Leadership is fundamentally about serving others, fostering trust and loyalty through a commitment to the greater good. I think the true essence of leadership lies in service, self-discovery, and self-esteem. And in my experience I have found that effective leaders begin with a deep understanding of themselves, recognising their strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. Healthy self-esteem also plays a vital role, bolstering a leader's confidence and ability to inspire and motivate others. Therefore, understanding oneself by mastering one's own thoughts and actions is essential and ultimately leads to an effective and influential leadership style which benefits both executives and organisations.
The key concepts of trust
Building trust is essential for any brand's success, customers need to have confidence in the brand's products, services, and overall reputation. Trust takes time to establish and is often built through consistent, positive interactions and experiences with the brand. I think to build long-term trust, brands will need to shift their perspective and approach. For example, this could involve moving away from short-term, profit-driven strategies and instead focusing on strategies that prioritise customer satisfaction and loyalty. As authenticity is crucial in today's marketplace and consumers are more inclined to support brands that are genuine and transparent in their actions and messaging. Brands that try to be something they are not or engage in deceptive practices are likely to face backlash from customers.
““Introducing a small character flaw makes you more likable, because people can’t relate to you when you’re just all shiny and perfect.””
Do you know your customers?
The customer experience, both physical and digital, begins the moment someone is exposed to your brand and can extend through their entire lifetime depending on the memories you have created from their experience – both as an employee and customer. Satisfying and exceeding both the functional and emotional needs, values and aspirations of your customers and employees cultivates brand love, advocacy and loyalty. Brands must know their customers better than the customers know themselves.
I think success will no longer defined by giving customers what they want, when they want it. Instead, brands must anticipate what customers need before they need it, and offer it at the best price and deliver it quickly. The new success criteria will be measured by how well retailers can personalise, customise, digitalise and socialise. As consumers, we should support the brands that are not just talking about the important humanitarian issues of our day, but are also contributing to bettering the lives of those affected.
Do you actually stand for something?
I think that all organisations today should have a manifesto which contains a manual for how they connect to their customers in a deep and meaningful way. Not just how to sell their customers more “stuff”. What I have found is that the successful organisations are those who are connecting their customers to each other, for example, Apple and Microsoft. Both Apple and Microsoft have proved beyond reasonable doubt that you can make money from this if you are enriching your customers lives and connecting them to each other.
If you are going to build a tribe then you have to ask yourselves whether to make it easy to join, trivial or exclusive. It’s really not a hard decision, the most important factor is the tribe should not be trivial as nobody wants to join a tribe that is average. People will only join tribes that they identify with and/ or believe in. Building a tribe means creating a following of people respect you, believe in you, support you, know what you are talking about and want you to succeed. Historically, there were only 3 tribes: work, community and the church.
When we join a tribe we are making a statement about ourselves. Are you interested in knowing how to inspire loyalty and a feeling of belonging? Please send me an e-mail when you ready to build or grow your tribe.