An important aspect of your Leadership Brand remains the understanding of your background – the path where you come from, and the pedestal at which you stand today. Your past lends a strong influence and what you hold sacred today, speaks volume of how you behave now. Both elements are essential to assimilate your leadership brand as part of who you are.
We are ardent proponents of developing our leadership brand. Why? Because we aspire to grow, garner a positive influence, take resonant steps forward, and fight those quirky elements in our leadership style that hold us back from progressing. I recall my experience coaching a CFO in the recent past. He amassed an extraordinary level of success, both on paper and the practical setting. In fact, he had become the youngest CFO in his industry — quite a spectacular feat for him.
He joined a company that had recently laid its foundation and took on a junior position. Flip the time capsule about a decade later, he was leading the finance function of the company. Credit to his understanding of business, a sound intellect, passion, and commendable work ethic, he was punching well above and beyond his weight. He had a locus of sheer control by which he not only grew the finance function, but his efforts resulted in the success of the business, as a whole. At this point, it was evident that he would become the company’s CEO.
However, he did not. The only thing that stood in the way that he had developed a rigid machiavellian streak. His business acumen and intellectual prowess were translated into contempt and disdain for his peers, as opposed to benefiting and constructive aspects of his role. That is not the worst; he was not a fan of keeping his opinions to himself, the implications of which revealed grave collaboration problems shared among his team. That was not a fashion by which the organization could be led and imminently showed negative results at large.
During my coaching sessions, I went on helping him by enabling him to reflect upon his behaviour and how it blended in impacting the relations with his team members. In addition, understanding the extent by which it affected the business overall, and the negative implications it entailed on his own career. By making him understand that his past behaviour cannot be taken into account when moving forward, we devised a plan and created a platform to escalate the contemporary leadership style which he wanted to incorporate in himself, the positive influence he wanted to put across, and the results he aspired to secure for himself as well as the people connected to him.
Using the following three exercises, I helped him develop exactly those traits which he was keen about:
- Befriend Your Imagination
In seeking the right solutions, I have found it powerful to weigh options through two different paradigms. Ask questions like:
- What would I do if there were no odds?
- What could I still do, if the odds were impossible to beat?
If you want to be the architect of your own leadership arsenal, it would be highly beneficial to draw a measure of your actions when circumstances have no limitations. Consider the following question:
- What would you do, given that you have unlimited time, resources, and know for a fact that you cannot fail?
Perhaps it is not realistic, and by all means, you do not have unlimited resources or capabilities. As a matter of fact, you are tethered to commitments that hold you back from choosing this direction now. At the very least, you have every idea of what you would do if there were no limitations and could think of it if not walking towards the direction.
2. Think of Your 80th Birthday
In our digitally accelerated, data-driven, hyper-connected, and competitive world, we are always on the lookout for securing results in Q1, Q2, six weeks ahead, and whatnot. It is always about the immediate impulse of gratification. Interestingly, in order to build a strong leadership brand by channeling credible efforts, it is not about the next six months, or year, or even five years to come. Rather it is about what you achieve during your lifetime.
To my surprise, a handful of people think through on what they wish to achieve, how they wish to be recognized, and a framework of their personality, which they want to settle in the minds of people.
I always ask people to imagine their 80th birthday, just to help leaders think forward, take the necessary measures today on how they want people to remember them as when their professional careers end. Imagine people joined by you and consider their sentiments, as they would recall on an enviable career filled with countless contributions and the impactful difference you have made. Think about:
What would people that are present on your 80th birthday say?
3. Weigh Your Leadership Brand and Balance of Life
The final element I lay great emphasis on is when I push people to think through their leadership into how can they maintain a balance in their lives. Most leaders tend to find a conflict with their work-life balance. We find ourselves at a point where we start to question whether devoting a considerable amount of time at work, earning a substantial salary for ourselves and the people we care about has even a tad bit of worth or not, considering our priorities also lie in spending quality time with them.
At the same time, we contemplate on how to grow if all our time is spent working with colleagues in the same department, organizations, and industry with a limited horizon and scant opportunity of learning from people on the outside having their individual interests and perspectives. With the progression of one’s career, all that matters is maintaining a healthy work-life balance by comprehending to a set of physical, emotional, social, and mental traits in your leadership brand.
With that being said, considering where you want to take your leadership brand, imagine your scope, what you would be able to do with no limitations at all. Think forward with the “end in mind”, how you want to be remembered as, and stay committed to a healthy work-life balance. The journey is arduous and exciting, and the reasons you have are worth every step you take in this direction.
Learn how you can take your leadership teams through a growth model which will help them mature on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and subscribing to the Keijzer Community.
Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.