Earlier this week I posted When Personal and Corporate Brands Collide, in which I outlined a case study of corporate egotism rearing its ugly head in the face of an employee’s personal brand and public recognition.
The “personal brand” phenomenon is quickly becoming problematic for c-suite executives, marketing, PR and human resource departments alike. Neither the business’ size nor its industry negates the influence of this force on the business’ overall branding efforts and potentially, their bottom line. Every business is (or will soon be) dealing with this issue and so the pertinent question really is: can a corporate brand coexists with a personal brand?
The real issue for business managers is that personal brands are not always calculated employee campaigns designed to elevate their public personas. We can’t simply weed out social influencers and social personalities because not all are seeking to increase their popularity at the expense of – or on the backs of – the corporate brand and payroll. Many are truly uncalculated or well-intentioned and frankly, benefit the employer.
Technically, a personal brand is instantly created whenever an employee sets up a public profile in any social network or begins blogging. It becomes a matter of degree.
An unlikely social media star is born
Many employees wade into the social stream solely for their personal entertainment or simply for curiosity’s sake while others choose to engage socially for their personal education and information. Some use social networking as means to keep in touch with friends and yet others do so to keep abreast of local and world news. The point is, not everyone begins a “social existence” under the guise of personal brand building. And in most cases these profiles were established or existed in some form before they joined their current employers. Along the way, for one reason or another, their engagement style, content or point of view strikes a chord with a large audience and they become “famous”.
The vast majority of employees have what I call low-impact personal brands, meaning they’re either not high-profile enough to interfere with their employer’s corporate branding efforts or there’s no discernible connection between the individual and their employer. It’s those in the minority, with high-profile personal brands that are a cause for corporate concern.
For the sake of argument, let’s agree that businesses should embrace these individuals and even encourage them to continue on their social popularity trajectory. Is this a sustainable business model for the enterprise? Some may argue that doing so retains top talent, builds employee loyalty and creates a ‘social business’ culture that increases efficiency and productivity across the board.
A case for killing the personal-brand within the organization
I’m not convinced one way or the other that corporations should embrace or encourage high-profile personal brands but for the purposes of this post, I’d like to put forth this argument. Consider:
1. Employees are not permanent
We no longer expect “lifer” employees who spend their working career climbing the ranks of one business as the Traditionalists and many Boomers cohorts did. Investing in the coordination and education required to keep these high-profile personal brands “on message” is simply not a sustainable model.
We no longer expect “lifer” employees who spend their working career climbing the ranks of one business as the Traditionalists and many Boomers cohorts did. Investing in the coordination and education required to keep these high-profile personal brands “on message” is simply not a sustainable model.
2. People are not predictable
We can’t control individuals the way we control our marketing and PR strategy and spin. Business already has to deal with the unpredictability of consumers’ reaction or response to social engagements that throwing in individuals personalities is simply too high a corporate risk.
We can’t control individuals the way we control our marketing and PR strategy and spin. Business already has to deal with the unpredictability of consumers’ reaction or response to social engagements that throwing in individuals personalities is simply too high a corporate risk.
3. People are selfish
While not necessarily a bad thing, people are selfish. We all want what’s best for ourselves and our families. We want to earn a good living and enjoy “the American Dream” of more, more and…oh yes, more. Accepting or encouraging high-profile personal brands within the ranks is simply advertising top talent to your competition.
While not necessarily a bad thing, people are selfish. We all want what’s best for ourselves and our families. We want to earn a good living and enjoy “the American Dream” of more, more and…oh yes, more. Accepting or encouraging high-profile personal brands within the ranks is simply advertising top talent to your competition.
4. Individual aspirations
Let’s face it, individual aspirations don’t align with corporate aspirations. Leadership strategists claim that successful business endeavor to align employee goals with that of the business but how often is this really achieved in the workplace? People have different pressures and realities than their corporate employers. Business doesn’t have the emotional baggage that weighs employees down so real alignment is just a myth that if perpetuated, only serves to distract the business from real progress.
Let’s face it, individual aspirations don’t align with corporate aspirations. Leadership strategists claim that successful business endeavor to align employee goals with that of the business but how often is this really achieved in the workplace? People have different pressures and realities than their corporate employers. Business doesn’t have the emotional baggage that weighs employees down so real alignment is just a myth that if perpetuated, only serves to distract the business from real progress.
5. Individuality is divisive
While every strong business requires leaders and followers, too many leaders in the kitchen spoil the proverbial broth. There’s no limit to the number of high-impact personal brands a business can adopt or have imposed on it and frankly, there’s no way to regulate it. Eventually, the individuality of the personas will divide and conquer the brand’s efforts and negatively sway forward momentum.
While every strong business requires leaders and followers, too many leaders in the kitchen spoil the proverbial broth. There’s no limit to the number of high-impact personal brands a business can adopt or have imposed on it and frankly, there’s no way to regulate it. Eventually, the individuality of the personas will divide and conquer the brand’s efforts and negatively sway forward momentum.
6. Cross-silo collaboration is a fairy-tale
If we’re to accept a value in retaining high-impact personal brands as employees, we must look past the how of managing them to who is managing them? Corporate-personal brand conflicts in the enterprise’s social streams necessitates greater collaboration and group decision making across multiple departments within the organization from the C-Suite to Marketing to Sales to PR to Human Resources, which we know is a near impossibility in larger corporations.
If we’re to accept a value in retaining high-impact personal brands as employees, we must look past the how of managing them to who is managing them? Corporate-personal brand conflicts in the enterprise’s social streams necessitates greater collaboration and group decision making across multiple departments within the organization from the C-Suite to Marketing to Sales to PR to Human Resources, which we know is a near impossibility in larger corporations.
Is the corporate risk of embracing high-impact personal brands simply too high? Is it even possible to sustain a corporate brand with multiple high-profile personal brands within the organization? What say you? Join the conversation below while I prepare an argument for acquiring and developing high-impact personal brands in my next post.
Related: Part 1 in this series: When Personal and Corporate Brands Collide
Sam Fiorella – Sensei
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
The #bizforum Twitter debate will challenge business leaders to argue the pros and cons of this very issue this Wed Jun 20th, 2012 between 8 and 9 PM Eastern. Join us by following #bizforum in your Twitter steam or by following www.tweetchat.com/room/bizforum.
