Your leadership brand is one of the main differentiators between you and the rest of the competition. It’s what the top talent research for when considering potential employers and what venture capitalists look at before investing in your business. More importantly, however, your leadership brand is what determines long-term growth trajectory and success. Here’s four tips on how to improve your leadership brand:
Leadership demands Set Goals
What do you want to achieve in the next quarter or year? Identify what major changes or results you want to see a year from now. Set goals that are aligned with the mutual interest of your customers, investors, employees, and the business’ brand. A strong leadership brand is result-oriented; it’s about determining what is expected of you and then achieving results that are based on those expectations.Leadership Establish Your Identity
Know what key traits employees, business partners, and customers need from you. Map out what qualities best describe you and then figure out which ones do not benefit your new role in the company. Some key leadership traits to work on include collaborative, independent, innovative, strategic, and deliberate.
Don’t Listen to Everyone
As a business leader, you’ll run into a lot of unsolicited advice from both internal and external sources. While these people may have some wisdom to impart, the final decision should be based on your own research and gut instinct. Listening to everyone’s advice and pivoting your business based solely on those advice will make you look weak, lazy, and untrustworthy.
Own Up to Mistakes
If your business is involved in a deal gone rotten or a security breach, don’t try to pass on blame to someone else. As a business leader, it falls on you to make sure all cogs are functioning properly. Being accountable is a good leadership trait that can strengthen your brand, not to mention earn the respect of your customers and employees.
Building your leadership brand to match the standards of the most successful entrepreneurs in the industry is a lifelong process. Once you build it, it takes work to keep it. One wrong press interview or internal operational decision can easily wipe away years of hard work building that brand. Make sure you live the values that you promote within your leadership brand.
