10 Habits of Character and Leadership in Social Media

What characteristics do you desire in leading your social media efforts?

What if you reached your goals and objectives without the virtues and qualities that you most admire and aspire to?

Would your victory lose some of it’s luster?

“The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.” (Aristotle)
The ultimate aim of human life and activity is the development of character, according to Aristotle. The most important goal that you accomplish in the course of your life is to become an excellent person, in every respect. Your purpose should be to develop the kind of personality and character that earns you the respect, esteem and affection of the important people in your world.

1. DEVELOP YOUR OWN SOCIAL CHARACTER

Aristotle, probably the greatest philosopher and thinker of all time, said that, if you wish to learn a virtue, simply practice the virtue in every situation where that virtue is required. In other words, if you wish to develop the quality of engagement, act that way even when you feel afraid, or fear no results.

If you wish to develop the quality of generosity, be generous on every occasion, even if you feel stingy, and share as much as you can on social media. As you practice and repeat the virtue, it becomes more and more a part of your personality. It soon becomes automatic and easy. Eventually, you will reach the point where you cannot imagine acting in any other way.

Decide today to become a “do-it-to-yourself” project. Establish a series of goals and a work schedule for the development of your own character and personality. Set high standards for yourself and your business, and resolve to develop the habits of excellent behavior practiced by the men and women who you most admire.

2. IMAGINE YOUR IDEAL BRAND

The greater clarity you have about the qualities that you most admire, and desire to incorporate into your BRAND personality, the easier it is for you to engage in the behaviors that are consistent with those virtues and values. The more repeatedly you engage in those behaviors, the more you internalize those qualities, until they become a permanent part of you and your brand.

The starting point of character and brand development is for you to develop the habit of long term thinking in your work.

If you could fulfill your brand potential, and become the very best company and brand that it is possible for you to become, how would people…

Think about your company?
Talk about your company?
Describe your brand to others?
What words would they use?
What virtues, values and qualities would they ascribe to your BRAND?
How would your brand be remembered, and for what reasons?

3. CHANGE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA DESTINY

We cannot change the past. We can however look to the future with great hope and anticipation. All great men and women have had failures. However, the ones that are successful are learning all the time. They are not afraid to fail.

Big and small companies fail at social media, yet look to what successful companies are doing in social media, adapt and change.

Flexibility is one of the key characteristics of successful brands. Social Media changes frequently and moves fast.

4. ASPIRE TO SOCIAL MEDIA LEADERSHIP

It is not easy to rise to a position of leadership in any organization or in any society. The competition for leadership is fierce. Only the people who are the very best equipped to acquire leadership positions, and then to hold onto those positions against all others who desire them, rise to the top in any area.

Different areas of endeavor require different qualities of leadership to be successful. The qualities of leadership necessary to direct an army at war are very different from the qualities of leadership that are necessary to direct a SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM.

The qualities of leadership necessary to start and build a successful entrepreneurial business are very different from the leadership qualities necessary to run a large organization.

5. DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA VISION

The one quality that all these studies on leadership held in common was the quality of “vision.” Leaders have vision; ordinary people do not. What is your vision for your brand using social media marketing?

You must develop the habit of projecting forward several years into the future. You must develop the habit of developing absolute clarity about what you want to accomplish in your brand, and what it will look like if you are successful.

Imagine that you have no limitations on what you can be, have or do. Create a perfect future ideal image of how your situation would appear if it were perfect in every way.

Allow your mind to float freely.
Imagine that you have no limitations of time, money, resources or ability.
Imagine that everything is possible for you.

6. THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

“If you want to succeed faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure.”

It seems that you will fail far more times than you succeed. Murphy’s Law will apply to every new goal that you attempt: “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And of all the things that can go wrong, the worst possible things will go wrong at the worst possible times, and cost the most money.” The first corollary to Murphy’s Law is that, “Murphy was an optimist.”

7. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

The Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus once wrote, “Circumstances do not make the man; they merely reveal him to himself.”
Develop the habit of asking this question, “What one great thing would I dare to dream, if I knew I could not fail?”

Leaders accept responsibility. Followers do not.

Leaders refuse to make excuses while followers hide behind them. Leaders see themselves as the primary creative forces in their own lives.

Followers see themselves as victims, and spend much of their energies rationalizing, justifying and explaining away their failure to make progress. The acceptance of complete responsibility is as essential to leadership as is courage.

Emotionally, it is impossible to accept responsibility and to remain angry.

When you accept responsibility, you relax and your mind clears.

You become more focused and effective.
When you take complete responsibility, you feel in charge.
You feel like a master of your own destiny.

The habit of taking responsibility unlocks your mental powers and makes you a more positive and optimistic person. It characterizes you as a true leader.

8. DECIDE WHAT YOUR BRAND STANDS FOR

Is your brand consistent across all social media platforms? What message does it convey?

This requires that you develop the habit of thinking through what is your brand image and what does it portray in the minds of your customers and audience.

You continually clarify what you stand for, and what you will not stand for by what you post daily on your social media platforms.

General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander during the 1991 Gulf War, once said that the most important leadership principle he
learned, from a senior officer, was simply, “Do the right thing.”

Whenever you are in doubt about a course of action, simply ask yourself, “Is this the right thing to do?” And then behave accordingly.

9. THE BENEFIT OF GENEROSITY

Each person is psychologically and emotionally structured in such a way that they are only truly happy and satisfied when they feel that they are doing something that serves and benefits other people.

When you give freely and generously of yourself to others through content on social media platforms, you feel more valuable and happier inside. In order to get you must give, and give freely. It seems counterintuitive in this age of competitiveness.

“The more you give of yourself to others without expectation of return, the more good things there are that will come back to you
from the most unexpected sources.”

10. THE BIG PAYOFF

PERSISTENCE

The good news is that the more you persist in the face of disappointment, disillusionment, setbacks, obstacles and temporary failure, the stronger you become as a person. The more you persist, the more you come to believe in yourself. And the more you believe in yourself, the more you will persist, no matter what happens.

Each of them, persistence and belief, reinforces the other until you ultimately become unstoppable.

Resolve today to become a great man, or woman, and then practice the habits and behaviors that you would have if you were already that person.
“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today will curse tomorrow; only one thing endures – character.” (Horace Greeley)

Be sure to check out our upcoming seminars.

SOCIAL MEDIA SEMINAR SERIES
1. Google My Business – Better Search Results in Google! [Sept. 17]
2. Tools & Apps for Business – Gain more hours. [Sept. 24]
3. YouTube & Video – Business Branding [Oct. 15]
4. Blogging – Generate leads & get new customers [Oct 29]
5. Twitter for Business – The fastest way to spread content [Nov. 11]
6. Facebook Ads – How to create, implement & gain sales [Nov. 19]

About Blair

Blair Evan Ball is a Social Media Coach and founder of Prepare1, a company that works with businesses, individuals and non-profits. He is a former executive with a Fortune 50 company, and his national division did $1Billion in sales annually.

Blair has written three e-books: Facebook for Business Made Easy, Facebook Pages for Business Made Easy, and WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy.

Blair also educates, trains entrepreneurs and business professionals how to amplify their brand, SEO, increase revenues, and raise more funds.

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