The Links of LinkedIn: Impression Management on Professional Social Media

• In Event: Gender, Communication, and the Leadership Gap

Short Description

After introducing impression management and its relationship to leadership, gender, and social media, the presenter will highlight the use of LinkedIn as an effective social media network for leadership, touching on the development of effective professional profiles that transcend gender issues and the sharing of business and industry news.

Detailed Abstract

Technology allows us to get to know leaders through a variety of means unavailable to us as recently as 10 to 15 years ago. The evolution of social media means an online persona is more critical today than in the past. But, how does a person convey or demonstrate leadership qualities effectively on social media? Does the individual’s gender bias our perceptions of him or her on social media? If we argue that our impression of a leader is also impacted by his or her communication style and ability, then forming an impression of a leader based on a social media profile becomes increasingly difficult. Yet, in today’s world, many organizations seek out potential leaders online and form a first impression based on a digital profile.

Impression management is “the process of controlling how one is perceived by other people” (Leary, 1996, p. 2) and “any behavior by a person that has the purpose of controlling or manipulating the attributions and impressions formed of that person by others” (Tedeschi & Riess, 1981, p. 3). Goffman (1959) originally conceived of the idea of impression management when he wrote about the presentation of self and his idea that we are actors creating a performance. He suggested that individuals will act in ways that are appropriate for the setting, the audience, and the situation. In other words, people will adapt their behaviors to the context presented them. Goffman tells us that people, also called performers, “offer their observers an impression that is idealized” (Goffman, 1959, p. 35). While originally conceived of for face to face encounters, Becker and Stamp (2005) found that impression management also occurs online and through digital communication. And, interestingly, social media is perfectly suited to self-presentation through performance (Goffman, 1959).

Social media affords us the opportunity to be whomever we choose through our online persona. Kuznekoff (2013) suggested that people engage in impression management on social media for one or more of the following reasons. First, the individual may desire to be perceived a certain way for a specific context, a way that is in keeping with the context of the social media. Second, the individual may desire to display his or her ideal persona, a persona that may be an exaggerated version of him or herself but that will be better perceived than a more honest representation. Third, the individual may desire an impression that is consistent with the purpose of the chosen platform.

Gender may influence one’s approach to impression management. In fact, “around one-half of the digital divide on the Internet is fundamentally gender related” (Bimber, 2000, p. 861). At the time of Bimber’s (2000) research, the digital divide attributed to gender centered on the idea that men were more likely to use the Internet than women. However, more recently, researchers have suggested that the gender-related digital divide is more accurately depicted as a difference in how, rather than if, the Internet is used (Haferkamp, Eimler, Papadakis, & Truck, 2012; Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008; Torrez-Diaz, Duart, Gomez-Alvarado, Marin-Gutierrez, & Segarra-Faggioni, 2016). Jackson, Ervin, and Gardner (2001) found that women tend to exhibit online behaviors that are more focused on interpersonal communication and relationships, while men tend to exhibit online behaviors that are more focused on information-gathering and task completion. Similarly, Haferkemp et al. (2012) found that men tend to emphasize context because they use social media to find friends and gather information, while women tend to emphasize the ideal persona because they often use social media to compare themselves to others. These observed tendencies may influence a person’s choice of social media and whether or not to use social media at all (Haferkamp et al., 2012).

Impression management plays a vital role for leaders in any organization. “Leadership is classically defined as the function of a leader – one who guides, influences, or directs a group” (Friedman, 2013, p. 14). Traditional leadership structures provide a context for impression management that places the leader at the top of a hierarchy with a chain-of-command vertical communication structure. This structure give the leader a power of voice and an opportunity to be viewed clearly as a person of authority. This structure also provides a fairly accurate image of the organizational leadership for those outside the organization, further strengthening the impressions of the leader and allowing him or her to influence the perceived culture of the organization. However, social media has brought about new leadership challenges, as it allows a more horizontal flow of communication across both internal and external boundaries, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a vertical communication structure. Thus, Friedman (2013) suggests that social media has altered the role of the leader to “empower the group rather than tell it what to do” (p. 14) and to “demonstrate leadership” rather than to “have organizational authority” (p. 14). He further suggests that today’s leaders must be comfortable with social media and must lead through “horizontal communications, relationship-building, and context-setting rather than vertical control” (p. 14). Social media allows male leaders to define the context and adapt their communication to best suit the context. The idea of context may be more challenging for female leaders. Yet, leading in a time of social media also requires strong relationship building, a noted strength for female leaders and a weakness for male leaders. Thus, while male and female leaders are traditionally strong relative to one or more aspects of social media-influenced leadership, neither is expertly positioned to address all challenges (Haferkamp et al., 2012; Jackson et al., 2001).

This presentation will examine the issues of impression management as they relate to leadership, gender differences, and social media. Specifically, I will discuss LinkedIn as an effective social media network for leadership and will offer a series of actions that are encouraged for all leaders using LinkedIn. I will discuss potential differences across gender with regard to how LinkedIn may be used; but, I will highlight the potential of LinkedIn to encourage a professional profile and image that tends to transcend gender.

Participant

• Evelyn Thrasher, Western Kentucky University