"People like me" is the new authority

There was an interesting study released this month by a major NY PR research company that measures "trust" -- who in our society is most credible and trusted, especially when it comes to conveying information or in guiding and endorsing decisions. For the first time since the study was begin, the category of "people like me" scored higher than traditional sources of authority, such as parents, bosses, CEOs, major brands, or political and social/religious leaders.

Peers ("people like me") have always been a critical touchpoint in where we seek information, validation, confirmation or acceptance. Most people—not all, but most—like to be with people who are like them. It is less threatening and often less challenging. Safety in numbers, especially when we get to pick the numbers.

This notion of peer authority is further evidence of the growing power of social networks to bring us into contact—however fleetingly and tenuously—with "people like me." This "virtual affinity" with people we have never met, or with whom we have never exchanged anything more consequential than a Facebook post, is troubling in that it grants power to virtual strangers to influence our lives in ways reserved in the past to a chosen, trusted few.

This trend should give leaders—political, religious, social, and business—great pause. No longer can you rest on your institutional or positional authority to effect a change or direction. More than ever, leaders must understand that social networks, as much as they are a far cry from genuine human interaction, still reflect a need by people to connect with people on a more personal, rather than institutional, level.

In our "permission-based" society, the true mark of communications effectiveness is the ability to be yourself, be human, interact and connect with people on a much more "peer" and personal level. Who you are, your story, your very human reaction to issues, is crucial if you expect to compete with or be part of the social networks that are now taking a formidable place in how opinions and decisions are shaped and made.