Cult leadership

With the late Steve Jobs being so synonymous with the Apple brand, consumers around the world will need reassurance that the brand will still deliver after his recent demise. For the first time, newly-appointed Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at a product launch event – the launch of iPhone 4S. As with all of Apple’s new products, the debut of any iPhone-related software or product is highly anticipated by consumers, tech reviewers and analysts alike. However, as Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn writes in last month’s Washington Post Leadership Roundtable, the bigger question is this: with Jobs gone, can Tim Cook carry the legacy?

Jobs’ legacy is undeniable. “He gave us gadgets we use every day – the Mac computer, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad – and forever changed the way we connect,” says Koehn, whose research focuses on how leaders, past and present, craft lives of purpose, worth and impact. While Jobs’ loss is tragic, she reminds us that this isn’t the first time such an iconic leader has been replaced.

“Take Thomas J. Watson, Sr., at IBM. By the time his son, Thomas J. Watson, Jr., took over in the 1950s, many of his father’s contributions had been baked into the company culture,” says Koehn. “Not only did this keep the organisation from faltering during transition, it enabled the son to focus on the next stage of important changes as its market and customers evolved.”

McDonald’s is no different. Ray Kroc, who did more to create the fast-food company than anyone else, built a team from inside the company that could carry his leadership torch after he was no longer as active in the business.

Leadership brand

“Even the greatest leaders come and go,” says Dave Ulrich, professor with the Ross School of Business, and a partner with The RBL Group. “Great leadership, by contrast, endures over time and builds confidence among customers and investors – and employees.”

A leadership brand represents how leaders inside reflect customer expectations outside and is not tied to any one leader, says Ulrich. It is embedded throughout the organisation, and its ultimate test of success occurs only after the leader who framed it departs.

“Organisations with an effective leadership brand have leaders throughout the organisation that be, know, and do the leadership identity,” says Ulrich. “Leaders at any level who do not reflect the firm’s leadership brand dilute or pollute whole segments of the organisation, and they must be identified and upgraded or removed.”

Joydeep Bose, president & global head, Human Resources, Olam International, agrees. “Whilst charismatic leadership can be a quick way to strengthen an organisation’s brand image, it may not be a sustainable way of doing so. With a change in leadership often the organisation’s image also gets affected.”

Developing iconic leaders

Bose believes that the sustainability of a brand in the absence of a larger-than-life CEO is a key issue. “A CEO is a very visible representation of an organisation,” he says. “A strong lever of internal and external communication is the CEO and the leadership team.”

Sunny Verghese, group managing director and CEO, Olam International, and his leadership team have been strong and visible communicators, effectively communicating the organisation’s message to its various stakeholders.

“He is obviously a very good role model for the rest of his team in his ability to communicate messages compellingly to the external world,” says Bose. This communication is coherent with the strengths of the organisation, which appeal to the expectations of the potential talent pool.

“Only in such circumstances will the organisation be able to create a strong brand pull in the talent market,” says Bose.

However, a CEO’s strong communication style alone may not be enough to create a strong brand for talent. Ultimately, HR professionals who can help architect a leadership brand will add enormous value to their organisation, says Ulrich.