Build Your Leadership Brand

How would you rate your strategic plan for building your leadership brand and improving career progression?

Most of us can relate to the quote; fail to plan, plan to fail. In the same way that businesses create strategic plans in order to grow and succeed, we recommend leaders create a clear plan for building a successful leadership brand.

Please rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denotes having no real plan for building your leadership brand at all and 5 denotes a leader who has a clear strategic vision for their personal leadership brand, which is documented with goals, values, measures and regular health-checks.

Rate your expertise using social styles in your work relationships?

Research shows that leaders who show versatility in the way they interact with colleagues and team members are rated as better leaders. These leaders have typically studied the theory of social styles and know what makes others tick and how to interact with them in a positive way.

Please rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denotes very limited knowledge of the theory and application of social styles and 5 denotes a leader who adapts their responses to different situations based on deep knowledge of social styles.

When it comes to emotionally intelligent leadership, how do you rate?

Most of us see ourselves as emotionally intelligent, and yet studies clearly show that people’s perceived level of emotional intelligence greatly exceeds their actual demonstrated level of emotional intelligence. EQ, as a leadership tool, gained momentum in the 1990’s when Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence (Why it can matter more than IQ) was published. Study after study has shown that leaders who use the tools of emotional intelligence are more inspiring to their teams and get better results.

Rate yourself from 1 to 5 where 1 denotes being somewhat aware of EQ but not familiar with the tools, and 5 is a leader who has a deep understanding of the elements of EQ and embeds practices into their daily leadership life.

What do you know about the five levels of leadership, and how do you rate?

When John Maxwell developed the 5 levels of leadership, he was trying to find out why some leaders inspire phenomenal performance in others, and some leaders hold a title only. The five level of leadership is a powerful framework that deals with the questions of how to become a pinnacle leader. What do they do? When do they do it? Who do the engage with?

Rate yourself from 1 to 5 where 1 denotes being slightly aware of the five levels of leadership, and 5 being a leader who has deep knowledge of the five levels of leadership and works, on a daily basis, to practice what inspires others.

How good are you at discovering and talking about your valuable contribution in the right way?

It is not always easy to talk about our strengths and achievements. Those leaders who have learnt the techniques of translating their strengths into statements of value that align with the organisations needs are more likely to succeed. They know how to talk about theirs and their team’s achievements in the right way, are more likely to get people onside and get their projects approved.

Rate yourself from 1 to 5 where 1 denotes someone who finds it difficult to talk in terms of value to the organisation, and 5 is a leader who has learnt the tools of gaining agreement, aligning achievements and getting endorsement to move forward in a way the makes them more likable, not less.

How strong is your growth mindset?

Growth mindset is a term that is much talked about, and yet many of us spend our corporate lives surrounded by people who have no interest in changing, and see no need to change. These are often the very people who create misery around them. The problem is that they’re often completely unaware of their impact. What if that person is you?

Rate yourself from 1 to 5 where 1 denotes someone who spends very little time on self-development because ‘I’m too focused on work’, and 5 being a leader who is continually seeking to learn, is open to regular feedback, and practices new ways of doing things with an ever present goal of becoming a better leader.