Whether you are an entrepreneur or chief executive of a company, you are the top advocate of the company’s brand. There is a lot of hype necessary to run a successful brand. While it can be easy to buy into your own hype, do not let your ego get in the way of your business growth.
No doubt, you have done extraordinary things that have brought success to the company. Maybe you are the best at making your product in the industry, or you developed a process that has significantly improved your services. Maybe you have an incredible reputation in your community that has created word of mouth success. You are the star!
Sometimes your success came because you didn’t listen to others. You didn’t accept the criticism. You challenged what others thought couldn’t be done and did what you wanted to the tune of a very successful brand.
Congratulations!
While it is great if you have done things to set your brand apart from the competition and make it stand out, do not let arrogance and ego stand in the way of growth and future success.
Everything you do has potential risks. When the risk pays off, your business prospers. But mistakes can happen to anyone. Huge losses can result from a risk.
Company brands can be damaged by ego.
Some major mistakes can happen due to arrogance and ego, causing a nightmare for your brand. You want to be wary that your ego can damage your brand by causing you to ignore valid feedback, avoid blame, and increase conflict.
Let’s look at some of the ways to remove your ego from getting in the way of your brand’s success.
Delegate the technical work.
Entrepreneurs and executives want the best for their business. Often, part of the problem they have is that they see themselves as the one making their product or doing their service the best. No one else can do it better.
This might be true, and you do not want less than perfect. Yet perfect is not efficient. It is not realistic in long-term performance.
Mistakes can happen, and you need to let them happen while minimizing the risks. This requires that you let go of some control and delegate responsibilities. In doing so, you will have small risks due to learning curves, downtime to fix problems, and reputation management for handling customer complaints.
Yet there is far more to be gained by letting others do the technical jobs while you focus on leading and growing the business.
Be open to feedback.
Another problem with ego is an inability or unwillingness to listen to employee and customer criticism. You might think you are the best authority for your product and service, and you may very well be. No one else knows your products and services or understands your business like you do.
But sometimes, people who know their products and services very well get into the “we have always done it this way” mentality. They avoid change, especially when others suggest it. This can be very detrimental if you fail to change course when your ideas and brand strategy do not work.
Some employees and customers have good points and can help with your business even when they criticize your company brand. Don’t dismiss feedback when it is constructive. Feedback can be valuable.
This can even happen with mentors who are there to give you advice. It is important to listen and be open to their input.
Remember, the buck stops with you.
When your leaders and employees do not feel like you listen to them, they stop keeping you informed. They might shield you from unpleasant facts in fear that you might blame them. Even when your customers are at fault, they do not want to deal with blame when something is wrong.
Great brand performance is essential for growth and success, but pointing fingers when your brand is not performing well does not bring solutions. Instead, it can demotivate and confuse your employees, customers, and others.
Everyone expects the company to take ownership and to be authentic in finding solutions when there are problems.
Recognize that less than stellar results might be from your own mistakes in brand strategy, so take ownership. Use less than average results as a chance to clarify your brand strategy, learn from mistakes, and improve brand performance.
Do not miss the issues of conflict.
You do not want to be so focused on comparing yourself to the competition or pointing the blame that you fail to see real issues within your own brand. Not only do people get tired of constantly hearing you compare yourself to the competition, but they might feel you are not addressing their own needs if you are so overly focused. They might stop supporting your brand.
In many cases, a complaint about or other conflict with your product or service can provide an opportunity for improvement. If you are so focused on comparisons and blame, the real problem could be your ego preventing you from addressing conflicts directly.
It is essential that you adapt to shifting market trends and look for opportunities for improvement and growth.
Ego is just one of the threats that can derail your brand strategy. Conducting a SWOT analysis of your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, is one way to be more aware and avoid the different pitfalls that can get in the way of developing a strong brand. Contact our Chief Visionary, Natasha Davis, to perform a SWOT analysis and learn about other ways to strengthen your company brand.
