Coaxing middle managers to adopt social media

Booz Allen Hamilton elicits ‘ah-ha’ moments from its most skeptical internal customers

Social media is scary, says Steve Radick—especially if you’re a middle manager.

These people, he says, are the “most skeptical, opposed and confused about social media.”

That’s because they have the most to lose.

For one, they fear they’re losing control over their staffs. “Social media allows senior leadership to interact directly with their workforce — why go to my manager if I can talk directly to the big guy?” explains Radick, one of the social media leaders at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Second, middle managers are responsible for ensuring that the work gets done, “so while time spent reading blogs might be beneficial over the long term, it doesn’t necessarily directly benefit the project at hand,” he adds.

The bottom line is that, for this group, “social media is, at best, another activity competing for their time, and at worst, a severe inhibitor to achieving the mission,” explains Radick, an associate in strategic communications at the firm.