Leadership Brand

Whether you are a first time leader or an experienced one, there is a tendency to want to do it right. Books, seminars, podcasts and presenters want you to believe that there is a right way to lead. There is not. There is a wrong way to lead (lie, cheat and steal), but ​after that, the field is wide open.

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I have a vivid memory of a first sergeant I worked with as a brand new second lieutenant. We were responsible for training new soldiers as light wheeled vehicle mechanics and while the company commander was in charge, the first sergeant ran the show. 

First Sergeant Lovett wasn't what you would call a "collaborative" guy. What he said went and if any of the drill sergeants, non-commissioned officers, or soldiers wanted to challenge, he would simulate shaking a dice cup, look at the rank insignia on his collar and ask, "I have three up, three down and a diamond - can you beat that?"  They could not so off they went with 1SG Lovett smiling in the background.

What worked for him would not work for me and what works for me will not work for you. No two leaders lead in quite the same way. ​The way you lead is your leadership style or your leadership brand. Your brand is not created overnight; it evolves over time.

You probably already have a leadership brand. Do you have the right one?​ David Ulrich and Norm Smallwood pose this question in their Harvard Business Review blog post, Define Your Personal Leadership Brand in Five Steps. The first two steps in defining your brand begins with answering these two questions: 

• What results do you want to achieve in the next year?​
• What do you wish to be known for?​

There isn't a RIGHT answer to either of these questions. It is right, for those of you who need to know right and wrong, if it best represents who you are and what you have to offer.

​As Lisa Handeberg wrote, "no brand is all that we are . . . but our brand is what precedes us in the room and the lasting impressing we leave and it affects how we do many things."

Do you know what your leadership brand is? ​

People are unique. Leadership experiences are too. You are responsible for yours.

{Influence} What Leaders Do

When it comes to leadership, one of the first questions I often hear is, "What do leaders do?" Leadership is more than a series of phrases or a prescribed set of routine actions. Here is a snippet of what I recently shared with an audience of HR and EEO professionals about leadership and influence.

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The best leaders know influence matters, not authority. Leadership is much more than a title. A title does not equal influence and title is most definitely not power.

"Being powerful is like being a lady; if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t."  Margaret Thatcher

Think about these two titles: parent and teen. Now think about the parent wanting the teen to accomplish a task that the teem does not want to do. How quickly we hear, "Because I am the parent that's why!"  How well does that work?

It doesn’t work any better in the workplace. How many times do employees or managers jump because you say to? Never!

Titles do not get us far but leadership and influence do. Consider this:

• Nothing human resources related happens in your organization without you being involved.
• You ask for resources to automate your administrative process and, when all others are brushed off, IT engages you in a discussion.
• You are conducting benchmark surveys and when you reach out to a network of people that you’ve established, they respond.
• You add data analytic capabilities to your staff because you have access to big data that will enhance managers' decisions. 

This is leadership.  This is influence. This is what leaders do.

​Here is an excerpt from a post on influence and leadership that captures what leaders "do" better than anything I've come across recently:

​"Leaders lead by mobilizing people around a compelling vision of the future, by inspiring them to follow in the leader's footsteps. They show people what's possible and motivate them to make those possibilities real. They energize and focus people in ways that fulfill their dreams, give them a sense of purpose, and leave them with a profound sense of accomplishment when the work is done. Leaders lead by modeling ways of thinking or acting and by encouraging new ways of looking at situations, and by so doing they give people the words and the courage to make those new ways their own."

​This is what leaders do and what you are being called to be. Are you up for the challenge?