Walk the Talk

Now that you have created your branding statement it is time to live that statement. This week we have been looking at the five steps to creating a leadership brand. It is an article found at the Harvard Business Review. It is a great article that lays out the steps in a clearly defined fashion. I suggest you read it if you haven't done so. Then go back to my blogs over the past week and read my analysis and insight into leadership branding.

We are on the final step today. Make your brand real is the final step. It is taking steps 1-4 and living it out. Making sure that you are following through on your statements.

Step five is all about walking the talk. You said what you were going to accomplish now go ahead and do it. Have you ever had someone say they were going to do something for you but then they never followed through with completion. How did that make you feel? How did it affect your perception of that person? Do what you say you are going to do and live up to the expectations of your leadership brand.

Let's take a look at step five in relation to company, customer and community.

• Company - If you take your leadership brand statement that you created as it applies to your company and make sure you live out your brand statement your company will take notice. If you make changes and innovatively create something your company will appreciate you. If you want more responsibility, or more pay walk the talk when it comes to your brand statement.
• Customers - If you tell your customers you are going to do something then do it. It will go along way toward the retention of those customers and when word gets out new customers will come. In a line from Field of Dreams; "If you do it they will come" I made a slight change. But if you walk the talk your customers will take notice.
• Community - Those co-workers or employees want to know that they can depend upon you. If you create a brand statement that reaches out to the community then walk the talk. Live that statement out and your employees and co-workers will love working for you and with you because they will know that you are a person of your word.

Now that you have that brand statement, go out and tell others who you are by walking the talking and living up to your brand statement.