Your Unique Brand Of Leadership
When I look at leaders like Zig Ziglar, Seth Goodin, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jen Hatmaker, and all of the “large” leader names out there; there are times I just think…well I’m not like them? Does that make me a bad leader?
This half of a second thought passes before another one enters: We are all unique and offer our own brand of leadership.
Leading and mentoring people is like a fingerprint. We can’t all be Zig Ziglar nor should we try. While some things make you a better leader than others (ie. Not calling your employees names or having behind the scene decisions), it’s important to remember that we all bring something to the table as long as we remain genuine in our leadership.
So what is your brand? It’s you. As leaders, we are it. We shouldn’t be the same. Not everyone can be LED or mentored the same way. Stop trying to be someone else. Discover you.
So how do we develop this brand? Here are a few tips:
- Determine your mission statement — What is is about YOU that makes you the leader you want to be. Do you want to be vulnerable or distant? Do you want to be compassionate or strict? Do you want to lead large teams or work only one-on-one? Determine what you want and what you believe in.
- Keep learning — While we don’t have to be the next Tony Robbins, it’s okay to learn from those we admire. Maybe we want to take a little bit of the leaders we admire and add them to our own repertoire. That’s what we should do. Learn from leaders but we don’t have to become them. We can become us.
- Don’t be afraid to keep rebranding — Because leadership is us and we are human, we will and should change in some ways. It’s okay to continue growing and update who you are as a brand.
We here the phrase “be true to yourself” often. Although in today’s society, be true to yourself often means just be true to whatever is popular. Don’t worry to much about what others are doing, focus on what YOU want to do. Because that is how great leaders become great leaders. They stay true to themselves even if it’s not popular.
