What happens if your employees build their brand in a way that crowds out yours?
You've probably seen countless post and blogs all talking about why having a 'personal brand' is so vital on Social Media, in particular when it comes to business sites like LinkedIn.
When we run our 'Social Selling' workshops we often find that instead of the 'leaders' of a company attending they prefer to 'volunteer' other employees, unless they are innovative leaders that is.
I'm not sure why but maybe it's because they think they're too important to increase their own leadership skill talents?
That said, for those that do attend we find that once people are given the right training, mentoring, framework and skill set they do indeed build out an extremely powerful 'personal brand' that makes them stand out more than their boss, and sometimes even their company.
What we can evidence and benchmark many times over is this training suddenly helps attendees to leapfrog their peer group, along with the majority in the leadership team with all the Superpowers and personal credibility that 'personal branding' delivers.
They suddenly become more relateable to future employers, and they are seen as the 'go to' person for potential clients wanting to better understand more about the company they work for.
This is based on the fact that our behaviour has changed from where it was a few years ago. Today social media affords us the chance to check out your company, it's employees, and yes, the leaders in those companies long before any direct contact is made.
Based on the recent article in the link below it seems that some leadership teams still see it as a threat to themselves, and then dress up their fears around 'productivity and performance'.
If your employee’s aggressive profile-building distracts them from their day job or overshadows you and your team, you risk diminishing your chances for future advancement and your credibility as their boss.
And there you have it, analog leadership in a digital, socially savvy world.
Inspired by a shared post from my friend Peter Thomas.
You might say, “You’re doing so well with building your brand, but at the core of a great brand is an excellent reputation for high performance. Based on recent missed results, I’m concerned. Being a leader in our department means growing your group’s capabilities, collaborating with your peers, and holding yourself accountable to agreed-upon plans. I want to make sure those are your top priorities.”
https://hbr.org/2019/10/what-to-do-if-your-employee-starts-to-outshine-you
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