Prompted by Abdul Ghafoor’s Blog Too proud to Follow, Too scared to Lead… – I have written this in his honour.
with love to you Abdul… you inspire daily.
Creating followers online – you cannot force but you can empower through Servant Leadership
The amount of time spent online now by people is often disproportionate to the financial gain. This means that some are still frustratingly trying to find that magic formula for success and others are just enjoying the social interaction. I am a social business networker, I love business and I am social. I couldn’t talk business all the time, but I am driven by success in business and I am very driven by helping others to achieve financial success.
One of the advantages of being a social business networker is that I don’t judge everything by what is in it for me and what money can I make from knowing you. I input to many different Blogs, social and business ones and I connect very openly with people on many social networks, I have never judged people, I guess I am open, random and supportive!
The complexity of the online world cannot be under-estimated, it is not the technology that is confusing, it is actually the philosophy. When I train I spend at least half the time on the philosophy – you have to get the emotion of the online world before you can understand the methods and often that requires a transition in how you approach life; a significant shift can happen that not only impacts your work life but also your home.
I have always been in sales and marketing, I built my career as a Sales and Marketing person and very quickly I became a ‘leader’. I went through the ranks of being a Supervisor of a Team, to a Manager and then ultimately as a Sales and Marketing Director of a Team of 200 people. I loved it. Two things strike me when I look back and they are (1) I was never into Power and (2) I loved to see my team succeed, when someone was promoted, got a company car, bought their first house, I knew I was doing a good job for them.
I learned later, in fact 20 years later, that I was a Servant Leader. It was a member on Ecademy that wrote to me and advised me of the term and the values of a Servant Leader and they felt very comfortable for me. Servant leadership is about empowering others, it not about achieving power. I have always sought to serve. I serve my children to empower them, I serve Thomas, I serve my friends. My personally philosophy is to help others be what they have the potential to be. I have felt great freedom from this attitude in life, so long as I serve, others can achieve.
So, how does this work online?
Online you have to become Known and Liked, and when you have achieved this you may achieve a following. You can never force anyone to Follow You.
- You can ‘force’ yourself on others by broadcasting a message, through your Blog, YouTube, Google SEO – you can become known
- Some of those people that discover you though their random search or through a referral may start to like you when you engage and experience your personality
- The choice exists however as to whether they truly Follow You. To follow you they will need to feel a sentiment that you can serve them, empower them, help them achieve, heal them, solve problems – in other words they will follow you if you are a Servant Leader and once you have attracted them toward you, it is your role to serve and empower them.
So, what is it that you can solve, who do you serve, who are you empowering? and how are you doing it?
The toughest aspect of the online world is learning who you can serve, not how to sell, this is a huge shift in skills and one that I fully support.
I was sent these words though Brian Chernett of Academy of Chief Executives
Servant leadership displays the following values-
- Listening
- Empathy
- Healing
- Awareness
- Persuasion
- Conceptualization
- Foresight
- Stewardship
- Commitment to the growth of people
- Building Community
When you think of why people follow others online they usually have these qualities, their role is to ‘serve’ and to ‘empower’
So – I finish with this pledge to you:
Life is not about me, it is about YOU, and I serve YOU
Warm regards
Penny Power
+447771 543478
Founder-Ecademy
Supporting Business People
