Leading in a Digital Age

The technological tools of the 21^st century have had an enormous impact on the way individuals communicate with one another. As individuals change the way they communicate, so does their ability to alter society (Shirky, 2008, p. 17). Thus as the world became more digitalized, the Internet and the tools of technology made the Earth seem smaller as it enabled large corporations and individuals to communicate and do business with each other. It was also much easier for companies to look for low cost labor and industry professionals in other countries-creating a worldwide network of commercialism (Friedman, 2007, p. 75). Thanks to a very open Internet, human beings across the planet have the chance to connect with information and tools to learn and create with an abundance of knowledge-creating a flattened world. For the U.S. businesses to remain competitive in a global market, Friedman (2007) stated that we remain “as open and flexible” to change (p. 330).

We live in an age where tools of communication are evolving at a quick rate and have the capability of aligning with our own “social capabilities” (Shirky, 2008, p. 20). For example, individuals may now organize collectively to take action-where as in the past big corporations and academic institutions solely possessed these abilities. As the cost of publishing has crumbled, people also have the ability to publish their own work (Shirky, 2008, p.70). With the rise of social media, the most efficient way to filter material became a “publish-then-filter” protocol (Shirky, 2008, p. 98). Furthermore, new tools allow larger groups to collaborate-when people must coordinate efforts to get things done. Shirky (2008) proclaimed that freedom was the driving force behind “mass amateurization” overcoming the challenges of technology to participate (p.123).

Social tools are also allowing people to do great kindnesses for strangers-much more so than was ever possible in the past. Individuals with more social capital or “habits of cooperation” are likely to have better health, happiness, and higher income potential than those individuals with lower social capital (Shirky, 2008, p. 192). In the early days of on-line communication, individuals who met others on-line were not likely to interact with people off-line. Now those we interact with on-line are more likely a part of our real world. Shirky (2008) stated that there was no perfect formula for devising a winning social tool; instead he offered the theory that the successful use of social tools needed a “promise, tool, and a bargain” (p.260-261). People would first establish a premise for joining a particular group-or the promise. Next, users would examine how using the new social media tool would overtake the obstacles of joining the group. The “bargain” is the anticipated rules for adopting the tools (Shirky, 2008, p. 260). As individuals are asked to adopt new tools, the tool must present something of greater efficiency and less time involved than current tools being utilized. It is when we no longer notice tools being used, that they have truly been adopted (Shirky, 2008, p. 321). For example, if a group of patients is sitting in a doctor’s office when they hear a ringtone go off in the waiting room, they are not alarmed by the sound. The sound is familiar and most will not be alarmed because they are assuming it is a cell phone ringing.

Leading in a digital age involves a personal responsibility for developing an awareness for emerging technologies that may enhance the capabilities of one’s institution. Jarche (2010) mentioned that the real learning in organizations took place as groups were working and learning within a connected network. In addition, social learning focused more on producing better performance results (Jarche, 2010). The value in leaders being active participants in using new emerging tools, encouraging social learning, and staying connected with networks of high social capital, enables leaders to better recognize when new adaptations should be made as a result of  changes in the internal and external environments (Jarche, 2010). In this digital age, every leader should take a personal responsibility for learning how to use new tools that enhance and produce high performance results for their organization.

References

Friedman, T. L. (2007). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century (3rd ed.). New York: Picador.

Jarche, H. (2010). A framework for social learning in the enterprise. Retrieved from http://www.jarche.com/2010/02/a-framework-for-social-learning-in-the-enterprise/

Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. New York: Penguin Publishing, Inc.