All too often companies want to limit their social media activities to the marketing group. That’s okay if we’re talking about the implementation of the program such as media posts, responses, and related. But that’s not the way the best marketing is produced. In studies commandeered by the largest corporations it has become evident that strategic thinking is the most important element of leadership and this pertains to marketing leadership as well.
Why should this be reserved to five people in a company with hundreds of employees? Another way to produce marketing that gets attention and goes viral is by leveraging all of your employees, colleagues, and advisors best strategic thinking. But they are only going to do this if they know you want their input.
According to our research, a company that encourages strategic thinking among all of its employees is the most healthy and successful company. A study conducted by Harvard Business Review in 2013 cited 97 percent of a group of 10,000 senior executives said strategic thinking is the most critical leadership skill for an organization’s success.
We know from working with hundreds of companies that strategic leadership is the number one driving tool that brings innovation, ingenuity, and business results. We think this should be the activity of everyone in your organization, not an isolated few. Finding how to begin this process can be daunting if you haven’t been practicing it, so here are a few cues to get you started.
Cue #1: Be a transparent company. Don’t hide anything from anyone including your financial condition. First off, most employees already know how senior leadership is behaving, and second, they will respect your honesty and foster their involvement.
Cue #2: Create small groups within the company. Every person in a company should be a part of a small group. This fosters an intimacy and confidence that a large cubicle-driven organization does not. It also encourages enlightened thinking and that is often at the start of a truly creative social marketing program.
Cue #3: Reward great thinking when it’s given. Put some reward behind thinking that is based on a longer-range perspective that provides a continuous stream of income and betterment. Being able to quickly generate ideas that bring the greatest benefit for the organization should always be encouraged.
Consistently practicing these three simple cues can bring major benefits to an organization of any size. Producing and encouraging strategic leaders is a benefit that cannot be overemphasized in its importance.