1. Executive positioning distinguishes the executive as a thought leader. {Tweet This}
When an executive is positioned as a thought leader, he/she is considered an expert on current industry knowledge, and therefore, a resource for media. That means, when an industry reporter needs a quote, the executive they are already familiar with is called upon. By positioning executives in the media and for speaking engagements, they will remain top-of-mind as subject-matter experts and the authority on certain topics.
“Thought leadership is when a leader’s thoughts are being used by leaders to lead others.” – Onyi Anyado
2. Executive positioning helps build credibility. {Tweet This}
CEO credibility has remained low in the U.S. over the past couple of years. According to Edleman’s Trust Barometer, “CEOs and government leaders remain at the bottom of the list for both Informed and General Publics, with extremely low trust levels on key metrics. Only one in four General Public respondents trust business leaders to correct issues and even fewer – one in five – to tell the truth and make ethical and moral decisions.” These daunting statistics do, however, provide a silver lining … there is plenty of room for improvement. When companies and organizations get their executive leadership team in the public’s eye and put a face to a name, they humanize the company as a whole, building credibility for the executive in the meantime.
“If there’s anything that’s important to a reporter, it is integrity. It is credibility.” – Mike Wallace
3. Executive positioning benefits your company’s brand. {Tweet This}
Steve Jobs will forever be etched in our memory for the remarkable technological advances and creativity he brought literally to our fingertips. But more than that, he is identified as part of Apple’s brand. The cool, hip, quirky, sleek, modern, fill-in-the-blank-with-all-the-ways-we-could-describe Apple persona was funneled down through Jobs. He became part of their DNA and positioned the company as something never before seen.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” – Steve Jobs
By fostering thought leadership, building credibility and positioning your company’s brand, executive positioning helps supports business development efforts. When an executive is perceived as an industry leader and therefore has name recognition, your company is more likely to be called upon for business, because in essence, you are already known. Having a strong company leader with a solid personal brand will take the entire company to the next level. Executives’ time is precious and positioning is time well spent … and in the case, time spent on the front end will inevitably pay off in the end.
