I heard a legend when I was young that I have never forgotten. During the reign of Alexander The Great, a young guard on night duty fell asleep on his watch. As was his habit, Alexander The Great was walking through his camp.

When he came upon the young man sleeping, he shouted at him to awake. The young man stood trembling.

“Do you know the penalty for sleeping on duty? I could have you executed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is your name?”

“Alexander, sir.”

Alexander The Great stared at him for some time. Then quietly asked, “What is your name?”

“Alexander.”

Alexander The Great pointed his finger at the young man and demanded, “Alexander! Change your conduct or change your name!”

Dear CEO, the other members of your C-Suite and executive team represent you. Not just your company. You.

To the world at large, your company is a brand. But to those who have dealings with your company, the focus of the reputation narrows. This whole enterprise is “on your watch.”

I have learned as a leader that I represent more than my own self, and that as a leader I am represented beyond myself. The first I can control; the second I must lead into.

I want to introduce you to three subtle ways that you are being misrepresented. I am not being grumpy. I’m being very real-world real.

Have you ever driven up to a dentist office and the exterior was shabby, the office administration negligent and the decor mismatched? I haven’t either. But if I did, I would turn around and find a different dentist. If a dentist can’t take care of his office, how can I trust him to take care of my teeth?

How people perceive you affects how they perceive your brand; and people perceive you through the people who represent you.

Watch Out For These Three Daily Misrepresentations

Your team’s behavior on video calls.

I am on Zoom daily with executives. I’m surprised at the lack of attention to fundamentals of a good call. Often, the sound is sketchy or the lighting is dark. I learned early to invest in the equipment I needed to turn my office into a studio. It’s not expensive, and it pays in perception.

In addition to technical issues, I’m even more surprised at the laxity of appearance. Again, trying not to be grumpy here, and I love my lazy-day clothes, but casual Friday has turned into “why bother?”

I have friends with whom I can be more relaxed dress wise. But I am getting on calls with executives where impression matters for both of us. Ultimately, impression becomes perception, and perception gets projected onto you and your brand.

One other subtle priority: I get “no-showed.” No explanation. No apology. How do I feel after I have made a decision to commit valuable time to one of your team, said no to a different use of that time, and then am disregarded? What would you do in that situation?

Believe me, I reach back out to them, and always in a professional demeanor. Still, I often hear nothing back. Is that you, CEO? Do you make a commitment and then blow it off? Do you disregard people? I know you don’t. CEOs know either to not make the commitment in the first place or to keep a relationship alive.

Your team’s email.

Email is a daily experience. We get them. We send them. Subject lines matter, and determine if I will open, ignore or procrastinate. The content matters: cordial greeting, succinct message, friendly close.

Perhaps texting has ruined our writing.

I have a friend who will text me “K” as in okay. I always wonder if the extra letter was a strain. Of course, I will text “Ok” and others must question if I couldn’t be bothered to add “ay”.

Too often, I receive emails with no greeting, a one line response (sometimes all lower case, which I guess is better than all upper case), and no closing. This does not represent you well.

Efficiency is not rude. Brevity isn’t without substance. Shortcuts don’t presume on another person’s understanding.

If your team is too busy to correspond in a professional style, then I am left to assume that they are either poor time managers or possess horrible social skills.

Again, that isn’t you. Why is it them?

Online media

The rise of corporate policies related to social media indicate that we have suffered a growing problem in a person’s ability to discriminate between private and public communication.

Let’s not address the obvious: distasteful images, inappropriate jokes, political garbage or negative memes.

Content is obviously concerning, but even more important is the nature of engagement itself, “how” what is said, not just what is said.

• Disagreements that become debate rather than discussion or question
• Failure to respond that looks like burning a bridge
• Counter-attacks to trolls (really, you took the bait)?
• Coarse language
• Terse replies

There is plenty more for the list. The point is: posting is engaging and engaging is representing.

Years ago, a sitcom named Coach aired. The storyline was about a college football coach, his staff and how they handled life. One episode centered on his assistant coach calling a bad play. In the post-game interview, the coach kept reminding the reporters that it was his assistant who made the call. One reporter kept responding with the line, “But you are the coach.”

You are the CEO. You can’t control every situation, and people will make bad calls. But: More good calls are made than not when everyone is on the same page.

The answer to your misrepresentation isn’t to add policy for every conceivable scenario. The answer is to sow your values consistently into your team: “This is how we are.”

Why? Because it is who you are. They work with you, yes, and at the same time, they represent you.

If not, something needs to change.