Why do CEOs need a personal brand strategy?

Whether you like it or not, as a CEO you are part of the wider company brand as well as having your own. Your personal brand is a reflection of you, but it also has a spillover effect onto the company you run, just as a company's brand can affect the personal brands of its employees.

The image you display can influence how you are perceived by investors, staff and stakeholders, many of whom may not see you regularly. You need to set the tone when you're in the room, and through your communications when you're not.

A CEO's personal brand isn't simply about becoming more visible. It is about deliberately managing the associations people make between you, your leadership and the organisation you represent.

Your CEO image affects perceptions of the company

People rarely experience a company in isolation. Before a customer, prospective employee, investor or business partner understands an organisation in depth, they are already forming impressions from the people who represent it.

At the top of this hierarchy is the CEO, who should be a tone-setter for the organisation.

People use shortcuts when evaluating organisations. If they perceive a CEO as innovative, authoritative, approachable or traditional, those characteristics can become associated with the organisation itself.

• An innovative CEO can make a company appear innovative.

• An approachable CEO can make an organisation appear more human.

• A traditional CEO can reinforce perceptions of an established and conservative company.

• An authoritative CEO can create an impression of confidence and competence.

These perceptions don't necessarily reflect reality. Image influences the assumptions people make about reality.

This is why a CEO's image needs to be considered strategically rather than left to chance.

^ Looking at the above, what impression does each leader give in these photos? What message are they sending with their uniforms? In addition, does their reputation match that impression? Are they organised, in control, creative/experimenting, a winner or a leader among their staff/soldiers? (Top row) Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Alan Sugar, Barack Obama, (bottom row) Bill Slim, Gene Kranz.

For simplicity's sake, I have stuck with images of men; in no way is the conveyance of meaning through uniforms or clothes restricted to men.

How does this spillover work in both directions?

The relationship between a CEO and a company brand isn't one-way.

The company's reputation also influences how the CEO is perceived. A CEO leading an innovative technology company may be perceived as innovative themselves, while the leader of a traditional financial institution may inherit some of the characteristics associated with that organisation.

This creates a continuous exchange between the two brands.

CEO → Company: The CEO's behaviour, communication, appearance and public profile influence perceptions of the organisation.

Company → CEO: The company's reputation, culture and positioning influence perceptions of the CEO.

The question, therefore, isn't whether this spillover exists. It's whether you are managing it.

Your personal brand should reinforce your company's positioning

A personal brand strategy doesn't mean turning every CEO into a social media personality.

The objective isn't necessarily to maximise followers or engagement. It is to ensure the image being created supports the position the CEO, and therefore the organisation wants to occupy.

For example, a company positioning itself as innovative could be undermined if its CEO consistently communicates in a highly traditional and corporate way. Likewise, a business positioning itself as approachable and customer-focused could create a disconnect if its leadership appears distant or inaccessible.

The CEO doesn't need to perfectly embody every aspect of the corporate brand. They are an individual. But there should be strategic alignment.

Your personal brand should help answer: "What do we want people to think when they think about our leadership?"

A CEO's personal brand is more than social media

Personal branding is often associated with LinkedIn posts, professional photography and public speaking. These are only the visible outputs.

Your personal brand is built through a much wider range of signals:

• How you communicate with employees

• The subjects you discuss publicly

• Your professional appearance

• How you represent the company

• The people and organisations you associate with

• Your media and social media presence

• How you respond to difficult situations

Together, these create a picture of who you are and what you represent.

Because you are one of the most visible representatives of the organisation, those signals can influence perceptions of the company too.

So, what should a CEO personal brand strategy include?

A good strategy should start with perception, not content.

Before deciding what a CEO should post, ask:

• How is the CEO perceived today?

• How do we want them to be perceived?

• Which audiences matter most?

• What should they be known for?

• Which characteristics should be associated with their leadership?

• How should their positioning support the company's brand?

From there, a strategy can establish their positioning, key messages, communication style, visual presentation, content themes and opportunities for visibility.

The strongest CEO personal brands aren't manufactured personas. They are deliberate expressions of the individual, shaped around the reputation they need to build.

Your CEO image is already being built

The biggest misconception about personal branding is that it is something you can choose to participate in. You can't.

Whether you post every day or never post at all, people are forming opinions about you. They see how you communicate, how you present yourself and what you say. They also associate you with the company you lead.

The choice isn't whether you have a personal brand. The choice is whether you manage it.

For a CEO, that decision can affect far more than personal reputation. It can influence how people perceive the organisation, its culture, its credibility and its leadership.

A personal brand strategy is therefore not simply about making a CEO more visible.

It is about making that visibility work strategically for both the individual and the organisation.