The Leadership Coach™

Unfollow: Twitter’s Reminder To Leaders

Posted on 14. Jun, 2009 by Paul Andrew in Communication, The Leadership Coach™

Regardless of whether you’ve connected with Twitter yourself or not, you’d have to admit its explosion into the marketplace is a phenomenon worth reflecting on. A feature of Twitter called “Unfollow” got me thinking recently. When you click “Unfollow” you stop receiving messages from that person to your home page, and unless the person has very few followers the chances are they’ll never even know you’ve stopped following them. That’s a picture of leadership.

Whether you are a Twitter devotee or think it’s a fad every leader should consider why people might “unfollow” them. So why do people stop following others on Twitter, and what could that remind us about our everyday leadership in the real world?

1.    Be a conversationalist: Monologue = Monotony
Everything changed when I stopped just making statements and started asking more questions. My Twitter replies went through the roof and comments on my blog increased, all because I invited interaction. The truth is most followers are looking for some level of dialogue, not just a monologue. I heard Mark Scott, the CEO of ABC Television, say “Today if you broadcast but don’t interact and engage with your audience you condemn yourself to irrelevance”. When we stop talking at people and start talking with people we go to a higher level of relationship.

2.    Be interesting: Quality beats quantity
I follow some people on Twitter who only ‘tweet’ once a week, and others who tweet dozens of times a day. The key for me is not how much they say it’s whether I find them interesting, informative or entertaining. I believe quality beats quantity. You can communicate lots if you are high on value for those who listen, but if you add no value you’re likely to find people “unfollow” your leadership without you even realising. It’s important to acknowledge though that one person’s “interesting” is another person’s “boring”.  So leaders need to ask themselves, “What is likely to be interesting to the audience I’m trying to reach?”

3.    Be a source: A giver not a taker
Much of my learning especially on social media and the web comes from articles I find through following gurus on Twitter. I follow them because they are a source of expertise or news. The fact is any leader, who acts as a resource to people whenever they can, will have no shortage of people following them. It’s when we become self-serving that our leadership really wanes. Are you a giver or a taker to those you come into contact with?

4.    Be consistent: Whoever you are, be that
There’s no such thing as a person that everyone wants to follow, so be who you are and be that consistently. Often in trying to be “all things to all men” we end up being nothing much to anyone. So learn what you can about why people don’t follow you, but then get on with being the best you that you can be. I find Ben Stiller hilarious so I’ll happily read his tweets about his goldfish dying, and I think Darren Rowse is a genius on blogging. But if Ben Stiller tried to teach me about the web, or Darren Rowse started tweeting funny events in his day constantly, I’d think twice about following either of them anymore. So who are you?

Ask yourself:
•    How well am I engaging my followers in a true dialogue?
•    How relevant is my communication to those I hope to reach?
•    What proportion of my interaction is a gift not a request?
•    Who am I to those who follow me?

I’d love to hear your comments and feedback
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Related posts:

1. You Lost Me At Hello
2. What Successful Leaders Focus On
3. Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

Tags: Communication, Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Training, Performance Coaching, Twitter