Web 2.0 & Organizational Decision Makers

In the posts on social media and organizational psychology I’ve talked about many benefits and advantages for taking charge and to begin using blogs and platforms like twitter and facebook in the quest for stronger and better organizational awareness. Getting there, however, requires getting leaders and management on to see your side of the story, which in turn means understanding a little bit about their point of view.

Understanding Decision Makers

Nothing will change in an organization, be it people, structure, culture, leadership style… you name it, unless it means a stronger bottom line. This is where ROI comes into play. Measuring the ROI on social media initiatives is difficult because it is new, and there is no given method for it. Using social media internally, then, has the benefit of fast ROI feedback in the sense that users will tell decision makers whether or not it is having a positive effect. People in general don’t want to do things more difficult or problematic than necessary.

Taking advantage of social media also entails giving up the controls. Instead of dictating the next moves, your role is to share in the conversation, and the only way to have someone else share your point of view is to listen, evaluate, present your own arguments (in a manner showing that you’ve taken the other side’s point of view into account), and ask for further feedback. This can be a tough one to bite for power hungry managers. If communication and growth is important, however, chances are people will embrace the opportunity for a better dialogue.

Get Off The Fence – Take Action

Whatever the situation facing you, making a decision is key. Sitting on the fence too long leads reaction, and you lose the choice of making the decision. Consider the reality of the situation. Changes are going to happen regardless. Rather than waiting to see, taking a chance will at least give you the option to do something, and in the worst case scenario there’ll be experiences to learn from at the end of the road.

In an article from McKinsey, based on a large global study they conducted on the use of social media and web 2.0, they share insights on how the CIO at Lockheed Martin used blogs as a way to create collaboration across company divisions. Also highlighted is P&G’s use of blogs in company workgroups, fostering collaboration between members across the hierarchy, creating a platform for key players in the P&G to connect.

Challenges When Adopting Web 2.0

Another reason McKinsey’s article is of interest is that it highlights some of the administrative challenges organizations might face when beginning to use social media. Specifically legal and HR policies are mentioned. Since these vary from company to company, and from country to country, making sure to research and incorporate solutions for these areas when presenting social media as an option to company management is an important step on the way, and may also take care of some of the initial objections right away.

I encourage you to take a closer look at the article “How companies are benefiting from web 2.0: McKinsey global result” as well if you want to get in deep on their research on social media / web 2.0. Registration is required, but it’s free.

Below: Results from McKinsey’s global web 2.0 survey