defining factor making a small idea grow, or making a big idea HUGE.
In the non-profit space, many organizations are looking to solve wicked problems—systemic problems with many parts— it is in coalition building that organizations have created referral pipelines to success. For example, a local restaurant that opens early to help combat food insecurity for K-12 students, might purchase fruits and veggies from the Urban Garden after school initiative. The Urban Garden Initiative may be a source of volunteer hours for high school students— which a nonprofit organization supporting first generation college students will identify as a qualifying community service in selecting its next cohort of scholars. Ultimately, all three organizations are looking to empower student success.
Often, these partnerships fade into logistical backgrounds, but Online Leadership identifies each of the points of collaboration— sharing how each point address part of the problem. For those that are their own bosses, this applies to you too! Nobody achieves success alone— shout outs to event partners, graphic designers, event attendees, and those that have related visions help extend your reach— taking your ideas and concepts from your laptop to actuality, and from online spaces to real world spaces.
Have you ever watched a video online where a business leader social media influencer is giving you the keys to their success? I can almost guarantee that one of their pieces of advice is to ‘just get started.’ One of the most memorable marketing slogans of all time is ‘Just Do It.’ But just getting started is hard!
Good leaders get started. Then they ITERATE. Knowing that there is no final version and no point where everything is just right, may help get someone started on their journey and make they more open to unique opportunities. Iterations are why we love, DIY videos, Unboxing Videos and Don’t Rush Challenges. Iteration reveals the process that makes the impossible, more possible.
Iteration is the process of shifting from employee, to side hustler, to boss.
While the medium and tools may change— in person leadership, leadership by tweet, or hosting yet another Zoom meeting—Illustrating, Identifying, and Iteration will remain guiding points in leadership that produces results.
