Modern Executive Visibility Means Moving From the Boardroom to the Lunch Table

Social media’s rise, combined with Millennials’ and Gen Z’s demands for transparency, has fundamentally changed what we expect from senior leaders.

Gone are the days when aspirational executives could excuse themselves from public view, appear for earnings calls, and retreat from prying eyes until the next quarter.

Today’s senior leaders are moving from the boardroom to the lunch table, and it can look and feel a little unexpected.

Sam Altman’s Master Class

After Sam Altman announced the launch of SearchGPT on Twitter, he was met with this question from a follower. And he answered it with curiosity and kindness. 

One could argue, “Executives don’t have time to be answering silly questions like this, all for the sake of building a relationship with a single follower,” but this thinking is exceptionally short-sighted. 

With 260,000+ views and nearly 400 responses, this simple exchange showcased how authentic leadership can turn a casual conversation into a moment of meaningful connection.

Building Equity at the Lunch Table

Altman’s experience illustrates a crucial point about modern leadership: Going from the boardroom to the lunch table builds the kind of personal brand equity that becomes invaluable to the executive and the company they represent. Remember, just last year Sam was fired from OpenAI, and the decision was met with a revolt from employees internally as well as intense criticism from journalists, other tech leaders, and consumers nationally. 

In times of company crisis, senior leaders can rely on the connections they’ve made and the trust they’ve built to navigate the storm with an “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt” mindset from stakeholders. This is something we don’t often know is there until we need it. 

The Science of Mere Exposure

There’s a science to explain why executive visibility campaigns work for building connection and trust, and it’s called mere exposure. 

In short, we develop preferences for the things we repeatedly see and experience. Alison Fragale boils it down to two words in her book Likable Badass: Fondness follows from frequency and familiarity. 

The more senior leaders (or anyone, or anything, really!) grab a seat at the lunch table to chat, the more fond we become of them – particularly when they are leading with transparency, authenticity, and knowledge.

Bringing it to Life

At its best, comprehensive executive visibility programs deliver what Spin Sucks calls “The Golden Ticket”: expertise (deep industry knowledge), experience (proven track record), authority (recognized leadership), and trust (authentic relationships) – or EEAT. From an executive’s personalized platform, they can leverage the benefits of mere exposure to carve a path of industry thought leadership, win the hearts and minds of key stakeholders, and pull up a casual seat at the lunch table.

Some examples of where to grab a seat at the lunch table and build that coveted reputation of EEAT include:

• Showing up consistently on social media
• Speaking at industry conferences
• Writing blogs
• Connecting through internal communications
• Participating in media interviews

Don’t Get Left Without a Seat

Modern C-level executives who want to EEAT are increasingly finding themselves searching for a seat at the lunch table. While the mahogany boardroom will always have its place, today’s most successful CEOs know that real influence happens when you’re willing to pull up a folding chair and join the conversation. The question is: where will you take your seat?