Build Leadership into Your Brand

 Build Leadership into Your Brand

Lodged within your broader image is your brand as a leader. Your reputation as a potential leader may take years to fully develop, but it begins long before you manage a team or have a lofty title. Even when you’re just starting out, your leadership reputation influences how much people trust you and whether they want to work with you. How to make leadership part of your brand

How people regard your potential to lead is a significant part of what makes you distinctive. Your particular aura as a leader may have a huge impact on the kinds of opportunities that come your way. This four-part exercise can help you define and project a leadership brand that will serve you well:

How to make leadership part of your brand:

Create your vision of leadership-  A simple way to create your

the vision of the leader you will become is to compile a list of personal qualities that you want to develop, and that you want others

to see in you. Begin your vision by coming up with the names

of leaders whom you admire; they could be teachers, bosses, or

historic figures. When you’ve named three to five leaders, start

your target list of personal qualities by asking yourself:

◆◆ What characteristics set these people apart?

◆◆ Which of these characteristics do I want people to use

when they describe me?

◆◆ Which of these qualities sounds most like me when I’m at

my best?

Expand your vision list- Review the following words and

phrases that many people have used to describe effective leaders,

and add to your own list any qualities that strike you as

important:

◆◆ Always growing. The best leaders are constantly learning

something new. It doesn’t have to be job-related. Your

development as a leader is tied to your development as a

person, and the growth areas you pursue in your free time

can impact the way you show up on the job.

◆◆ Self-aware and good at building relationships. Research

by leadership expert, Daniel Goleman suggests that strong

leaders are distinguished from the mediocre ones by their

level of “emotional intelligence.” And that means you have self-awareness, like noticing when you’re too angry or
distracted to handle a delicate matter. In his book Social
Intelligence, Goleman says “we are wired to connect” with
one another and by becoming more self-aware we get better
at managing our interactions with others.
◆◆ Positive. A leader’s attitude has an enormous impact on the
team and most people are more productive when they are
around positive people.
◆◆ Engaged. To lead we must be actually focused on the
people and activities around us. Other people can sense
whether we tend to stay present in the moment, which can
influence whether they see us as genuine and charismatic
leaders.
◆◆ Service-oriented. Leadership may begin with the feeling
that you want to help others, perhaps by delivering what
they need or helping them to succeed. The concept of “servant
leadership” emphasizes attributes like kindness, trust,
empathy, and the ethical use of power.
◆◆ Well organized. Good intentions aren’t enough to deliver
results. To achieve their goals, effective leaders develop
work habits and systems associated with productivity.
◆◆ Collaborative. There’s a big demand for people who can
work well with others to achieve shared goals. One reason
for this is that innovation is so often the outgrowth of a
a collaboration involving people with different views and
skill sets.
◆◆ Energetic. To be at their best, leaders must manage not
just their time but also their energy. This includes physical
energy, which is linked to exercise, nutrition, and stress
management.
distracted to handle a delicate matter. In his book Social
Intelligence, Goleman says “we are wired to connect” with
one another and by becoming more self-aware we get better
at managing our interactions with others.
◆◆ Positive. A leader’s attitude has an enormous impact on the
team and most people are more productive when they are
around positive people.
◆◆ Engaged. To lead we must be actually focused on the
people and activities around us. Other people can sense
whether we tend to stay present in the moment, which can
influence whether they see us as genuine and charismatic
leaders.
◆◆ Service-oriented. Leadership may begin with the feeling
that you want to help others, perhaps by delivering what
they need or helping them to succeed. The concept of “servant
leadership” emphasizes attributes like kindness, trust,
empathy, and the ethical use of power.
◆◆ Well organized. Good intentions aren’t enough to deliver
results. To achieve their goals, effective leaders develop
work habits and systems associated with productivity.
◆◆ Collaborative. There’s a big demand for people who can
work well with others to achieve shared goals. One reason
for this is that innovation is so often the outgrowth of a
a collaboration involving people with different views and
skill sets.
◆◆ Energetic. To be at their best, leaders must manage not
just their time but also their energy. This includes physical
energy, which is linked to exercise, nutrition, and stress
management.

Study your vision list-  Now that you have a list of the leadership

qualities you intend to develop, post it in a conspicuous place and

look at it frequently, including each morning. Because we tend

to remember pictures more easily than words, some people like

to create an icon to represent the characteristics they’re working

on. Bill*, a client, came up with five attributes to define his style of leadership. For each one he created a symbol—a simple

picture.

Act this way-  A key to projecting your brand is identifying the

attitudes and behaviours that will earn the reputation you want.

Once your vision list is complete, a quick look will remind you of

how to act. You might also consider a methodical way to practice

the qualities on the list, one by one. If you’re working on several

characteristics, you might try a flavour-of-the-month approach.

Let’s say you want colleagues to see you as reliable, creative, and

positive. Go to your calendar and, for each of the next three

months, choose one attribute to be your theme for the month.

Now here is the most important part: If “be reliable” is your target

for May, commit to a specific type of behaviour to bolster your

reputation for reliability. For example, you might plan to arrive

right on time for every May meeting.

Your brand sets you apart from the competition. And your brand as a leader

reflects and influences the way other people encounter your deepest values.