Why Do Only 38% Trust CEOs and What Can Be Done?

If you are a CEO, you don’t need me to tell you that you’ve got a tough, lonely job. You’re under relentless pressure to deliver results and keep that large group of key stakeholders satisfied.

Like all CEOs, you seek to accomplish great things at the company you lead. You work hard to see your company prosper under your leadership. And to see your team achieve extraordinary results and hear great feedback from your customers, board, investors and team members. You tirelessly toil to build a more valuable enterprise. It’s on your shoulders to create a climate of innovation and entrepreneurship and a positive working climate so results can be achieved today and sustained for the longer term.

Yet there’s a huge problem that’s a cloud over your head. Most people don’t trust CEOs. The recently-released 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer shared that only 38% of respondents trust information about the company that comes from the CEO; that’s down 50% from last year. And even if you believe your people trust you, there’s another problem that many CEOs tell us the experience.

We continually hear of CEOs not making the progress they’d like, obtaining the desired results they work so hard for. And, if we’re honest, many are not getting the juice, the feeling of being in flow and experiencing the level of passion about their work they’d like. So if any of this resonates, what might you consider doing differently?

How about discovering and defining your authentic, unique, CEO Brand? You know how important a great brand is for your company and its products and services. Did you know that your personal brand as a CEO is equally as important? And you do indeed have a brand. Your unique CEO brand is your most important professional asset. As you well know, in business if you aren’t winning, you’re losing. It’s the same with your personal CEO brand. If it isn’t increasing in value, it’s decreasing.

CEO branding is not just for the celebrity CEOs like Donald Trump or Richard Branson – it’s for all of us. It’s about operating in a way that allows you to achieve the results you must, while ensuring your stakeholders have the desired emotional experiences when they interact with you. In a way that is authentic for you, feels right on you and gives you juice. Think it’s impossible? It’s not. There are seven steps for defining a great CEO brand. These are the steps for executive brand building I share in the course I created and instruct at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management for visiting executives. I also use these seven steps and as I work with CEOs individually in discovering and defining their unique CEO brands.

So whether you are CEO of an early stage company or a Fortune 15 powerhouse, whether you’re new in your role or have been in your job for a while, you need a strong CEO brand. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your CEO brand today? What would be the value to you, your company and stakeholders if your brand was a 9 or 10? Are you ready to discover and define that unique, distinctive CEO brand?