Managers of business functions repeatedly ask how to persuade decision makers who dismiss social media of its importance for business.

Yet when I ask these same managers: 

1. What social technologies could derail your business?
2. What research published in the last month have you socialized up the line?
3. What networks do your competitors use and what have you learned from their successes and failures?
4. How do you educate yourself, your team and the other layers within the organization?
5. What social media platforms do you use, what works, what doesn’t and what will you try next? 

I am often met with silence. 

There may be strong awareness that social media is significant, but not always the research-driven insights that C-suites depend on, or practical experience that creates "social proof."

Knowing how to influence the boss is a valid concern—what happens at the top matters. 

As Forbes writer William Arruda says in his article on socially savvy CEOs:

1. 76 percent of executives would rather work for a social CEO.
2. 80 percent of employees would rather work for a social CEO.
3. Customers are impacted by the perception of the CEO and social CEOs have higher trust. 

It’s disheartening when continual attempts to position social media are rejected, but an inability to influence the boss in no way diminishes your responsibility for being at the cutting edge. You must be the CEO of social in mindset and skill, even if not by position.

I’m not suggesting power is equally distributed across organizations. But to the extent that you can, you must embody the qualities you wish your boss had. If you want a cutting-edge boss who is responsive to new ideas—reflect that.

If you were a board director or the CEO, what evidence, information and metrics would you need or what questions would you ask? Do you have those answers on tap?

1. Can you speak about social media in terms that matter to your C-suite, often numbers that make up the business case, and not the awesome number of hits on a cute cat video?
2. Can you provide specific research on how social media is being used in your industry?
3. Are you aware of social media law and the broader regulatory environment in your industry and how it would impact a social strategy? (It’s rarely a showstopper, although many risk managers are out-of-date themselves).
4. Have you thought through the governance requirements?
5. How would you resource or implement social media strategy? Would you make lateral hires or develop in-house talent? Would you set up a specific team or rewrite position descriptions to empower all your employees to be advocates in the social realm? 

Have you thought through these questions? Do you have a view?

The only way to tell if a culture is truly impermeable to ideas is if you present them in a credible way, persist past rejection and continue to press for influence without being overbearing. Timing is critical when it comes to new ideas. Whether or not you break through the wall, you will develop invaluable skills that will help you in your next role.  

Despite the real differences in power conferred by position (for example, the legal obligations of a Board Director) we have responsibility at every stage of our career to develop the mindset and technical skills we demand of those above us.

In saying this I am not absolving leaders of their responsibility. I am saying that before we point the finger up we must take a look at what else we can do, from where we are, to be what we want our leaders to be.

Visit salesforce.com to learn more about social media marketing, or download the free e-book.