7 Reasons Why CEOs Need to Develop a Personal Brand — and How to Build One.

On Dec 7, 2023

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We all make purchasing decisions based on our connection to brands. One runner, for instance, may be dedicated to Asics running shoes, while another wouldn’t dream of buying anything but Nike.

These days, thanks to social media, choosing our favorite brands or which companies we give our money to heavily relies on who is heading that company. We want to do business with people that inspire us, people we like and trust. It’s for this very reason that CEOs must develop their own personal brand.

Over the years, I’ve had the honor of working with business leaders from around the world, enabling them to harness the power of compelling narratives to craft and communicate their brand’s unique origin story. I am excited to share with you the profound importance of CEO branding in today’s fiercely competitive business landscape and provide actionable insights on how you can effortlessly embark on your own CEO brand-building journey.

The importance of CEO branding

Your own personal brand is what reflects your priorities and values. Branding helps you, your colleagues and the customers you serve define who you are and what value you offer as a leader. Without a powerful and visible brand, CEOs may find it hard to grow their business, become an influencer or take their career to the next level.

But, when you grow your brand, doors open and opportunities present themselves to you. People are more likely to listen to what you have to say, connections are made and those connections are apt to turn into paying customers and lifelong advocates.

Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the biggest benefits of CEO brand building.

1. Broaden your impact

Your personal brand not only reflects your work ethic but also how you interact with and relate to others. These “others” include the teams you manage, shareholders and consumers. Your brand is recognized in the real world in face-to-face interactions as well as in virtual interactions.

2. Stand out from the crowd

The entire world is online, and everyone is creating and sharing content. This creates a lot of noise.

Cut through that noise with your own unique vision. A personal brand helps you be an authentic voice in a sea of pandering. Always remember, people can smell phony from a mile away. When you develop your personal branding, every word you utter and the action you take is genuine to who you truly are.

3. Others seek you out

When your personal brand is authentic and attractive to others, opportunities come knocking. You’d be surprised at the number of new clients or customers that suddenly appear without any further effort on your part. Vendors may contact you, as well as the press, for interviews and event organizers about speaking engagements. Other companies may also get in touch with you, hoping to snag you for their operation.

Put the work in upfront to develop your brand and the opportunities almost effortlessly follow.

4. Incredible networking opportunities

Networking events are important for doing business and moving your career forward. But let’s be honest — these things can be a nightmare to navigate. Who should you talk to? What should you say? Will others find you (dare I say it)… boring?

When you’ve taken the time to thoughtfully craft your own brand, you become one of the most interesting people in the room.

People walk up to you with hands outstretched. People ask you questions because they want to know even more. CEO branding turns a potentially awkward (but necessary) event into a simple and rewarding one.

5. Grow your bottom line

Do any of us really know what the economy will do from year to year? Heck, month to month? With so much economic uncertainty, it can be challenging, to say the least, to continue to grow your bottom line and meet shareholder expectations when consumers are tightening their wallets.

People are far more likely to give their hard-earned money to a company whose CEO is charismatic and vocal, no matter what the economy is doing. Case in point: Research by FTI Consulting found that those companies who had strong and vocal leaders during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic elicited stronger investor confidence. Numerically speaking, this translated into $260 billion in additional shareholder value during a time that was, for many, economically uncertain.

6. Gain confidence

In my experience, one of the biggest reasons leaders have confidence issues is because they don’t know who they are as a leader. They may know who they are as a husband or wife, mother or father, or friend, but when it comes to leadership, they don’t know their own beliefs, strengths, weaknesses or unique value proposition.

Developing your brand requires you to uncover your skills and values. The…