The women physicians with whom I worked at the March conference loved the ease and power of creating a personal leadership brand. As is often the case, when you return home, you may realize you have questions you didn’t think to ask. If you missed learning about leadership branding, read my past post, “How to Develop Your Leadership Brand.”
Here are my responses to the most frequently asked questions regarding how to unlock the power of your personal leadership brand:
How Is My Leadership Brand Statement Different Than a Mission Statement?
Both are essential in your personal and leadership development. You ultimately want both statements, as they serve different purposes.
A personal mission statement causes you to think deeply about your life, clarify your purpose, and identify what is important to you. What this gives you is criteria for living a meaningful life.
A personal leadership brand statement identifies who you are as a leader. Your leadership identity drives your decisions toward big-picture leadership goals.
How Can I Use My Personal Leadership Brand to Advocate for Myself?
Women frequently are powerful advocates for others, but often are less strong when advocating for ourselves. Your leadership brand can help you make a decision or build your case for a decision. In the process of creating your leadership brand, you identified your leadership “sweet spot.”
Inevitably, you will want to say no to projects, assignments, or roles that don’t align. Although you may not be able to negotiate your way out of or into every situation, you will be better prepared to make your case.
After I Create My Leadership Brand Statement, How Do I Use It?
- Share it with your team. You send a strong message about the importance of accountability when you hold yourself accountable to living up to your leadership brand.
- Create personal leadership brands as a team exercise. This is a powerful exercise to develop understanding and appreciation of team strengths and diversity.
- Include it as the summary statement in your resume’ and/or LinkedIn profile. Your statement will begin shaping how others perceive you.
Remember that you are training people how to treat you and see you in every interaction you have with them. Utilize the power of your leadership brand to define who you are as a leader, and your legacy for the future.
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