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Why Your Personal Leadership Brand Matters And How To Improve It

Founder and CEO of 212° Brand Lab : building memorable brands, profitable businesses and thriving communities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a litmus test for leadership across the world. In my opinion, the past year has clearly proven that strong and compassionate leadership is now the need of the hour. Be it in business, politics, academia or philanthropy, exceptional leaders are now rising to the fore to steer their people through uncertainty. What is the hallmark of these resilient leaders? Let’s find out.

As the founder of a business that specializes in branding, I was recently working closely with two business leaders. Both are dynamic and successful leaders, yet each one has faced immense challenges during the pandemic. Their teams were collapsing, key employees were facing burnout, customers were reneging on commitments. What was happening? They were focusing excessively on driving results and not thinking enough about their personal leadership brands.

In sharp contrast, many of us have also witnessed business leaders deftly leading their organizations through the pandemic by pivoting to remote work, providing technological support, opening up new workstreams and building a "care culture." In a global crisis, I think what matters most is empathetic leadership. 

Stop to think: Is your leadership brand exuding compassion? What is your personal leadership brand? And why does it matter? 

Norm Smallwood wrote, (registration required) "A leadership brand conveys your identity and distinctiveness as a leader. It communicates the value you offer." A strong leadership brand can grow existing businesses, position you as a thought leader, build a following, foster powerful connections and positively impact the employer brand. All of these are vital ingredients for leadership success, more so in current times.

As a leader, you owe it to your teams, businesses, investors, customers and yourself, to invest in building your leadership brand. Whether you are an established or an aspiring leader, it is never too early — or too late — to work on your self brand.

Developing your leadership brand requires an investment of time and effort and the commitment to consistently take action. It is a tight-rope walk between empathy and control. It requires a firm resolve to be known for your mission, values and purpose, and an action plan to translate your vision into reality — a reality that reflects on your reputation and your credibility.

How do you start?

Mindset

This is always the starting point of any journey toward significance. Realize that it is not always about you. It is mostly about the relationships that you build, the connections you nurture and the conversations that you initiate. Turn the spotlight away from you and toward those you serve. That’s when you can start creating magic as a leader. 

The pillars on which your brand rests are the 3 Es of leadership branding: expression, emotional intelligence and executive presence

Expression

Identify your values, vision, purpose and goals and package them into an authentic expression — so that your signature style and voice are unique, yet consistent. Craft your key messages and define your target audience. Who are you communicating with? Then, select your communication tools. How will you best reach your audience? Create open and predictable channels of ideas, dialogue and feedback from your teams.

Emotional Intelligence

A Bain & Company survey of 2,000 employees found that the ability to be mindfully present (called centeredness) was seen as the most important trait among 33 leadership traits. Mindfulness can enhance emotional intelligence at the workplace, encourage creativity and innovation and reduce impulsive reactions. Empathy and compassion are necessary for nurturing teams and enhancing productivity in my experience. Empathy is a key component of emotional intelligence, which in turn can build trust and rapport. An empathetic leader puts the "why" before the "what."

The first step to building emotional intelligence is self-awareness. Understanding the range and the root causes of your emotions and how to use them correctly can help you to effectively identify who you are and how you interact with others. Ask these questions:

• Is there a zone where I am overinvested or underinvested?

• Are there emotions I experience in excess?

• Are there any I want to experience more often?

Having identified the above, it is equally important to know how to manage your emotions. Consider practicing mindfulness and the principle of 45-5 (take five-minute breaks after every 45 minutes at your desk). I also recommend tech-free walks, which allow you to focus on yourself and your emotions.

Executive Presence

A mindful and focused leader exudes leadership presence. Mindfulness can open the door to emotional connection with oneself and others. An important characteristic of executive presence is to remain focused and present. The equation is simple: Focus on mindful communication to build your executive presence and leadership skills. A leader with the gravitas to lead with decisiveness and the compassion to serve with sincerity, is what the world needs now.

When you develop powerful gravitas, you automatically strengthen your leadership personal brand, i.e., the way others perceive, think and feel about you as a leader. When presence is not an innate quality, you can build it through training. What are some gravitas builders?

• Practice pausing and recentering so you can be poised and deliberate.

• Become a master communicator. Build your skills at speaking confidently with positive body language, eye contact, good posture and active listening. Analyze how you show up. Connect with authenticity and competence.

• Practice to be consistent. Leaders who seem to effortlessly demonstrate presence are paradoxically the ones who have invested in rehearsals, practice sessions and feedback to get their leadership brand strategy perfect.

Leadership is going through a change in narrative during the pandemic and more often involves encouraging bonding with team members around the nucleus of purpose, values and authentically shared personal experiences of loss, vulnerability, grit and resilience.

In the current situation of a global crisis, are the people you lead turning to you as their navigator in turbulent waters? Your communication, actions and decisions will determine whether your leadership brand is merely a footprint in the sand or if it's helping you build a lasting legacy.


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