During this series on millennials and new professionals we have touched on what it means to be a leader, and specifically have referenced social leadership.
I recently had the privilege of attending the Social Leadership workshop by Nick Frate. (pictured below, right)
This workshop is interesting to me on many levels, both personal and professional. As the Social Media Lead here at IPAC I have thought a lot about the dividing line between my IPAC posts and tweets and my own posts and tweets. In the early days of my duties I had the privilege to work with Andrew Treusch, the then CRA Commissioner of Revenue, who had a surprisingly engaged and involved social media presence and a large following of young and veteran professionals on the leadership circuit. I watched the two types of presence, digital and real, merge in a fabulous interplay of professional practice. It’s no secret that the CRA is not the “sexiest” of Federal departments, but level of engagement I saw from our CRA colleagues and even non-CRA colleagues, grew exponentially while Mr. Treusch was involved in IPAC.
As I listened to Nick talk about how he was a reverse mentor to Andrew Treusch on social media, and as I reflected on what I knew of Mr. Treusch’s influence on Nick’s leadership style, I knew that the two worlds would have so much more influence on each other going forward, and in many more ways than we have seen to date. Already the evidence of their collective influence on engagement has been staggering:
- The largest Federal Twitter chat #LeadersGC was launched by Nick Frate with Andrew Treusch as the first Leader to chat;
- The best Twitter trend IPAC ever had was during the #IPAC2014 annual conference in Edmonton, with Andrew Treusch as IPAC President;
- The largest Federal engagement I have witnessed comes from the CRA, the department for which Mr. Treusch was the Commissioner, and from which have come the last few Federal Youth Network Chairs…with good reason…the most successful informal recognition program was started by Andrew Treusch, with a little less than 10,000 certificates of appreciation sent to colleagues at all levels of the CRA;
- The inaugural Social Leadership Award, created by IPAC and IBM in 2016 to promote and honour social leadership within the public sector - that not only transcends the digital and the workplace spheres, but builds upon them in an amplifying and harmonizing way – was awarded to Andrew Treusch…again as you can see…with good reason!
It is very difficult to maintain a public presence and even more difficult
to enhance the engagement and presence of others in a positive way. Myriad
negative forces will threaten to derail even the most positive and
forward-thinking efforts to improve the professional lives of those we mentor
and lead. So why do it at all? Here are some interesting insights I have gleaned
from Mr. Frate about why he is so engaged and why leaders should be more engaged:
- A social Leader is someone who, regardless of position, knows how to recognize others.
- As a leader, it is not your job to shine all the time. You need to help others shine too.
- Visibility is the means to your goal to engage others, and the digital social media world has many of the tools that promote visibility.
- Leadership recognition validates others, but also visibility humanizes leaders and others.
- A social Leader is someone who, regardless of position, knows how to recognize others.
- As a leader, it is not your job to shine all the time. You need to help others shine too.
- Visibility is the means to your goal to engage others, and the digital social media world has many of the tools that promote visibility.
- Leadership recognition validates others, but also visibility humanizes leaders and others.
- Talent in the public sector is not always going to be visible through traditional channels, but social media channels offer options that contribute to your professional story, if managed well.
- 3 tools widely used to positive visibility are Twitter for broad networking reach, LinkedIn for professional image and about.me for image control.
- Some more veteran tools are Periscope and Blab, but note these are live broadcasts, so you may want to start with YouTube or pre-recorded platforms before you try these.
If you have ever heard Nick speak, you will have heard him quote Jim Joseph's tips for social media:
1- Image is everything.
2- Before you post, think twice. It could be re-broadcasted. Senior leadership are being followed by journalists, so keep that in mind when posting or broadcasting.
3- Integrity: takes years to build a career and minutes to destroy it.
4- Consistency. Research them all and see where your comfort level rests.
Tips on Networking:
If you want to make more out of your career than to simply clock in and
clock out, Nick suggests that you need to network in order to find success. You
would be amazed how much networking happens by simply exchanging ideas with
colleagues on topics of interest! If you want to go the step further, find a mentor! A mentor helps you to clarify your ideas about career, and usually work best when it is not someone you report to directly. Have many mentors if you can, for multiple perspectives. Especially through “horizontal” networking groups, like IPAC, which are not sector-specific, says Nick, but help you to connect with professionals across sectors, divisions and countries. Very important! International communication is also made possible via social media. If it's all about the people you know, you need to widen the circle of people you know.
Last, Nick drives home his message about credibility and reputation:
This makes you marketable. It's your current position that is your reputation, so build it well.
One of the more interesting answers Nick gave to a question from our Q&A: How much time do you spend on social media, work time? Nick’s answer was that his own staff members are encouraged to use it and it develops their leadership skills.
Point: Innovative thinking is born of wider exposure, so increase your exposure!
Join Nick and the other engagement champions on Twitter at #LeadersGC as they engage in a series of chats with federal Leaders, which usually take place on a Thursday, and treats a specific topic. The last one was on managing virtual teams with Janet King, President of CanNor on Aug 18th, at 8pm ET.
Nick started his professional career in the financial sector, where he spent five years in management. He equally gained leadership experience in the non-profit sector by leading a community organization in Montréal for five years focused on diversity, earning him the “Prix hommage bénévolat Québec 2010”.
His career in the public service began in 2007 with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). In 2010, Nick joined the Québec Federal Council. In 2013, he returned to the CRA and is currently the Director of the Official Languages, Employment Equity and Diversity Division, Employment Programs Directorate, Human Resources Branch. Nick also sat as a Reverse Mentor on the Deputy Ministers' Committee on Policy Innovation (DMCPI) for two years.
Nick holds a Bachelor's degree from McGill University in Political Science and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Université du Québec in Montréal. He is the proud recipient of the 2014 Public Service Award of Excellence and the 2016 Meritorious Service Medal. He is also the host of the #LeadersGC Twitter Chat Series. Fun fact: Nick speaks four languages: English, French, Italian and Spanish.
