This document provides guidance on positioning leaders internally through executive branding. It recommends conducting an audit of current employee perceptions of the leader and their internal social media presence. Based on the audit findings and the leader's strengths, a positioning statement should be developed outlining the leader's style and how it aligns with organizational needs. An implementation plan is then outlined to communicate the leader's brand internally and externally through actions, viewpoints shared on internal social media, and by playing to their strengths. The last point emphasizes that a leader's celebrity is increasingly important alongside an organization's brand.

1. Executive Branding – How to
Position Your Leader
Aniisu K Verghese
July 5, 2013
1

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Which leader do you admire?

5. What quality stands out?
• Direct?
• Open?
• Simplicity?
• Futuristic?
• Visionary?
• Dynamic?
• Honest?
• Innovative?

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

7. Brands need to evolve

8. 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

9. Building a Leadership Brand
www.hbrreprints.org

10. 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

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

12. 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

13. The average tenure of the Indian CEO
has decreased 35% - stands at seven
years.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/20
12-07-11/india-business/32631797_1_ceo-
tenure-indian-ceo-nitin-paranjpe

14. Age of ‘Trust Deficit’
Source: Edelman’s Trust Barometer, 2013

15. Company’s employee is more credible
than the CEO
Source: Edelman’s Trust Barometer, 2013

16. Same Outfit = Consistency

17. 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

18. 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

19. Employees trust a social media
active leader
Source: 2012 CEO, Social Media and
Leadership Survey, BrandFog

20. 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

21. 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

22. RECOMMENDATIONS
How to position your leader internally

23. 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

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

25. 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.

26. http://managementofchange.nl/images/9/98/Making_Sense_of_Ch
ange_Management-Cameron.pdf
The five leadership roles. Cameron and Green (2008)

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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
www.intraskope.com

30. Thank You & Stay Connected
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