What’s next?
Who knows?
But really, who cares anyways?
These are all tools (that supposedly help us do more with less). And that’s all they are, just tools.They are not a replacement for building a relationship and connecting with people in person.
I recently conducted an exercise during a leadership development program where I asked participants to identify people in their lives who inspired and impacted them most. They did not identify movie stars, nor famous athletes, nor world leaders. AND they certainly did not identify people who led them by means of email.
The people with whom my leadership development participants were inspired by most were ordinary people with whom they had a personal relationship. As Kouzes states in his book The Leadership Challenge, leadership IS relationship.
So, if you are a leader and you have forgotten what the other end of your office suite looks like because you are drowning in your computer or on your crackberry, come up for air and get your butt out of your chair. It’s time to be an authentic and courageous leader and lead in person.