What is Your Personal Leadership Brand?

What is Your Personal Leadership Brand?

Last week I got an email from a graduate of the 3-day Intensive class. It included a picture he took of a huge billboard that said BE JOY (Interestingly, he took the picture while driving as his wife was telling him he shouldn’t do that). He told me the billboard message reminded him of me, and his subsequent note thanked me for what I’d done to help him and the company he works for. It made my day!

It’s humbling that the people who know me associate me with the word JOY. I will be the first to tell you that wasn’t always the truth. Actually, quite far from it. However, after hearing this JOY association more than once, I realized I had unconsciously built a personal brand for myself.

The brand I created was a slow evolution after there was a moment several years ago when I truly “got” that JOY was a choice. The best part was the realization that the more I chose it, the better my life was. It wasn’t about anything on the outside bringing me joy. It was because I chose to find the joy in every moment. From that day forward, it’s been a consistent message of mine – as much to remind me as anyone else.

I didn’t intentionally build my personal brand around the word JOY. It just happened once I chose to embody the same words that I put on a wall in my last home.

Now that I’ve realized that JOY has become my personal brand, I embrace it. Every day I make sure I deserve it. If I were to die tonight and people got together to celebrate my life, I know JOY would be part of that celebration, which means the world to me.

What brand are you creating for yourself? Intentionally, or unintentionally, we create our own personal brand. If people were to sum you up in one word, is it one that you’d like chiseled on your headstone? Project yourself out to the end of your life. What will they say about you?

Take an audit of your personal brand. Look at what you post on social media through the eyes of someone else. Ask people what one word they associate with you. Include people at work as well as the people at home. Your personal brand is your leadership brand. Look in the mirror. Do a self-assessment of what is real for you. Be honest with yourself.

If you don’t like the answer to the question, there is still time. I am living proof that we can transform and reinvent ourselves again and again. In fact, I believe we should be constantly evolving. What would be different in your life if you went from being known as negative to being considered positive? What would change for you if people stopped thinking of you as angry and thought of you as happy? What if, instead of controlling, you were trusting, and instead of bored you became passionate? Consider the possibilities if you were no longer just mom but World’s Best Mom or went from simply dad to Super Hero Dad. Imagine how different your workplace would be if you transitioned from boss to leader/mentor/coach. What are you willing to give up to get what you want?

If you like the answer to the question, then great! Give yourself a High5 and ask yourself what’s next. My next is to be the role model for love – love for myself, love for others, and love without conditions. Choose your personal brand. Then, start each day focused on how you will show up and be exactly that! You are going to have a brand (others will assign it), so I suggest you intentionally choose it!

We can help you identify your current personal brand. If you’re dissatisfied with the current brand, we’ll help you determine what you want it to be and work through the steps to get there. Honestly, though, the quickest route is through our 3-day High5 Intensive and you can REGISTER HERE for the next class. For more information contact us at info@high5leadership.com.