Leaders and their online persona

When I started my career as a newbie in the speaking circuit, I was invited by a seasoned HR director of a multinational company to do a leadership talk for his company. Now, this happened a long time ago when I was younger and that was many, many, years ago in a galaxy far…far…away!

I did my thing. During lunch, the HR director pulled me aside and half whispering said, “You know Francis, I know you are new in your craft, but I would like to encourage you by telling you that of all the other speakers we have had, you are the most credible among them.” I wasn’t sure whether this gentleman was encouraging me because I made some rookie mistakes, but I smiled and responded, “Thank you. Would you please tell me why you came about that conclusion?”

He smiled back at me and said, “Because all of the speakers who have talked about leadership and excellence, your shoes are the only ones I have seen that have been shined and kept clean while theirs were not.” I don’t know why, but I found my feet’s muscles involuntarily start rubbing the shoes against my trousers at that point.

I have worked with speakers and trainers. Many of them would say, “Money is not the most important thing.” Yet you can hardly get them to offer a discount for their fees, and you would never expect them to offer their services for free to help non-profits generate funds. Others talk about the importance of humility as a requirement for effective leadership, yet off camera and off stage, these people have the biggest ego you can ever imagine and they make the lives or event organizers miserable with their behavior and attitude. This is not a good thing.

Leaders have to be authentic for one simple reason: because people want real things and they hate fakes. Marketing people have learned what people want. In endless researches and surveys, they have concluded that the people have spoken and they say they want someone who is real and honest.

Perhaps, this is the reason why when I posted this thought in my digital spaces, the responses were so huge it surprised me:

“Some people are frank. When they speak, they make others uncomfortable. They are sincere and they do not have hidden agendas. On the other hand, there are those who are charming, speak sweetly yet behave differently. By the time you realize it, they have taken advantage of you. These people cannot be trusted. Both would make people uncomfortable, but I would always prefer the first one. So be wise and be discerning.”

Social media today can amplify a leader’s persona. Images can easily be created. Claiming authenticity is easy, saying one is “real” is so simple. But being authentic and being real is not. Faking it can only be done for so long but sooner or later, people are going to find out the truth and it will upset them. They will realize that they have been played.

One HR directress confided to me and said, “I almost lost my job when our president demanded an explanation as to why we spent money inviting this consultant to do work for us. Not only were we disappointed because of the lack of substance, but we also felt insulted because of the quality of training we got from him.”

“Why and how did you get to invite him in the first place?”, I said. The very kind and honest HR person said, “Because we were pressured for a time, and when we ‘googled’ him, his name came up on top as the best in the country.”

To this day, she still shakes her head when the name of the pseudo-guru is mentioned because she realizes she has been played and it almost cost her job.

People are also tired of fake leaders. People have been lied to most of their lives and what they want from their leaders are leaders who are true and honest.

Author Joseph Lalonde said, “Over the last 10 years of following online thought leaders, I’ve come to realize this: I’ve seen people turn on those they once loved because they realized the thought leader wasn’t who they believed they were. These thought leaders said one thing, yet their lives exposed the truth. They were not walking the walk…only talking the talk.”

As leaders, you and I have to be truthful with the people we lead and influence, and not just to maintain our “persona” in our digital spaces. We have to be willing to speak the truth, do what is right, and maintain integrity even if it causes discomfort.

In another post that garnered so many reactions from people all over the place, I said: “Always be in the company of people who bring out the best in you even if they make you uncomfortable. These are the people who care enough to stretch you, teach you, correct you and help you grow to become better. You may not enjoy them now, but the enjoyment comes later especially when you begin to produce amazing results. Only then will you REALLY appreciate them.” This is what credible and competent leaders do. They do not practice what they preach; they preach what they practice.

(Reserve the dates: Feb. 19 to 20 for this year's first run of the highly-acclaimed Level Up Leadership Seminar and Workshop 2019 edition. Learn inspiring leadership lessons and valuable life skills at The Makati Diamond Residences Hotel. For further inquiries or advanced reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)