Where Strategy Meets Identity: The Boardroom’s role in Brand Personality

The brand of your leadership team (individually and collectively) is a significant element of your corporate brand messaging and identity. It creates the perception your customers and clients and indeed your employees have of the corporate brand and this is what gets talked about. Therefore, what gets talked about quite simply IS your brand, whether you’ve consciously cultivated it that way or not.

Customers and clients love to share their experiences, good and bad. How you make them feel when they experience you and your company is what hits most strongly and defines the perception of your brand. So, in a nutshell, your customers will define your brand for you!

Respect for corporate leaders has declined in recent years for various reasons. However, Weber Shandwick’s research continually shows that CEO reputation is a fundamental driver of corporate reputation, and also that global executives estimate that nearly 50% of a company’s market value is attributable to its CEO. Pretty powerful stuff. I believe however, this is not just down to the CEO, but to the whole of the executive leadership team. It starts here and trickles down the through the organization to create a culture, that is either powerfully positive or not so great.

There now exists a massive opportunity for organizations to rise above the noise and emerge as a distinct and unique presence in their specific sector, adding a healthy sprinkling of brand personality that has not been exploited in depth before. Our stakeholders today want to know more about what makes a company tick, what sits at the core of their ethos and what they stand for. There is no better way to illustrate this than via your leaders and their brands. Traditionally CEOs and the executive team have kept a low profile unless a scandal has hit the press. Now they have a myriad of opportunities available to them to express authentic brand personality – and that gets talked about.

Equally there is a need for leaders to engage in deeper ways with stakeholders. Being seen and heard and be on the scene internally, externally and virtually is no longer an option, but a necessity.

We are starting to see a greater level of desire amongst head-hunters and executive boards for recruiting leaders who have a strong personal brand already and who are known for their expertise in their specific field.? Some forward-thinking companies now encourage their leaders to be more visible externally, including on social media, as they see it as a benefit to not just the leader themselves but the company also. ?

In addition, with talented Millennials now moving into more influential positions in your organizations, a tighter appreciation for the leadership development needs now required is paramount to engage and retain this top talent. We need to know how to shift leadership development to include a strong element of brand personality training and coaching that empowers and supports high performers to feel respected and valued for the expertise they bring and take greater control of their career and profile. A common trait and perhaps expectation of Millennials is to see people as equal. They dislike and won’t work well under any indication of old-style command and control leadership styles. They will not automatically respect authority or leadership, just because of hierarchy, because they feel respect is personally earned. Senior leadership will therefore in their eyes not be exempt from the behaviors expected of the rest of the employee base. They come from a place of fairness and equality and if this is not demonstrated they will ultimately decide your company is not for them, impacting employer brand.

Leaders who make a personal connection with employees and show interest in their personal and career aspirations, inspire the highest levels of achievement amongst their teams. If people are valued their productivity increases. If they are supported by a leader who they feel truly cares for them as an individual, then they have an ability to do more, achieve more and be more successful. These are all elements of your leadership brand that you need to take on-board to encourage a greater degree of employee engagement and ultimately influence a great employer brand and culture.

We need leaders with strong leadership brands

Ask yourself these questions to ascertain the effectiveness of your leadership brand. Get feedback from others too wherever possible, as this may differ from your own perceptions and evaluations.

·?????? Am I open and flexible to the different personalities and opinions of my team?

·?????? Do I always provide honest, helpful and considered feedback to help develop my team members?

·?????? Do I effectively give time to coach my team members to help their career development?

·?????? When I look at myself in the mirror, do I feel a deep level of contentment with my leadership style and abilities?

·?????? Have I given a high visibility project to a team member?

·?????? Do I consistently recognise great performance?

·?????? Do I fully understand the strengths and talents of all my team members and manage them accordingly?

In summary, creating more brand personality in your company via leadership branding, has more benefits than may at first appear apparent. Cultural shifts can result which in turn positively impact growth and reputation. I'll be writing more articles in the coming months, on how you can bring more brand personality into your team and business.