TOL #003 Should a CEO have a personal brand?

'When you want to determine if signing up with a company is a good idea, you need to learn more about the CEO.' I got this tip from my brother-in-law, a CEO himself, in response to an offer I received to do a major assignment for a multinational company. My intuition had indicated red flags, and I had spoken to my brother-in-law about it.
It was a good tip since the leader determines what the company stands for and the corporate culture. There was only a practical problem:
As an outsider, you only get to hear or see the CEO if there is something essential to proclaim, positive or negative. In other words, you have to wait for an acquisition, a scandal, or significant profits.

 

 

When a CEO calls me to talk about Personal Branding, the following comes up:

 

Questions CEOs ask me when it comes to Personal Branding:

• Shouldn't I be working for the company rather than talking about myself online?
• What can I share that won't compromise the company brand?
• How do I balance building thought leadership with my role as a chief executive officer?

How you look at things determines your actions. Starting from a place of feeling guilty, combined with not knowing how to change your mindset and what actions to take, will not move the needle for you. But hey, as you're posing this question during our calls, change is already lurking around the corner.

 

Fears a CEO faces when it comes to personal branding:

• What will employees think of me if I post online?
• What will our customers think of me if I post online?
• What will our competitors think of me if I post online?
• If I talk about myself or my personal insights, will I get into trouble?

I get this. This is FOPO, Fear of Other People's Opinion.

As a CEO, you know it's part of the job to be watched, evaluated, and critiqued, so why challenge that even more by being more visible as a personal brand? If expressing vision and personality online or in public is not a part of the company culture, these are genuine questions and fears. But remaining stuck in a fixed mindset will not help you or your company grow.

 

What a CEO should be thinking about instead:

• How can I use PB to inspire my employees?
• How can I use PB and thought leadership to share our vision and get it out more than once a year at the New Year's reception and our strategy meetings?
• How can I use PB and thought leadership to empower my employees to take pride in their company?
• How can I use thought leadership and personal branding to increase customers' trust?

If you change your mindset, you'll also eliminate FOSO, the Fear of Standing Out.

Wouldn't that be an excellent example for your employees, clients, and investors? 

When you are a CEO or part of the C-level, personal branding also becomes executive branding; you must combine your personality and authenticity with the responsibility of your role. But your branding will strengthen the company and vice versa.

 

 

 

I invite you to book a 15 min (free) connect call with me if you want to find out how personal branding could be valuable in your life and career.