Social networking is pervasive and leading a change in the way we do things...have you noticed? Each morning I check my twitters to see what new ideas I can use in my leadership and connect up with my various social networking sites to see who is doing what. I am able to build loose/tight networks as never before. And with this go a number of responsibilities:
- to be ethical in what I share about and with people;
- to only share what I want to have known about myself;
- to avoid spamming others with advertising and ongoing campaigns; and
- to be honest and authentic in what I say.
As a leadership thinker, I spend my days working with leaders who want to build their capabilities and this is often in a face to face setting. It is much easier to hide behind online tools, than it is in a face to face situation. There are a whole new set of skills and behaviours to lay on the foundations of web 2.0 leadership. Leaders for tomorrow need to embrace web 2.0 technologies, at least in understanding how they change the nature of communication and create new networks of learning. As an example, schools and organisations that block staff and student access may be doing more harm than good. Time spent developing a team charter for use of web 2.0 may be more useful in building skills and expectations. Saying 'no' to technology usage does not help create a culture of trust. Yes, I know there are arising issues but in developing your people to explore ideas you are more likely to produce people who think for themselves. Don;t we need that?
I am online often and I have to be able to control myself!! I need to be able to manage my time, explore and research, decide what is appropriate, and make sense of the world. If I can do it so can you. So can students in our schools. So can government departments. Blockers, knockers and mockers - make way for the rest of us!
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