You have a reputation, whether you deliberately spend time crafting one or not. It is the total of your past experiences and interactions with others. For instance, based on your previous experiences with your team or company, you may have the reputation of a hard worker, a reliable team player, or a go-getter. However, while your reputation is about your past, your brand is about who you are now and who you want to be in the future. It is crafted in the present, aspirational (who am I now, who do I want to become, and how can I get there?), and it can enhance or impede your effectiveness in all aspects of your life. In short, your reputation is what you were to others in the past, while your brand is the promise you make to others in the present.
Your leadership brand is how your brand plays out in the social process of leadership. Think about it. Every day is a performance review, as those around you evaluate what you say, what you do, and what you deliver.
As a result, consciously and authentically shaping your leadership brand through your actions and intentions is extremely beneficial. It can help whether you aspire to a higher-level position or just want to be more effective in your current role.
An authentic brand that reflects your most deeply held values can create clarity for you and others about your approach to leadership and the anticipated value you bring to the job. It can influence the effectiveness of your working relationships and can help you become more respected and appreciated for your leadership contributions.
Many people, though, have never thought about their leadership brand. If this includes you, we hope this book inspires you to both pay attention to your current brand and to begin to proactively develop the leadership brand you aspire to.
A powerful leadership brand can enhance your ability to achieve your career goals and help you build and sustain partnerships that get things done. What’s more, your leadership brand can help you broaden and deepen your impact.
One example: Television host Oprah Winfrey has a strong leadership brand that reflects what she describes as her mission: “…to be a teacher…and to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”
Oprah Winfrey has used her fame to promote causes and issues she cares about most, exposing her millions of followers to spiritual leaders, authors, thinkers, and healers who challenge conventional wisdom. So powerful is her influence that it has been dubbed “The Oprah Effect”—reflecting her ability to persuade millions of viewers to buy the books and products she loves.
Though few of us can aspire to Winfrey’s fame, we all have our own personal leadership brands. In its optimal state, our brand reflects what matters to us most, the values we stand for, the offerings or promises we consistently deliver, and how we go about delivering them.
Our brand also differentiates us from other leaders based on our own unique value. People know what to expect from us versus others on the team, whether it’s organizing complex projects, mediating disagreements, providing subject-matter expertise, being resilient during times of upheaval, or making other contributions. We each bring unique talents to our work, and when people think about our brand, those talents should immediately come to mind.
Without a clear and well-communicated leadership brand, others may be unaware of your capabilities, your value, and the contributions you make. You may end up working in a vacuum, unseen and unheard by your boss, key stakeholders, and even your peers. Promotions and interesting assignments are likely to pass you by, and you could end up derailing your career.
The Link between Brand and the Social Aspects of Leadership
At its core, leadership is a social process that enables individuals to work together as a cohesive group to produce collective results. This process focuses on achieving shared direction, alignment, and commitment among team members.
• WITH DIRECTION, the group is in agreement on overarching goals. Members have a shared understanding of what group success looks like and agree on what they are aiming to accomplish.
• WITH ALIGNMENT, work within the group is well coordinated. Members with different tasks or roles or with different sets of expertise integrate their work instead of working in isolation.
• WITH COMMITMENT, group members put the team’s best interests ahead of their own individual interests. They feel responsible for the success and well-being of their team and know others feel the same way. They trust one another and stick together through difficult times.
The way you engage in this social process of leadership creates a leadership brand that others will likely remember and talk about. An effective leadership brand helps you and your team achieve these three crucial outcomes of leadership. Furthermore, your brand reflects not only the work you get done, but also how you interact with and relate to others to do so.