Leader’s reputation: the foundation of long-term success
09/02/2024 • Profession news
Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room - Jeff Bezos
In the modern business world, the reputation of the leader plays an indispensable role in the success of the organization. Personal branding, or building a personal brand, is becoming an increasingly important aspect of leadership. Monitoring a leader's reputation is not just a matter of image, but a strategic imperative that can have long-term consequences for the business, culture and perception of the organization.
The connection between the leader's brand and the company itself is shown to us every day: when we think of Tesla, we also think of Elon Musk, we can't imagine Meta without Mark Zuckerberg, we always associate Amazon with Jeff Bezos. Persona design experts explain that our reputation encompasses all the intangible aspects of business – it is reflected in the behavior of employees, customer service, service prices, the internal culture of the organization and the overall user experience you offer. The brand of the company itself depends on the personal branding of each individual, especially leaders and prominent people in the company.
Why is personal branding important?
Did you know that it only takes seven seconds to make a first impression? Science further says that the accuracy of our first impression is as high as 76%. First impressions are very important and often last a long time. A strong personal brand helps leaders make a positive and lasting impression, laying the foundation for trust and collaboration.
According to research The Role of Leaders in Reputation Management, conducted by Gary Davies of the University of Manchester and Rosa Chan of the University of Dublin, as much as half of a corporation's reputation comes from the reputation of the leaders themselves. Also, a leader with a positive image can inspire and motivate his team as well as customers, while a leader with a bad reputation can cause doubt and demotivation.
A survey conducted by Indeed concludes that the reputation of the company itself is important for as many as 95% of people who are currently looking for a job. Leaders with a strong personal brand attract top talent who want to work with inspiring and respected leaders. On the other hand, a bad reputation can deter potential candidates and make it difficult to retain existing talent.
Strategies for building and monitoring a leader's reputation
Leaders can use several strategies to build their reputation:
- Consistency and transparency: As many as 90% of CEOs agree that leadership and company transparency lead to better decisions and build a better reputation.
- Authenticity: Allows leaders to demonstrate their unique values, personality and voice. This helps them differentiate themselves from the competition, improve the company's reputation and create an emotional connection with their audience.
- Quality Content: Create and share valuable, informative and relevant content that people resonate with and will want to support and share. When people share the same values and attitudes with company leaders, the positive sentiment will automatically be transferred to the leader’s brand.
- Relationship Building: Actively build and maintain relationships with other colleagues in the profession, offering helpful information and advice. Be active and comment on other people's announcements and views.
- Positive online presence: Sharing professional insights, achievements and opinions helps build a reputation as an expert and trusted source of information. A social media presence allows leaders to reach a wider audience and establish their authority in the industry.
Source: Kliping.rs
Illustration: Freepik.com