By Steven L. Katz
It has been a long winter for the CEO community, cloudy with a chance of jail terms on its best days. Now spring has sprung and, instead of CEOs seeing the usual early June
crop of invites to speak at graduation ceremonies, the pickings are, indeed. slim. You know that the image problem of CEOs and other leaders has become serious when their status
as role models is in question.
The truth is that, as a public-relations expert, you have a job to do and, frankly, so do the CEOs. Lions of industry need to roar like lions, and you need to help them do
it. Their credibility as leaders and top executives must be established across internal and external realms. Without it, they will not be taken seriously when they need to. It's
one thing for real lions to bluff and bluster or even to sit at the top of the food chain to divide the world into prey, the enemy or something to be ignored.
It is not simply an image problem at stake; it's an identity problem. Lions of industry navigate by their own instincts, an internal set of senses that includes Dominance,
Territory, Social Standing and Survival - and that's the identity PR experts and advisors must make sure is not only intact, but roaring. You must demonstrate that they
dominate or reign over something; that they map the territory that is theirs to preserve, protect or conquer; and that they establish their social standing, rank and credibility
among the other lions of industry.
So before you enter the arena of the lions of industry you work with, pin this list to your door. Better yet, pin it to your chest. Senior PR managers and advisors need
to:
- Focus on the CEO's identity and not just on image.
- Work to define and strengthen their dominance, territory, standing and survival in the eyes of others.
- Demonstrate a deep understanding and fluency of the business or enterprise as a whole.
- Team with other executives who can be a sounding board and advocacy group.
- Establish effective business relationships, not friendships, with the people you work for.
- Deliver bad news when people need to hear it and even if they don't want to hear it.
- When the CEO thinks that you have hurt him or her, sit down and have an honest exchange.
Contact: Steven L. Katz is an executive-and-management advisor and the author of "Lion Taming: Working Successfully with Leaders, Bosses and Other Tough Customers."
He can be contacted at 301.704.8259; [email protected].