Stop Ignoring Your Leadership Brand - How You Show Up As a Leader Matters to Your People

It was the most dreaded meeting of the week. We were trying to launch a cutting-edge software platform and the pressure was mounting as our release date kept sliding. Each week the cross-functional team met with the CEO to provide an update. Unfortunately, it was brutal. His moods in these meetings ranged from good natured to accusatory and angry. And it typically wasn’t pleasant.

His presence in those meetings had a deep and lasting effect on our team. No one wanted to be the object of his wrath, so team members frequently threw each other under the bus, withheld information and manipulated each other.

Perhaps you have a story that is similar to mine. If so, you know this -- how a leader shows up matters. How you show up becomes your leadership brand.

A leader’s brand matters because it can create a spark that leads to a heap of ashes or a flame that provides light and warmth. It can mean the difference between losing and retaining your best people.

What does your leadership brand spark? Do you even know the answer?

When 75 members of the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Advisory Council were asked to recommend the most important capability for leaders to develop, the answer was almost unanimously….

Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is an important part of building a strong leadership brand. When you are in tune with your emotions, your moods, and your hot buttons- you are much more likely to succeed as a leader.

Successful leaders recognize the tone they are setting transfers to their team. Drive and competence can enable you to be successful for a while, but that success is not sustainable if you aren’t aware of how you may be negatively impacting your people.

Knowing yourself well allows you to adapt and adjust to lead better.

Growing your self-awareness is not easy but can be accelerated with leadership coaching. And it’s a key component of the Leadership Infusion Program for Leaders.

To learn how the Leadership Infusion Program helps leaders build a positive leadership brand, schedule a strategy call: https://lnkd.in/gzsdi7M.