By Charlotte Otter
As systemic responses to the lack of diversity in the leadership ranks of the world’s top companies are removed, the time has come for reputation equity. Leaders from diverse backgrounds need to learn the key aspects of building a reputation and lean on already existing support mechanisms to get there.
Introduction
It’s not an overstatement to say that diversity, equity and inclusion programmes (DEI) are under attack. What started in the US is leaking through to Europe, with German technology stalwart SAP recently reducing its commitment to the executive ‘Frauenquota’.
As systemic responses to the lack of diversity in the leadership ranks of the world’s top companies are toned down, the onus is placed on individuals to fill the gaps. This is not entirely fair, but it’s also the current reality.
DEI has gone underground for now, leaving individuals in charge of their own destiny.
The time has come for reputation equity. And leaders of diverse identities and from diverse backgrounds can take solace: they are not alone. There is a function in the corporate world set up to assist them.
How individuals with ambition to lead can build their reputation equity
If you are outside the leadership status quo (not male enough; not white enough), you build your reputation equity by building authority. Mary-Ann Sieghart’s brilliant book The Authority Gap details how women and people of colour are not ceded the same authority as white men. Female US supreme court justices are interrupted three times as often as men are, and 96% of these interruptions are by men. However, she also says it’s hard to argue with a stellar record of success.
The emphasis is on ‘record.’ With the pillars of DEI falling away, people from diverse backgrounds and of diverse identities need to not only to do a great job, but to talk about it.
One of the interviewees for We Need New Leaders, who was the southern African MD of a global company at the time described this as ‘not dimming your lights.’ She talked about how a leader she’d had at a previous job encouraged her to speak up:
‘…he came to me one time and he said, ‘You’re quiet.’ And I said, yes, there was no reason for me to say anything in that meeting, because I think the context was covered. And he says that ‘the problem is you’re not visible. People don’t see you. You’ve got to talk, even if you’re repeating what someone else said.’’
Speaking more expertly and more authoritatively is only part of reputation building. There are three key parts to reputation every leader should know.
Narratives, behaviour, networks
In their book The Reputation Game, former FT journalist David Waller and Oxford University Centre for Reputation director Rupert Waller say that there are three parts to the reputation game: behaviours, networks and narratives. Behaviours send signals about who you are. Networks shape perceptions of who you are. How you use narratives influences how people see you.
Inherent in their story is the multi-aspect nature of reputation: you can control what you do, say and who are you associate with to influence your reputation, but you can’t manage how these land with other people.
One of the biggest reputation fails is when words (narratives) and actions (behaviours) don’t match. This breaks trust and often starts the unravelling of a reputation.
Lean on a partner
Leaders from diverse backgrounds might find they have an unexpected ally in the head of communications or chief communications officer (CCO). Most CCOs are looking for great spokespeople who are confident to speak with authority on their areas of expertise. They will help leaders find media opportunities or keynote stages to speak on.
Leaders can also look to the chief marketing officer (CMO). It’s in marketing’s interest that a number of senior leaders can author thought leadership, as well as the CEO. Marketing also tends to have more budget than communications and will be able to find and fund events for leaders to speak at.
Other possibilities for leaders include hiring an executive communicator into their own team to focus on building leadership presence and reputation or hiring a reputation coach. In the very best examples I’ve seen, where the relationship functions well and the communicator helps the leader build a great reputation, leaders ensure their communicator has an open-door policy. With the reputation flashpoints that social media can engender, a speedy response is often needed.
For communicators to understand leaders well, leaders need to understand themselves.
Knowing your unique identity
In our interview for We Need New Leaders, the CEO of a German advertising agency told me how both his personality and his identity as a gay man reflect in his leadership style. He said this is key to leadership:
‘I strongly believe that in leadership, if you don’t have a functioning system of your self-assessment and perception from the outside, then you cannot be a good leader. If you don’t know how people perceive you, you will not be able to be a meaningful leader.’
The southern African MD also talked about how bringing her uniqueness to the boardroom helped her effect change. Another leader in a software company described how her identity as a single mother influences how she leads and manages her teams.
Conclusion
Doing a great job and talking about it is the passport to a reputation that is portable to the next great leadership role. Leaders can lean on communications expertise to help them achieve this and build a reputation as an authority in their field of expertise that is unassailable.
Charlotte Otter
