Social Media Leadership, Why it Doesn't Exist

My daughter and one of her friends were invited to an influencer event a few weekends ago in London.

They mixed with some of the most successful Instagram and TikTok influencers in the UK at a celebratory event on the South Bank.

Social media influence is a huge, powerful, and very successful form of artwork that deserves to be held on the Southbank, the home of modern art in the UK.

They were invited because my daughters' friend has accumulated more than 30,000 followers on Instagram and over 100,000 on TikTok.

They had a wonderful night connecting with other influencers, sharing ideas and making connections and except for the drama of several cancelled Uber's and the fact that 2 young women were left in central London without a taxi at 3.30am there was no drama.

I was curious to learn how my daughter's friend had built her following, given becoming Insta-famous seems so elusive to so many people.

Followers not Leadership

She has a very cool looking profile with consistency and imagination.

She enjoys being outdoors and her niche is her thoughtful and reflective style. She uses soundtracks that inspire thinking, combined with imagery of the countryside. What she creates is very appealing to an audience who want to disconnect and enjoy the outdoor space.

I can see the attraction.

What is notable is that her success, and that of many influencers online, is not based on her #leadership, but instead on #followership.

Online followers are attracted to people who are able to create a sense of identity and community. They start by considering what an audience wants, how they feel and what they are looking for, then they add imagination and creativity.

This is an incredible contrast to the traditions of leadership that we are taught in business.

The cliche of leaders who are authoritative, charismatic, extroverted, experts and who draw people towards them is broken when you need to build your own followers.

The Future of Leadership is Followers

It is very hard to build followers online today. The dream of millions of people around the world is to become an online influencer, a YouTuber or TikToker. They post often and use whatever creative means they can to attract people. But it is competitive and tough.

In business, our default to the traditional standards of leadership retains the old-fashioned and imbalanced power of white males.

They are given authority without having to earn it.

Imagine a world where leaders need to earn their position through the way they inspire others, the rituals they create, the community they build, and the way they represent the group to others.

I expect that our leadership dynamic would be very different in terms of demographics and the quality of leadership would be much greater.

The Commercial Edge Event

We gathered some talented thinkers at an event in London and talked about followership, led by the wonderful Antonio (Tony) Belgrave .

We were joined by a group who asked intelligent questions and sparked some wonderful conversations. Mark Herbert and Jon Bircher as ever , brought a depth of thinking, Andy Tarnai , Crina Ancuta MD , Kelli Peter and Jeff Benveniste added a rich layer of ideas and discussion and the whole event was pulled together masterfully by Alex and Jodie.

If you would like to hear the conversation search for The Commercial Edge Podcast where you listen to podcasts, via Google, or on the Foxleigh Commercial Performance website.

Do you think about followership as a way of challenging the traditions of leadership?

Nyambe "Yam" Sumbwanyambe do you think it would influence our ability to break out of social stereotypes?