Greg Power is president of Weber Shandwick Canada
Leadership at the top can make or break a company’s reputation.
But what kind of leadership is best? Ancient societies were built through domination of subjects with the treasure delivered to a tribal king. We organized societies like animals organized packs, with the pack reliant on its leader and every member paying deference to the alpha among them. When the pack wins, the price of working together is that the pack leader eats first.
New research on what executives value in their CEOs says we have evolved.
Weber Shandwick conducted new research with KRC Research, The CEO Reputation Premium: Gaining Advantage in the Engagement Era, with more than 1,750 executives in 19 markets worldwide who work closely with their CEOs.
It’s no surprise that CEOs have impact. Executives told us 44% of a company’s market value is attributable to its CEO’s reputation. Over 81% said it was essential for the CEO to have a visible public profile for a company to be highly regarded and earn support from the public and others. And CEOs needed to be the corporate storyteller through speaking engagements (82%) and on social media (43%). In fact, they want their CEO to use the full array of channels available to them to drive the corporate narrative.
Respondents also identified a significant difference between highly regarded leaders and less regarded leaders. Further, it was a quality that we might consider quintessentially Canadian: humility.
Effective CEOs reflect their times. From the industrial magnates of the 1900s to the faceless company men of the 1950s to the smart creative entrepreneurs of the early 2000s, CEOs personalize their eras. After the 2008 global financial crisis it was often CEOs as villains, and today as we recover, it is socially engaged CEOs as a force for good.
It makes sense that in an age when transparency and authenticity rule with smart and empowered consumers, CEOs need to project the human values we admire. Today’s leaders motivate and build those around them, and they are highly engaged listeners. The world is online all the time, and we’re all public figures, CEO or not. It’s less important for a leader to have a big personality and more important for a leader to make a big impact for others. Not just on their business, but on their people as well. They need to be engaged with every aspect of their company, and they need to do it with credibility.
I have always believed that to be successful as a leader, people need to want that leader to be successful. Stakeholders and employees want to be led by someone who will help them succeed. They want a leader who is honest and candid. And most of all, they want a CEO who gets more pleasure from giving glory than taking it. As in the military, they want a leader who eats after everyone is fed.
Humble leaders focus on building a better brand for the company instead of their personal brand. They get the halo from everyone’s success, so there is no need to also be the star. But that does not mean a leader is passive. Good CEOs get things done.
In his seminal book Good to Great, Jim Collins says great companies are those that possess a “Level 5 Leader” – a CEO who blends a humble personality with an intense professional will. When a Level 5 Leader wants something done, their people do it not because they’re afraid of the consequences, but because they’re inspired to.
Great leaders do not have followers; they have supporters.
To build that support we advise our CEO clients to invest in a strategic foundation that includes (1) a relatable personal story, (2) a viable engagement platform internally and externally, and (3) a strong equity statement that acts as the North Star for their communications priorities. It is also important to develop a storytelling agenda that brings simplicity and discipline to the development and promotion of the essential business stories that drive the company forward to ensure all leaders are engaged and on the same page.
In his book Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, TED Talk superstar Simon Sinek points out why humility is the key to business leadership. “Leaps of greatness require the combined problem-solving ability of people who trust each other,” he says. “It is not the genius at the top giving directions that makes people great. It is great people that make the guy at the top look like a genius.”
No wonder humility is a powerful character trait of impactful leaders. We’re all in this together. Company success is built on contribution from everyone and the leaders who people want leading build cultures that nourish the collective whole.
