Connected Leadership | Brunswick Group

Connected Leadership

In 2019 Brunswick published the connected leadership index, which was built on more than 100,000 data points and documented the digital profiles of 790 CEOs in the S&P 500 and FTSE 350.

Brunswick also ranked the top 100 connected leaders, based on factors that comprise CEO digital presence—like how frequently they post across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other widely used digital platforms. That research was supplemented by a survey of employees and readers of financial publications in the US and UK—a group emblematic of the external stakeholders business leaders want to reach. The survey sought to gauge their expectations for CEOs on social media. View the complete report at www.brunswickgroup.com/perspectives/connected-leadership/.

Key Findings

CEOs are expected to focus on financial and strategic issues, but also to communicate directly with the public and investors as the public face of the company. However, less than half (48 percent) of S&P 500 and FTSE 350 CEOs boasted a presence on social media.

• By a more than 2-to-1 ratio, employees would prefer to work for a CEO who uses digital and social media. Direct and transparent leadership ranks second among retention factors, behind pay and benefits.

• A majority of employees believe leadership on social media from CEOs has a positive impact on a company’s reputation.

What Top Connected Leaders Do Right

USE VISUALS Among the Top 50 Connected Leaders, 59 percent used video and 98 percent used photos in their posts in the last year.

BE YOURSELF Leaders who are connected and respected share another characteristic: They’re themselves. Authenticity is a key factor in meaningful digital communications.

COMMIT TO CONSISTENCY The Top 50 Connected Leaders post more frequently than other active CEOs. Connected Leaders post twice as much content as their peers.

Portraits: Roland Sarkany

The average Top 50 Connected Leader posted twice as much video content as the average active CEO on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

View the complete report at www.brunswickgroup.com/perspectives/connected-leadership/.

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