I understand that these metaphors can re-frame a situation, but I don’t quite see how you get over the bridge to the “how.”Tom Key, director of organization strategy and development, KeyGroup Enterprises

The authors respond: These metaphors allow leaders to engage in deep reflection and conversation with key stakeholders. The enhanced awareness that results—

a significant shift in and of itself—allows them to take purposeful action and im-prove their effectiveness.

The interplay between the fire and mask metaphors is interesting. I have worked in two global companies and have earned senior status in my team. My internal fire for this type of work has burnt out, and I feel as if every day I put on the mask of the

HBR article by Peter Fuda and Richard Badham, November 2011

In studying how ineffective CEOs transformed themselves into successful leaders, the authors found common themes, which they describe with four metaphors. “Fire” represents “burning ambition,” a motivator that is far more important than fear. A “snowball” should be “a cycle of mutual accountability that creates momentum for change.” Naming your “mask,” or revealing the persona you believe conceals your flaws, allows you to be authentic. The “movie” metaphor captures the idea of self-reflection: You should view, replay, direct, and edit your behavior continuously.

How Leaders Spark And Sustain Change

How Online Innovators Are Disrupting Education HBR blog post by Jason Orgill and Douglas Hervey, November 2011

Web-based classes are shaking up traditional academia—and K–12 learning.

“slick senior account manager.” Wearing the mask is tiresome, though I am not sure of the impact that it has had on my team or even if anyone has really no-ticed it. Personally, I feel conflicted. My family relies on my income, and a drastic

career change is out of the question. Name withheld by request

The authors respond: At some point in their journey, all the successful leaders we’ve worked with have shifted from what they’re afraid of to what they truly desire. The way to do this is to ask questions like, What is my definition of success? What is the unique contribution I’m here to make? What legacy do I want to create? As you explore these types of questions, you will reignite your fire.

The fire metaphor really resonates with me as an entrepreneur. I started my venture with a clear vision and burning ambition. The ambition always remains, but it’s so easy to become diverted by crises and distractions. The challenge is never to lose that clarity of vision.Paul Reichman, CEO, Charter Drive

Society often rewards masking. In my career I have worked in several advertising and media agencies, and in each organiza-tion there was an implicit pressure to fit in to its particular culture.Kerrie Mazengarb, former advertising manager, Ogilvy & Mather

Realistically, online learning is disrupt-ing the teaching profession. The skills necessary for success as a teacher in the classroom that the authors envision will be very different from the classroom the teachers’ unions are comfortable with.

We will probably need fewer teachers, unless the decreased costs of online learning result in massive increases in the consumption of education (a possibility). Basically, online learning is a low-end, new market disruption

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It takes utter courage to name the mask. In a political environment, it could feel akin to organizational suicide. This kind of courage is possible only in a trusting and safe work environment where people take real risks. This has its own challenges.Drew R. Long, coaching platform manager, InsideTrack

The authors respond: Masks are too heavy to uphold indefi nitely, and no mat-ter how well you believe you are disguis-ing yourself, others always know. The consequences are that you waste energy, sacrifi ce productivity, and lose people’s trust. All of the CEOs in the study were concerned that dropping their masks would make them appear weak. In every case, however, the leader’s subordinates perceived the removal of the mask as an act of strength and courage. This, in turn, encouraged a culture where those subor-dinates did the same, creating a snowball eff ect. Some of the ways we helped the CEOs remove their masks were to actually name the masks, explore the signifi cant personal and professional costs of up-holding them, and ask the CEOs to refl ect on the leader they most admired (usually someone very authentic). At this point each of the CEOs was ready to rebuild a leadership identity based on val-ues, strengths, and ambitions.

The best way to comment on any article is on HBR.ORG. You can also reach us viaE-MAIL: hbr_letters@hbr.orgFACEBOOK: facebook.com/HBRTWITTER: twitter.com/HarvardBizCorrespondence may be edited for space and style.

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Social Strategies That Work HBR article by Mikołaj Jan Piskorski,November 2011At long last social media plat-forms have become lucrative enough to attract traditional companies. But many fi rms still fail to generate profi ts through social platforms because they merely import their current digital strategies—like broadcast-ing commercial messages—into social environments. Instead, fi rms should help people do what they want to do on social net-works in the fi rst place: meet new people and strengthen existing relationships.

This strategy is not necessarily going to pro-vide an ROI for every brand. Some brands may help me get information, but does that mean that I hold them in higher regard than brands that don’t? It really depends on the product category and brand. An electron-ics brand, for example, that helps me fi nd great speakers for my TV is going to win my loyalty, but I don’t want or expect my cookie, salad dressing, or detergent brand to connect me with others.Richard Meyer, principal, Online Strategic Solutions

The author responds: I would say the opportunities are boundless—see what

Procter & Gamble is doing with the Tide campaign. It is seeking to connect people who are using its products and want to get the best washing experience. And there are a lot of them—Tide’s Facebook page alone has garnered more than 2.2 million fans!

I’d like to frame the author’s idea as the diff erence between teaching a class and hosting a party. In both all the par-ticipants are in the same room, but the dynamic could not be more diff erent. In the classroom the teacher (the brand) dominates the conversation, and the fl ow is hub-and-spoke, with the teacher at the hub. At the party the guests (customers and prospects) may or may not interact directly with the host, spending most of their time with one another. But since most of the guests know and like the host, when the discussion touches on the host it’s likely to be favorable. Even though the host can’t control exactly what is said, the guests at the party are every bit as likely to go home with positive feelings toward the host as the students are to go home with a positive view of the teacher. As you say, it’s not that one model is right and the other wrong; the challenge for brands is to use the right model for each context.George Eberstadt, CEO and founder, TurnTo Networks

The author responds: Let me add one more thing to the party analogy that is very important. The guests have to do something for the host as a thank-you as they seek to build relationships with one another. Otherwise you will get engage-ment, but you will not get economic results. Notice how many times people will off er to help the host clean up, just so that they can talk to the host or another party goer one-on-one. Great so-cial strategies always do that!

to lecture-based education. Teachers should worry to some extent about the long-term sustainability of tenure and ever-increasing salaries and government benefi ts.

What is beautiful about disruption is that it feels good to the incumbents at the beginning. Truly disruptive in-novations in online learning will not be resisted (even though they probably should be) by the unions. Early advances in online education will free teachers up

to be more like coaches or mentors and will also probably enhance demand for teachers as nonconsumers of education enter the market. This is why the teachers’ unions won’t fi ght until it’s too late. But it will be good for everyone—except maybe the teachers’ unions—if such an imple-mentation succeeds the way the authors have suggested.Rob Wheeler, fellow, Harvard Business School’s Forum for Growth and Innovation, and HBR blogger

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