Introduction
Leadership is the socially influencing effect that one person has in the form of aid and support on others with the aim of achieving a common goal. Kouzes and Posner (2007) say that leadership is all about creating a path for people to put in their ideas for the success of any company. There have many problems in different companies and organization, but one thing is always similar: the problem of leadership.
There are several ways to solve the leadership related problem in different companies. However, for any leader to be successful in his work, he must have a personality that will command respect from the people he is leading. This is the solution brought by William Arruda (Arruda and Kristen, 2007), the theory of “Personal branding” which many people say that it is not just a leadership strategy but a “Way of life” (Hoyle & John ,1995, pg 123).
Role played by the leader
The leader plays a personal role that blends motivation, strategy and management skills to make sure the focus of the people he is coaching is aligned with energy and personal drive. I believe the leader the case focuses on is Arruda as he tries to coach people to brand their personality. He shows power as his personality dominates by making them understand that if they don’t take the personal responsibility of developing their personal brands that will ensure that they show up in Google, then their existence will not be known. He plays the role of a teacher who shows direction and teaches his students what they are supposed to do to ensure success in their own leadership roles. Finally, he plays the role of coming up with the idea of personal branding, pushes it forward, takes the responsibility to coach others and unlocks the hidden power of personal branding in people that changes companies inside out for the better.
The Impact of the different stakeholders on the situation
There are different holders in this situation, and they include company leaders like managers, executives, TV show presenters, corporate clients and individuals. All these are taught by Arruda that what makes them unique makes them successful (Dubrin & Andrew, 2009, p 94). The different stakeholders have different effects on the situation at hand because they help prove that the theory of “Personal Branding” works for everybody. Be it an individual who wants to feel successful like Jane, be it in companies that want their employees to brand themselves for better results or business executives and leaders who want to be effective leaders in taking their organizations to the next level ((Dubrin & Andrew, 2009). Examples of companies that have been assisted by Arruda developing a brand for them are Microsoft, IBM, British Telecom and Stanwood Hotels among others (Arruda and Kristen, 2007).
The role of communication in the success of the organization
Communication is very important for the success of any organization. Just the way Jane realized the role played by communication in the organization. She decided to host all the women executives in the company to lunch and I believe they talked a lot. A lot of communication barriers were brought down and they communicated freely thereafter. Communication is very important in the organization since it increases the motivation of the employees as they know that the manager or the owner can talk to them face to face. They feel a sense of belonging, and so it is easy to communicate to them the vision, goals and the objectives of the organization. As such, it is important to communicate orally either face-to-face or through telephones. That is why Jane is against having a personal website because it puts one away from the people he or she is leading. However, it is very important if one has to appear in Google as a proof for existence.
The Current Leader of the organization
William Arruda is the founder of Reach Communication Consulting in New York and he is still the leader of the organization. He has however engaged another person called Nancy, who has experience in branding and marketing of over 15years. She has brought her international and customer oriented brand of leadership to Reach. Together they have founded and are running the Career coach institute.
The outcome of Personal Branding as discussed in the case
The issue of Personal Branding has enabled Arruda to brand his organization, the Reach Communication Consulting in New York and this has enabled him to get more business opportunities. The company now has a reputation concerning the services they offer at Reach. They get offers from individuals and companies to help set up and nurture their brands. They now build comprehensive programs for companies that ensure that the company is branded and the brand acts as an ambassador for the company. They even have workshops on how human branding can be applied to employees to ensure the success of the organization. This has helped many individuals, company leaders and organizations to successfully realize what makes them unique and use it to drive their success. This is clearly shown in the case studied.
The implications for the future of the company
With a leader like Arruda and the fact that the organization has branded itself, Reach is said to go far in the future. Many people and organizations are realizing the importance of communication and personal branding, a gospel Reach and its employees continue to reach across the globe. They will run to Reach to solve their personal and leadership problems making Reach a great Brand for the future.
How I would have addressed the Situation
The way Arruda handles the situation in different scenarios is obviously very unique. I did not know anything to do with personal branding until I read the case under question. However, leaders should have different ways to address situations because of course Personal branding doesn’t work for everybody. I would have used other tools like dialogue, team building and others to address the situation.
The aspects of Charisma in which William Arruda is providing coaching and training
The Likability aspect of charisma is the field in which Arruda is providing coaching and training in. This aspect of charisma is the extent to which the presenter is admired by the audience. In Case of a company, it refers to the extent to which the customers, partners or investors like the product or the service of the company when they see it or hear of it (Smith, 2004). Therefore, Arruda coaches people and companies to brand their personality and products to ensure that the people they are trying to communicate to like them and will not associate it with any other thing or person.
Arruda’s professional qualifications
Arruda has 20 years cooperate branding experience which he achieved when working for IBM, KPMJ and Lotus. He has a passion for human potential and enthusiastic pursuit for innovation and invention that has given him the name “personal branding guru”. He is a pioneering branding strategist, author, speaker and entrepreneur who also needed the branding to ensure that he is successful. This success coupled with the success of branding his corporate clients like IBM, Microsoft, Adobe, Warner Bros, British telecom and Starwood Hotels proves his ability to coach and train people in this field (Arruda and Kristen, 2007).
My reaction to “If you don’t show up on Google, you don’t exist”
I have a positive reaction to this statement by Arruda at the Career Coaching Institute after understanding the concept of personal branding. It simply means if someone looks your name up in the Google world search engine and no results come up, then you are not branded. It is a challenge for everyone to have a personal brand that can be recognized by everybody looking him or her up.
Would I invest in Career coach Institute?
Yes, I would. This is because I have learnt that personal branding has its benefits and will determine how people, friends, potential employees or strangers view me. The development of a unique personal brand will put me ahead of any competitor on the way and will definitely determine my success. If investing in a career coach will grant me this brand, then I will.
If I were a car
Finally, if I were a car, at this moment that I don’t have a personal brand, then I would be a Peugeot 504.
References
Arruda, W. and Kirsten, D. (2007). Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand; John Wiley and Sons, ISBN0470128186.
Dubrin and Andrew, J. (2009) Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills, 6th edition, Cengage Learning, 519 pages.
Hoyle and John R. (1995). Leadership and Futuring: Making Visions Happen. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
Kouzes, J., and Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. CA: Jossey Bass.
Smith, R.D. (2004). Strategic planning for public relations, 2nd Edition, London; Routledge, ISBN0805852395, 382 pages.