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Five years ago, when boards were searching for a leader, social media competency wasn’t even on the radar. Now, according to the board members and CEOs we interviewed for our book, a strong social presence is often high on the list of factors they consider when vetting CEO candidates.

The vast majority is using social media as a broadcast channel — a digital billboard to hawk their company’s products and services — not as a way to connect.

For those who appear to be attempting to engage, their social activity feels impersonal and generic, as if a junior member of social the marketing team is managing their social accounts and speaking for them. Of course, the CEOs who approach social in this manner are missing the point entirely.

So how do we know that read more a CEO is actually — personally — engaging on social media? What attributes do we recognize in truly social CEOs like Richard Branson, Pete Cashmore, Arianna Huffington and Peter Aceto? Here are the top seven traits we’ve observed over the five years we spent trend-watching and interviewing leaders:

They Have an Insatiable Curiosity

Truly social CEOs are deeply curious. And that curiosity leads them to wonder, “What are people saying about our company? Our competitors? About their social wants, needs, and aspirations that no one is fulfilling right now?” Many social click here CEOs are first drawn to social to listen. After all, there is no better way than social to collect real-time market intelligence, both through social monitoring and engaging followers.

Many social CEOs aren’t social just because they have a company to run; they see value in being social in every aspect of their lives. They care about more than the bottom line. They give back, they mentor, and they care about real social issues that have nothing to do with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. We refer to those who act consistently in a collaborative, generous way as “relentless givers.” They constantly share what they know, connect others and — often for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do — they do good. One standout example is OCLC’s Skip Prichard, who my blog blogs on leadership and shares insights from his favorite authors – often with no direct benefit to him or his organization.

They Connect Instead of Promote

Want to spot an antisocial CEO? Read what they’re sharing on my blog social media. Are they spreading the good word about their company while also interacting with others, from famous influencers to humble social newcomers? Or is their feed clearly a spigot of self-promotion? Are they answering questions from concerned stakeholders? Or are my blog they only saying what investors want to hear? Social CEOs put down the digital megaphone and they build relationships.

Writer Kare Anderson takes OPEN to the next level as she talks routinely read more of mutuality and deliberately becoming an opportunity maker. She said in her recent TED talk, “Each one of us is better than anybody else at something… which disproves the popular notion that if you’re the smartest person in the click here room, you’re in the wrong room.”