Why Your Leadership Brand Matters and How to Develop One
When you think of branding, you might think of marketing strategies used at big companies like Disney, Apple, or Zappos.com. but we all have a brand, whether we realize it or not.
Your personal brand is the outward representation of who you are to the world. It encompasses how others perceive you, reflecting your reputation, strengths, values, behaviors, and habits.
Your leadership brand defines your identity and uniqueness as a leader. It can also be described as your leadership presence - how your employees or team perceive you, your approach to leadership, and the value you bring as a leader.
Many professionals and leaders are unaware of their leadership brand or have not intentionally developed it.
Your leadership brand is crucial, serving as the foundation for many workplace decisions.
When your manager and other leaders are making decisions about promotions or other factors, your leadership brand is impacting these decisions, whether you realize it or not.
Your personal strengths, talents, and behaviors define the value you offer to those you serve. Understanding and leveraging these strengths and your personality are crucial to ensuring that your leadership brand is effective in achieving your professional goals.
When thinking about your leadership brand, there are two considerations:
- How you are seen by others internally in your organization: your manager, peers, direct reports, board of directors, and others.
- How you are seen by others outside of your organization: on social media and in person at industry meetings, networking events, and conferences.
Perceptions may not always align with reality, yet they shape how others see us through their own lenses. These perceptions constitute reality for the observer, and often, there's a disconnect between how we aspire to be seen and how others perceive us. The gap underscores the importance of deliberate leadership brand development.
How do you know what your leadership brand is?
Before you determine what you want to be known for and how you want to be seen, it’s important to determine how others view you now.
Once you become aware of your current leadership brand, you can shift your behaviors or actions to consciously design the leadership brand you envision.
There are many ways to gain feedback on your performance and how others perceive you currently.
First, ask yourself, how do others view me?
How do you show up at work? Passive, disengaged, mediocre, overwhelmed, OR engaged, passionate, supportive, positive, and professional? Are you spending time at the coffee station complaining? Or are you seen as a supportive and positive influence?
Are you late to meetings, and unprepared? Do you miss deadlines? Can you handle issues yourself, or do you upward delegate to your manager? Do you deliberately coach and develop your employees?
How do you show up outside of work? Are you approachable and friendly at outside events? Do you keep to yourself, or use networking to your advantage? How do you show up on social media? Does your picture reflect who you want to portray? Are your posts negative or positive?
How do you show up at industry events? Passive, unprofessional, insecure, uninterested, OR professional, positive, approachable, and confident?
Be mindful of the impressions you're creating. Others are constantly perceiving and forming opinions based on their interactions with you.
Second, in addition to self-reflection, you can also employ feedback tools like:
- Taking assessments such as:
- 360-degree assessment
- StrengthsFinder
- Myers Briggs Type Indicator
- DiSC Personality Assessment
- Asking your manager for feedback (learn how to do this more effectively here: How to Ask Your Manager for Feedback)
- Asking colleagues for feedback
- Conducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis
- Using a program like Survey Monkey to survey colleagues about your strengths and development opportunities
Understanding the current perception is key to intentionally crafting your leadership brand.
Consider how you wish to be perceived both within and outside your organization. Then, make deliberate choices to embody and communicate your unique leadership brand.
Crafting your leadership brand isn't about pretending to be someone you're not; it's about embracing your authentic self and shaping how you're perceived by others.
Every interaction presents an opportunity - for leaving a positive impression, advancing in your career, forging connections with potential mentors or employers, or attracting new prospects. Approach each interaction with intentionality, and you'll gradually narrow the gap between others' perceptions and your genuine leadership brand.
Be mindful of your perception both within and outside your organization, as it's essential to manage and safeguard your brand.
Building your leadership brand may take years, but it can be damaged in a short time.
Here are some questions to guide you to intentionally shape your leadership brand:
- What leadership qualities do I want to be recognized for?
- How do others currently perceive me as a leader?
- What is the gap between these perceptions and what I want to be known for as a leader?
- Which behaviors can I adjust?
- What steps can I take within the next week to align my actions with my desired brand?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments:
What is one aspect of your leadership brand you want to leverage?
Are there any actions you can take to positively impact your brand?
Great article.....And happy belated birthday! Welcome to my world, young lady!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!