The company you keep: is it hurting or helping your personal brand?

Remember that well-worn expression about being judged by the company you keep?

Mike Myatt, “chief strategy officer” with N2growth, says that executives need to be cautious about the company they keep lest their personal brands, i.e. their reputations, suffer.

The reality is that who you associate with on both a personal and professional basis matters…There is truth in the old axiom which states “perception is reality” and this is particularly accurate when the perception catches fire and becomes a widely held belief. The good news is that if you make sound choices in your personal and professional relationships you will benefit from doing so. On the other hand, should your choices place you in the company of those who are not respected and largely thought of in ill fashion by others, your personal brand will likely suffer as a result.

In a recent blog post, Myatt goes on to use the example of Barack Obama and the candidate’s long-time association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a minister who was videotaped giving anti-white sermons to his congregation.

There is no denying that Senator Obama’s personal brand has undergone tremendous scrutiny and has received a glut of negative attention as a result of this one single relationship.

Myatt argues that executives should choose their acquaintances based on shared values, rather than a short-term focus on social or business advantages.

Although it is hard to disagree with his premise, the reality is that it often takes time and personal experience with someone before their true value system emerges. Becoming too cautious can quickly limit an executive’s exposure to new ideas, cultures, and attitudes.

To read Myatt’s blog, click here.

Executive coach says meaningful work is part of emotional intelligence.

Citing an article in the The Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin, “How Business Schools Lost Their Way,” December, 2007, Executive Coach William R. Murray questions whether business schools are doing all they can to help graduates to not only have the requisite business skills, but a path on which they can reach their personal values.

HBS associate professor Rakesh Khurana has written a book that points out problems including, “…business schools on average are not providing some way for them (students) to link the values they have to the work they are going to be doing. And as a consequence, many students have adopted a view of the world in which they believe they cannot live their values through their work.”

Murray says that helping leaders find meaning in their work is a central part of his approach to executive coaching: 

I have for decades assisted leaders and professionals to find meaning in their work. In my approach, your first step in finding meaning is to look deeply inside yourself to gain clarity on what you really value. Then develop strategies to make your values more honored in your work. I assist clients to take these steps in my individual Executive Coaching and in some modules of my Group Executive Coaching described on the link Executive Coaching Services on the above navigation bar.

To read more and explore Murray’s Executive Coaching Program, click here.

Universities becoming more involved in coach training.

In a recent post on Coachblog.com, David P. Hale, noted the impressive increase in coach training programs being offered at some of our best colleges and universities: Harvard, Stanford, The Wharton Business School, Yale, and George Washington University.

Hale asks: Why Are Universities Getting on the Executive Coaching Bandwagon?

“The hallowed halls of higher education are looking to greatly legitimize executive coaching as a viable industry. In most cases, to reach the upper echelons of executive coaching with Fortune 500 corporations, coaches not only need experience, but also have the training and education to back it up,” answers Hale.

Does that mean non-university training is at risk. Not at all, says the author:

The corporate coaching program being planned by CoachVille, which should be first offered in fall 2008, will offer all of the above positive qualifications. The program will offer in-depth course offerings, plenty of practical exercises, university-level curriculum, and the possibility of becoming involved in cutting-edge corporate coaching specific research.

After evaluating many of the training and certification programs currently available, we believe a shake-up is coming in the world of coaching. With better training will come higher standards, better credentialing, and greater professionalism in the industry. Some organizations and coaches will fall by the wayside as a result. But, overall, it’s a positive trend for coaches, their clients, and the coaching industry.