Why Leaders Should Manage Their Brand Assets Properly~Prince Eze Ugochukwu.
Nowadays, people are not only interested in the capabilities, expertise and experiences of their leaders.They go beyond that. People are also interested in their reputation, trust and image-These are assets too.
People choose the leaders they know and trust rather than take a gamble on somebody they are not sure of. The reality of todays world is that people expect a certain level of quality from their leaders.
For leaders, what they say, or what is said about them on social media has the ability to either enhance , or diminish their personal brand. What differentiates a good leader is his ability to consistently deliver on his promise to the people.
The people are starting to become more emotionally involved in the choices they make about who governs them. The focus on good governance have become an essential part of people’s daily lives today. Therefore, the agenda of any leader must have a purpose of bringing value to the people through development programs with complete transparency.
A leader must be able to connect with the people on an emotional level. There must be an affinity. The name of a leader must positively resonate in the eyes and minds of the people. His image must signal quality and value. There must be a reputation associated with a leader.
This is where branding comes in. Branding plays a big role in helping boost the careers and reputation of many leaders. The crucial question to ask is this, “ What are the thoughts and feelings that people and stakeholders have, towards a leader.?
We should remember those who we work with, and those who are close to a leader are directly involved In projecting and communicating the brand of their leader. How they behave and act plays a key role in either enhancing or diminishing their leaders brand. It is what they communicate that influence the public either for good or for bad. They are the face of their leader.
A leader however must represent something. Certain attributes that brings benefit, assurance and peace of mind to the people. People are interested in the derivable benefits from a leader more that anything else. He must inspire people to dream big and imagine the possibilities. A leader must bring on board positive values, transparency, honesty and believability.
There is intense and fierce competition amongst leaders. The people are faced with abundant and varied choices. To select quality leaders have become a headache. This makes people’s perception about a leader very crucial. People go for who they trust more. Therefore any leader that seeks the attention of the people must be able to satisfy their want and need. These wants and needs may be tangible or intangible.
The people expect a leader to be able to improve people’s lives , helping them and their families to overcome poverty and injustice.
To build a good and strong brand, a leader should plan and implement programs and initiatives that favour the people and accurately measure the performance of those programs in order to meet his set objectives and targets. This way, he can identify threats and weaknesses.
Even when a leader is on top of his game, he must be very careful to avoid complacency, because lurking around are adversaries and shifting, changing circumstances. Therefore, a leader must innovate and evolve in order not to go into oblivion.
A leader must not in any way under-rate or under-estimate the importance of the people themselves.The arrival of the digital age and social media have given the people the ability to either assist in building a brand through positive reviews and posts, or diminish a brand value through an angry rant or post. The social media have linked people together in a “ collective conversational web”. The people now have greater say, and can help in promoting their leader and collaborating with him, even disseminating information for the leader without being prompted. People’s participation is crucial for a leader to succeed.
Conclusively, leaders can no longer rely on simply pushing their ideas and programs to the people. It has now become imperative to build and establish meaningful relationships with the people as well.
Prince Eze Ugochukwu writes from Nkwerre, Imo State.
