No doubt you have worked under people with a varying degrees of leadership skill. Some of them are very skilled and take their role very seriously. Others are thrust into the role and haven’t had adequate training or preparation.
So, what is it that makes you want to follow someone? Of course, the answer is not the same for you as it is for me. However, there are quite a few people suggesting the answers are consistent no matter who you ask.
Communicate Effectively and Often
In my research on the topic, one thing that surfaces most often in writings about inspirational leadership: they communicate effectively and often. This is an important mindset among effective leaders – they are motivated to influence the way people think. Through their preoccupation with effective communication, they are saying, “follow me”.
Your Brand is the Foundation
How is this done? One idea for becoming a more effective communicator is to develop your personal brand. I found these definitions (thanks Wikipedia!) that I thought were inspiring:
“A personal brand is a widely recognized and largely uniform perception or impression of an individual based [your] experience, expertise, competencies, actions and/or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large.
“Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, increase their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.” That’s an impressive list of outcomes, is it not? Your brand:
- Creates influences public perception of you
- Positions you as an authority in your industry
- Elevates your credibility
- Differentiates you from the competition
- Advances your career Increases your circle of influence
The most challenging part in all this (for me and many others) is the “conscious and intentional effort” required. On this point, I ran across a quote recently that resonated with me:
Consistency leads to familiarity, and familiarity leads to trust. Trust leads to action; action turns prospects into clients.
I’m interested in your thoughts – is Personal Branding something you’ve tried? Has it worked for you? What challenges have you faced?
Sources
Google attributes the quote (in a different form) to Jay Conrad Levinson.
Personal Branding is licensed under CC BY-SA
