Staying Focused

All this week we have looked at creating a leadership brand, thanks to a great article from the Harvard Business Review.  That article laid out 5 steps to creating that leadership brand. I looked at each step and then added my own little twist as I examined it through the relationship between a leader and the company, customers and community.

What is the next step? I know I said there were five and there are but I am going to add a sixth. That step is to stay focused. Once you have created your personal leadership brand you want to stay focused on the prize. The prize of course is success. You want to make sure that your brand statement will be fulfilled.

Those plans and that statement is your vision for success. Stay focused and stay the course. There will be times when you might feel like giving up. The road will not be easy, it never is. If it is easy you must be on the wrong road. There will be hurdles and stumbling blocks that will get in your way. Jump over the hurdles and kick aside the stumbling blocks and continue on your way.

• Company - Tap into the resources the company has to offer. Find out people in your company who are experts in the area you need help in. Reach out to them for that help and stay focused.
• Customers - Think of creative ways to keep and get new customers. Times may get thin and it might be the same old same old. Ramp it up with innovative ideas. Fulfill the brand statement you made to your customers.
• Community - Co-workers and employees can help you be successful in your brand statement. Be prepared to help them if they need it. No good deed goes by without having to pay back. If your employees help you get stronger as a leader and help you fulfill your brand statement then be ready to help them with their statements.

Stay focused and work hard toward fulfilling your brand statement.

Leadership Branding

Today and for five days after, excluding the weekend I am going to look at and dissect the idea of leadership branding. I found the following article by the Harvard Business Review  and it gives five easy steps to setting up a personal leadership brand.

Leaders need to have a way to set themselves apart from other leaders. A way that will match your strengths to your career. A way to show others your leadership power and what you can do with that power.

The five steps Norm Smallwood identifies are the following:

• What results do you want to achieve in the next year?
• What do you wish to be known for?
• Define your identity.
• Construct your leadership brand statement, then test it.
• Make your brand identity real.

I will look closer at these five items and put my own personal spin on each one. When someone thinks of branding they think of products but leaders are products they are selling their skills and knowledge to the company, customers and community. You want a brand that will reach each of these.

Tomorrow we will look at the first step.