Leading the Way: Do you know your brand?

What would you expect if I told you that you were going into a meeting with one of the following - Sara Palin, Ted Turner, Donald Trump, Coach Bobby Knight or Oprah Winfrey?

More than likely, each of these people elicits a different set of expectations, and you would react accordingly.

To this end, I would argue that the 'expectations” you have equate to that person's personal brand. As such, their brand carries with it an influence on the people with whom they interact.

Therefore, knowing, nurturing and embracing a personal brand can enhance your ability to lead.

To make my point, we have clear expectations when the think about the following brands - McDonalds fast-food restaurants and Tiffany's high-end jewelry. Now, can you imagine ordering a world-class steak at McDonalds, or buying costume jewelry at Tiffany's?

No, that doesn't make sense. Such products don't match our expectations for these brands. It would be confusing and perhaps even off-putting to the point where a person loses faith or trust in that brand and may never return.

The same confusion can hold true with how a leader establishes and maintains a brand.

Leaders who try to be all things to all people will find this is not a sustainable brand. Or how about the leader who claims to be transparent but makes decisions behind closed doors with a wink and a handshake?

I am confident you can come up with many examples of leaders who purport one brand but in actuality delivers something quite different. How does that make you feel? What do you think of those leaders?

Politicians, athletes and actors are famous for this. Think about former vice presidential candidate John Edwards, bicyclist Lance Armstrong or actor Lindsey Lohan. All three had established brands but later failed to deliver on their personal brand propositions.

There are many components that go into our personal brands - personality, management style, communications skills, education and decision-making. You could also add humor, integrity, fairness, risk taking (or risk aversion), and how we act and/or react under pressure.

So what's your desired personal brand, and how well does this match the expectations of others?

Here is a quick exercise you can do to get a rough idea of your brand. Provide a couple of oe- or two-word answers for the following four questions, and be honest.

1. If I asked others to describe how your leadership style makes them feel, what words or phrases would they use?

2. If I asked others to provide one-word descriptors for your leadership style, what words would they use?

3. What words would you use to describe your leadership strengths (your intentions)?

4. What words would you use to accurately describe your desired leadership style (deliverables)?

The more closely the answers from questions 1 and 2 match the answers to questions 3 and 4, the more consistent your brand identity will be. The greater the gap between the two groups, the more watered down your brand and effectiveness will be.

People like consistency and predictability from their leaders. Over time, as expectations are met, others will reciprocate with consistent and predictable actions and reactions.

To the effect you get desired results is often influenced by how your leadership brand matches the expectations of others and motivates their behavior.

If your brand does not match expectations, then you have work to do.

Avoid trying to be something - a brand - you are not. This is a common mistake for corporate branding efforts. Like, say, Walmart trying to sell Tiffany jewelry, it doesn't make sense.

Lean on your strengths as a foundation for your brand. Then consistently and predictably deliver on that brand.

When you do this, you should find your natural leadership niche.

Comments: Alex Taylor is associate director at the Tippie School of Management at the University of Iowa, alexander-taylor-1@uiowa.edu. Twitter handle: @ataylorataylor