Executive Branding – How to Position Your Leader Aniisu K Verghese July 5, 2013

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Disclaimer

Due care has been taken while preparing this presentation but the author cannot be held responsible for any misuse or misrepresentation of information. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not reflect those of the organization he works for. Data for this presentation has been drawn from various sources and is gratefully acknowledged.

How do people perceive you?

• Take a piece of paper and write down one attribute/quality/trait that you believe you have and others also see it that way.

• Research studies demonstrate that we overestimate how others will perceive us.

Which leader do you admire?

What quality stands out?

• Direct?

• Open?

• Simplicity?

• Futuristic?

• Visionary?

• Dynamic?

• Honest?

• Innovative?

Can the leader’s brand not influence that of the organization?

Brands need to evolve

Why executive branding?

• Attract the right people to your team; align them around common purpose

• Mediate issues; get things across the organization; influence

• Your leaders, core team; and help create a more professional, robust organization

Building a Leadership Brand www.hbrreprints.org

Premises of Leadership Brand

• Leadership brand is the capability of leaders at every level to bridge customer expectations to employee and organizational behavior. Any brand takes time to build and includes two major elements: the fundamentals and the differentiators.

ALIGNING FIRM, LEADERSHIP, AND PERSONAL BRAND, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood

http://www.hesselbeininstitute.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=699

Leadership Fundamentals

ALIGNING FIRM, LEADERSHIP, AND PERSONAL BRAND, Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood http://www.hesselbeininstitute.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=699

Leadership trust waning

• “Only 39 per cent of Canadians trust what their senior leaders say, and less than four in 10 feel senior leadership is doing a good job of communicating what is happening in their workplace. They are more stressed and in a much more public setting than ever before. Now the [personal] performance of a CEO is being tied directly to the business.”

Research by Ipsos Reid and the Canadian Management Centre

The average tenure of the Indian CEO has decreased 35% - stands at seven

years.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-11/india-business/32631797_1_ceo-tenure-indian-ceo-nitin-paranjpe

Age of ‘Trust Deficit’

Source: Edelman’s Trust Barometer, 2013

Company’s employee is more credible than the CEO

Source: Edelman’s Trust Barometer, 2013

Same Outfit = Consistency

Positioning – a competitive advantage

• “As a young, long-haired entrepreneur in the 1970s, I got

some funny looks when I went into the bank barefoot the first few times. But after a few years, if I suddenly turned up at the bank wearing a suit and tie, they knew something was up. Soon, our move from punk rock to aviation — Virgin Music to Virgin Atlantic — enhanced our reputation as risk-takers and innovators, giving us a competitive advantage over other companies. ”

- Sir Richard Branson

http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/smartcompany/A-poor-personal-reputation-affects-your-brand-too/-/1226/1742880/-/qll0a0/-/index.html

Importance of principles

• “You cannot compromise on your principles when dealing with your staff, your customers, your suppliers, or anyone else connected with your business. Because if you treat people fairly and well, they will reward you with loyalty and dedication. If you fail to do so, the repercussions will follow, and eventually impact your bottom line.”

- Sir Richard Branson

Employees trust a social media active leader

Source: 2012 CEO, Social Media and Leadership Survey, BrandFog

The first 90 days

• “The first 90 days in a new leadership role are critical to building a foundation for success. Dictating whether you can be successful, and how successful. Opinions form very early that will either support or hinder success. During this period the new hire (leader) and the organization will be at their most vulnerable; lacking both detailed information and the relationships necessary to create success.”

- Spectrum thought leadership: The first 90 days. A framework for success by Daniel Osmer, Managing Partner, Spectrum

Your leader’s brand

“It’s a thought or feeling that leaps to mind when people think about you. Your brand, which is essentially your character, is already well-formed. So look at the story of your life and career for clues to the values you hold. These character-shaping experiences are the foundation of your brand and have made you the leader you are today. You must analyze how these experiences have impacted you before you can communicate it to others. Look at pivotal events in your life and examine what lessons they taught you. Your personal stories are a veritable treasure chest - when you share these stories with audiences, a human connection develops that helps people see who you really are. You’ve seen this dynamic at work - those who give voice to their values, who share the principles that define them and connect with hearts and minds, motivating and inspiring others. People want to work for them; in fact people want to be like them.”

http://www.bates-communications.com/Portals/25382/docs/Quirks%20PDF.pdf

RECOMMENDATIONS

How to position your leader internally

Building Your Leader’s Internal Brand Step 1: Audit:

Current Perceptions • Talk to employees • Run an informal

survey – what comes to mind when you think of your leader? What attributes do you connect him or her with?

• What does it say? • How do employee

perceive the leader? • Does it match with

what the leader stands for?

Step 2: Review: Current Internal Social Media Presence • Look at internal

social networks • Read mailers, blogs,

articles posted by leader

– what do they communicate? - What image does it

convey? - How can the leader

do better?

Step 3: Devise and Implement Positioning • What is the leader’s

style? Change agent, catalyzer, motivator, visionary, architect, implementer

• Look at the organization’s needs and how it meshes with the leader’s approach

• Are there other leaders who have taken a stand?

• Craft a statement • Outline a plan for

implementing internally and externally

Everyone wants to hear your point of view. My take on……

Actions speak louder….

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi stops car and consoles a girl stranded on the road

Will Bowen, a pastor offered a simple idea to eradicate complaining from parishioners' lives. A 21-day challenge.

http://managementofchange.nl/images/9/98/Making_Sense_of_Change_Management-Cameron.pdf

The five leadership roles. Cameron and Green (2008)

Leader’s internal positioning. Play to the strengths

Positioning statement

Your strengths

Change Management

Research

Informal Feedback

Example: easy going, well read, great sense for process, sensitive to how things get done, mentored employees, thinks large, builds organizations etc

Last point

• “There was a time when a CEO could hide behind a corporate brand. Today that has changed as their celebrity is beginning to move to the forefront.”

- Grant Goodwin, president of All Roads Inc., a personal online branding consultancy in Kingston.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/12/leader-branding-becoming-as-important-as-product-branding/?__lsa=4001-0ad9

Register now! Internal Communications 301

Employee Engagement, Internal Social Media and Beyond

July 20, 2013

Bangalore

Facilitator: Aniisu K Verghese

E-mail: intraskope@yahoo.com

India’s first and only internal communications workshop appreciation series

www.intraskope.wordpress.com

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Thank You & Stay Connected

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