The Cream Rises To The Top In Social Media (Or Not)

Stories continue to arise about how employees complained about their boss, their life, or their situation on Facebook. Some people blame Facebook for these annoying, disturbing and sometimes damaging comments.  However it’s not Facebook that’s the culprit. In social media—where authenticity and transparency are the norm—our own true colors shine.

So what are your employees, friends, or vendors “true colors”? If you have an employee who is bad mouthing you on Facebook, chances are they are also bad mouthing you offline.  If your Facebook “friends” are always complaining about their situation and think life sucks, this is likely their true mind-set.

With social media, the cream rises to the top—and the rest will eventually settle.  When people are open and honest about their thoughts, values, and beliefs, it accelerates your knowledge of them. Social media is a relationship tool that can grow relationships or destroy them.  Like-minds attract like-minds, and vice versa …

If your Facebook friends annoy you on occasion, maybe it’s simply because they like FarmVille and you don’t:). On the other hand, if your “friends” are constantly whining, negative or put others down, and this is against your values or preferences, then perhaps it’s time to prune your social network.

I’m not going to downplay a situation where an employee is bad-mouthing their employer.  However, rather than blaming Facebook, should we be grateful we have faster ways to reveal the true personalities of people?  With that said, now is a great time to consult your human resources advisor about adding a social media policy and related expectations to your HR manual.

Most importantly, remember that a social world accelerates and amplifies our true colors. If this scares you, perhaps it’s a good time to be introspective and ask why.

What are your thoughts?