12 Most Leaderific Women In Social Media

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What is a leader?

If you look up “leader” in the dictionary you’d probably get a smarty-pants definition along the lines of “One who leads.” And I have to admit there is some truth to that. You can’t really argue with any part of it. However, when you think about people who are leaders, that definition starts to fall short.  Doesn’t it?

One who leads in what? One who leads whom?

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year to three women who led their countries out of decades of civil war, who are providing a place of comfort for other women in countries like Yemen, where there is so much chaos it’s hard to tell who has what rights. These women are definitely leaders.

All of this got me thinking about who I consider leaders.  Just calling them leaders doesn’t seem exciting enough, so this week I am naming 12 of the most (I can’t really say these are THE 12 most, but that’s the name of the site, so…) leaderific women I’ve encountered in the online world, and I am dubbing them with titles so that you and they can remember what they are leaders in. Sound good?

1. Lisa Petrilli

From now on to be referred to as “She Who Lights Your Fire”, Lisa Petrilli is one of the single most inspirational women I have had the privilege of meeting. I can’t talk to her when I’m tired because she makes me want to get up and do cool things, and sometimes I just need to be a body at rest! Lisa can get you in touch with what makes you tick and make that ticker explode with your internal power. If that isn’t leadership, I am not sure what is.

2. Peg Fitzpatrick

I hereby dub Peg “Chief Pixie Stick”. Peg is a ball of perpetual energy and it’s always a happy, positive energy. Peggy motivates people in such a way that you hardly realize you’re being motivated. You just suddenly find that you’re surrounded by colorful, sugary faerie dust and then boom! You are doing what you wanted and having fun.

3. Brandie McCallum

Brandie is “Chief of the Connectors”. Have you ever watched her engage on Twitter? She literally knows everybody, so it’s hard not to watch her connect. But Brandie has a really light and masterful touch in introducing people to each other. She is in every group but never makes anyone feel shut out.

4. Michele Price

I am going to call Michele “Chief Tells it Like it Is” from now on”. Queen of no-nonsense advice, Michele can speak intelligently on any topic you put in front of her, whether it’s speaking, manners, business, gender bias, or, well…anything else. I have yet to see her say, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

5. Cheryl Burgess

I don’t have a title for Cheryl, but rather more of a song…a rewritten song originally by ABBA. Ready? “She is the branding queen, she writes great posts and she’s never mean (oh yeah!).”

Cheryl is one of the best business minds in the online world, but when you talk to her, there is no sign of anything but kindness and humility. Those kind of folks are lethal – the super smart but super humble ones.

6. Estrella Rosenberg

Now to be referred to as “Queen of Charity”, Estrella seems to work on a 36-hour day sort of schedule. Every time I see her fly by on Facebook or on Twitter, she is literally working to save lives. It always makes me feel like I need to work a little bit harder with what I am doing. Estrella is a leader not just in the fight against deaths in children caused by heart defects, but in the not-for-profit world in general.

7. Marsha Collier

Of course, there are a few different titles Marsha could wear easily. “Queen of Ebay” or “Queen of Books for Dummies” would work.  However, the one I like most for Marsha is “Queen of Customer Service”.  Her #custserv chat was one of the first chats I participated in, and she other chat member practiced what they preached when it came to reaching out to people. Marsha is a sweet lady and ridiculously sharp, yet somehow still has time to exercise like a fiend.  It’s hard to keep up.

8. Liz Strauss

Liz I shall now refer to as “Queen of the Sunrise”. There are two reasons for this. First, if you follow Liz on Facebook or on Twitter, you are sure to see her amazing photographs of fire-in-the-sky sunrises. Liz’s character is also bright and beautiful like the sunrise. One of the most well-known women in the online world, Liz remains approachable, kind, inspirational, and motivational. Plus her SOBCON conference has become one of the most well-respected conferences in the online space.

9. Becky McCray

I’m also torn on Becky’s title. On one hand, our conversations have convinced me that she is in a leadership position when it comes to ice cream sophistication, which is something I can’t help but deeply respect. On the other hand, you might be more interested is the second title I hereby rest at Becky’s feet – “Queen of Small Business”. Becky is one of the great minds out there and she chooses to use her smarts to offer advice to small businesses that face so many struggles in this crazy, corporate world.

10. Amber Cleveland

I’m going to start calling Amber “Chief Gentle Tiger”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Amber say a cross word to anybody. I’m not even convinced her muscular structure would allow her to get cross. And yet, through her kindness and her smarts, Amber has established herself as a leader in so many ways, including her powerful presence at SOBCON and so many chats. Amber is an angelic presence in my own life and I am glad she is on my side!

11. Nancy Davis

Nancy is now going to be called, at least by me, “Chief Stands for Women”. Nancy has dedicated her blog to supporting anyone, women in particular, who have been through abusive relationships or ordeals. Nancy offers hope in a way that only a person who has walked the path can do. Nancy is also a leader in talking about bacon, but I thought the first one might be more important.

12. Chanelle Schneider

Chanelle shall now be called Leader of Generation Y. Not only does she run an extremely successful chat (GenYchat), but through her own actions she highlights what this powerful generation has to offer. In addition to that, Chanelle is a wonderful writer, a caring and passionate person, and has a wicked sense of humor. What more could you want in a leader, anyway?

Boy, we got to 12 awfully fast. There are so many wonderful leaderific women out there. Who would you add to this list?

Margie Clayman

http://www.margieclayman.com/

Marjorie Clayman (@margieclayman) is the Director of Client Development at her family's 58-year-old marketing firm, Clayman Advertising, Inc. Margie is the resident blogger at www.margieclayman.com and is the resident librarian at www.thebloglibrary.com. Margie's writing has been featured on pushingsocial.com, problogger.net, convinceandconvert.com, and dannybrown.me. Margie has recently published an e-book called The ABC’s of Marketing Myths. Margie is still not used to talking about herself in the third person but is working on it.