executive branding how to position your leader
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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: [email protected]
India’s first and only internal communications workshop appreciation series
www.intraskope.wordpress.com
www.intraskope.com
Thank You & Stay Connected
• Linkedin: http://in.linkedin.com/in/aniisu
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/aniisu
• Visit the book FB page :http://www.facebook.com/ICbook2012
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Visit my blog: www.intraskope.wordpress.com