Another important topic is social media, which refers to platforms that enable the online exchange of information or knowledge. In the private sector, this is known as online communities or sharing websites. In the business sector, this term also covers knowledge databases or instant messaging, for example. These are used in companies to simplify communication between employees and enable the exchange of knowledge.
Social media is already influencing managers and leadership today; for example, employees can rate companies in employer ranking portals and the results can be viewed by everyone. Social media facilitates communication, but its public nature means that it can spread across the web and companies are advised to regularly check which portals they can be found on and with what content.
To summarise, it can be said that leadership for managers is strongly influenced and shaped by external changes. Communication, whether in personal or digital form, is and remains an important part of the leadership task. It is therefore important for HR managers and decision-makers to stay on top of topics such as social media, Leadership 2.0 or the increasingly frequently described Generation Y and to keep track of developments. Not every trend will prevail, but none should be missed.