CHAPTER 6Typical Mistakes Leaders Make at Scale
The problems associated with scaling conversations online or face‐to‐face are real. And leaders know it. Instinctively, people know that well‐intentioned conversations can quickly degenerate into a small loud group dominating with overemphasized optimism or pessimism.
You and I know this from experience. We've all witnessed a simple tweet or Facebook post that collapsed into an online knife fight. Some are the stuff of legend—internal posts creating havoc and amplifying the voice of the outspoken minority. Maybe you've heard a story of one simple negative comment about a company online turning into what looks like a free‐for‐all attack.
Whether because of direct experience or urban legend, leaders are wary, scared to open the floor to comment from a large audience for fear of creating the exact opposite effect they set out to create. They know that having a conversation at scale to show kindness and proactive leadership can accidentally turn into a rant session that creates division and dissent.
Without the right tools, these fears are correct and have been validated.
The real problem is not the challenges the above issues represent. The reality is the challenges are so great that attempts to include all voices in conversations are typically avoided at all costs. Though the number of leaders including everyone in scaled conversations is increasing, as digital tools like ThoughtExchange gain more traction, as of 2021, only a small ...
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