If you Google yourself, what comes up? This is a great place to learn about your executive profile. Think of Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg or Bill Gates, and how they have built companies and brands to the point where their names are synonymous with success and leadership. In Gates’ case, having overseen Microsoft’s rise to becoming the technology powerhouse it is today, he is a towering example of a CEO whose visible presence and strong executive positioning has been great for his organisation’s performance.
His philanthropic work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation further enhanced this reputation and showed him as a person who cares about more than just business, a critical part of executive positioning. This was ahead of its time in an era when corporate and social responsibility was not considered as important as it is today.
The business cases for strong executive visibility are plentiful and building a strong leadership communications framework is essential.
First you might want to think about what you want to achieve, and the advantages that executive positioning can deliver for your business. Here are five ways in which a strong leadership profile can benefit your business:
Business cases
1. Position yourself in the marketplace
The communication of a CEO helps position your organisation and value proposition in the marketplace, ensuring that customers are aware of your competitive advantage. Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is a great example of someone who does this. He has built a very strong image and constantly talks about value and reducing costs, which is also widely accepted as Ryanair’s core strategic advantage. Some of his madcap antics may be unconventional, but O’Leary knows exactly what he is doing in capturing uber valuable free media coverage.
2. Growth & investment
From business to politics to sport, we have seen time and again that having a strong leadership profile increases buy-in and support. Recent research of American adults showed that 77% of them said that a CEO’s profile influences their decision to invest in that company, while 80% of them say that a CEO’s reputation influences their decision on whether to purchase a company’s products or services.
3. Reputation
How a CEO is perceived can have a huge impact on corporate reputation. A reliable and consistent CEO like Gates is seen as overseeing a reliable and consistent organisation.
On the contrary, look at how Elon Musk’s behaviour at the helm of X has negatively affected its advertising revenues and reputation as an employer. On the other hand, Musk is also seen by others as an innovator and a disruptor, and therefore his companies are seen in this light too.
4. Hiring and retaining talent
People want to work for someone who they trust, or even that inspires them. Eight in every ten American adults say that the reputation of a company’s CEO heavily influences their decision to work for them or continue to work for them. Through strong executive positioning, business leaders can give their organisation an employer branding edge in the talent market by presenting themselves as an admirable figurehead.
5. Deeper connections
Mark Benioff, of Salesforce fame, is known for his philanthropic efforts and commitment to social responsibility by advocating for equality and environmental sustainability. He is a great example of how CEO profiling that showcases the leader’s vision can humanise the organisation. By doing so, you create deeper connections with customers, stakeholders, potential investors, partners and employees.
Now that we’ve established the why, it’s time to look at the how. How can I increase my executive profile?
How to guide
1. Craft a story
Before looking to increase your executive visibility, the most important thing to do is to be prepared. Sit down with your communications staff or PR agency and have them help you figure out how to position yourself to align with your business. They will ask questions like:
- What is the business known for?
- What does it want to be known for?
- What do you want to be known for?
- What are your values?
- What can you say about various issues and trends that ties those things together?
A clear purpose laden strategy and vision should align with your brand, so take the time to clarify it before engaging in any executive or CEO profiling. Collaborate to create a platform document with key messages which you can be consistent on.
2. Establish a strong personal brand through online and social media
Establishing a unique, consistent, and engaging voice on online and social media, particularly LinkedIn and blogs, can be a great cornerstone of leadership communications. This is where a leader is allowed to most authentically ‘be themselves’, as it is their own channel. We recommend a business leader optimises their LinkedIn profile before beginning to build a profile in earnest.
Use different communications media, whether written posts, blogs, videos, or infographics, you can keep your profile dynamic and your followers engaged. Posting thought leadership regularly – both long and short form content – and using a more accessible, personable tone of voice will help people to connect with you and your message and feel like they know you on a more personal level.
3. Seek and be open to opportunities
To increase executive visibility, the prerequisite is being visible. As a senior executive, you need to carefully manage your time but where possible, accept speaking opportunities, media requests for commentary or interview, and other carefully considered opportunities that allow you to grow your profile.
Submitting entries and being nominated for individual business awards is another effective tactic to put yourself in front of the right people. These will all help you to reach a targeted audience of industry leaders, potential clients, and influencers who can amplify your message.
4. Media engagement
Seeking media opportunities such as podcasts, broadcast and print interviews, and opinion editorials will all help elevate your profile, as will offering yourself to media for insight on relevant trending news stories, known as ‘newsjacking’. Putting your name to a quote in company press releases is another, and having a strong photos to accompany these is a good way to increase your personal brand recognition.
5. Internal communications
Internal communications are a great way to both build your confidence and your standing amongst your employees. Create your own opportunities and establish yourself as an open and accountable leader by having townhalls, presentations, Q&A sessions, webinars, and creating other content for your company’s channels.
6. Reputation management
While we can plan and strategise as much as we want, ultimately some things are out of our control. How we react to negatives can be just as important for reputation as how we push the positives, if not more. In the event of a crisis, people look to leaders for guidance, and it is critical in these situations to be visible, honest, and accountable. Silence creates a vacuum, which will be filled with scepticism and suspicion. Fronting up and handling issues proactively is the only way to walk away from them with a reputation as intact as possible. It is essential to prepare crisis communications plans and ensure that you have been properly prepared for media interviews by being media trained for potential negative scenarios.
7. Build your network
While your network is an asset generally in business, being associated with other industry influencers with strong leadership profiles boosts your credibility and enhances your executive positioning. Having other people with significant followings engaging with and amplifying your leadership communications will increase your exposure and help grow your audience.
Identify business leaders or media commentators who are prominent voices in the areas you want to be recognised as a thought leader in and connect with them. Aligning yourself with the right people will lead to more opportunities. This can be achieved through networking at senior events, joining committees, judging awards or seeking directorships. In time, you will become a fixture on the speaker circuit and a go-to contact for journalists when looking for comment.
8. Don’t be afraid to talk about topics outside of business
Your communications do not have to be limited to business. Depending on your interests and company policies, you might like to discuss social, economic, and political issues. This will in turn develop confidence in your leadership and decision-making skills and have a knock-on impact on stakeholders’ trust in the company.
9. Practice, practice, practice
Public speaking tops the list of a lot of many people’s biggest fears for a reason. It can be daunting, but the more you hone these skills, the easier it becomes. Taking part in media training and working with your communications team or a PR agency to refine your messaging will enhance what is working and resonating with people.
Your leadership communications should always be evolving and having regular briefing calls before taking part in media or public speaking opportunities will put you in the best position to convey your message most effectively. The more you practice and work on this, the more naturally it will flow into your conversation and appear more organic.
Conclusion
As we can see, executive and CEO profiling requires careful planning. The greatest strength in your arsenal is going to be your personal story and values. If you are consistent, it will not take long for your audience to connect with your vision and know what you’re about. After that, it is all about being proactive, taking and making the most of opportunities and constantly striving to optimise and amplify your leadership profile. We have nearly three decades’ of experience with this at Comit, so if you are interested in finding out how we can help, please contact us.