Investor's Business Daily, September 24th, 2007
America's best firms propel their product and company images with a unique leadership style -- a branded way to get results inside the organization and out.
That's the message from management coaches Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, authors of the new book "Leadership Brand."
To develop such a brand:
Communicate in customer terms. The critical link in any firm connects leader performance to customer expectations.
To test the strength of that link, ask yourself this: "If customers could hire people to run the firm, would they choose the current leaders?"
Move from the outside in. "Just as a product or firm's brand matters only to the extent that (the public values it), a leadership brand needs to generate results that attract consumers" -- customers and employees -- "or it's useless," the authors wrote.
They say that to test both brands -- the firm's and its leadership -- ask: "What do customers want us to be known for? What do our leaders need to know, do and deliver to make that customer identity happen?"
Look for clues. Check the leadership styles of America's most admired companies -- ranging from General Electric GE and Berkshire Hathaway to UPS UPS and Procter & Gamble PG, according to surveys.
Build a bond. This starts by engaging your customers, says Catherine Kaputa, author of "U R a Brand."
One of the best ways to engage? Let customers speak. "Listen more and talk less," she said.
"By listening, you engage your (market) more profoundly than by saying something profound."
Make it work. More customer complaints are made "in a Four Seasons restaurant than in a Denny's diner, because the expectations of the patrons are higher," Ulrich and Smallwood said. A leadership brand that promotes top goals also sets high expectations. It gains traction "when employees, customers and investors believe that promises made at the top will be kept."
Attract through "soft power." This means using your point 15f view and personal skills to win others to your way of thinking, says Harvard professor Joseph Nye Jr., who coined the term.
Spread the word. "A strong brand is universally understood," Ulrich and Smallwood said. "In the same way, a firm's leadership brand can't be something that the top leaders in an organization do while others watch. (The) leadership brand must be reflected by leaders at all levels of an organization."
Measure. What are the earmarks of your leadership brand? List the brand's attributes and goals -- then find a way to track its success from the top down.
Develop a value proposition. Narrow your focus to key objectives, Kaputa says.
Keep evolving. Tie your leadership brand to the changing expectations of customers.
Have staying power. The ultimate test of a leadership brand occurs only after the top leader steps down, say Ulrich and Smallwood.
Is the brand strong enough to be recognized by the leader's successor? Is the brand entrenched enough to continue shaping company goals?
