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Are You Projecting the Appropriate Leadership Image?
December 16, 2009
Your effectiveness as a leader is tied to your image, according to the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). What is image? Basically, it’s the perception others form about you as a result of your actions and the impressions you make on them. It can be created by many things, such as “personality, behavior, body language, and speaking style, as well as formal status and physical appearance.” Your image can have a tremendous impact on people as they get to know you.
Here are a few suggestions from CCL for managing your image:
- Gain a clear picture of how people perceive you.
- Decide what image you’d like to portray.
- Develop skills to close the gap, such as improving your speaking or writing style, choosing to be more open and show people other sides of yourself, or improving your wardrobe.
- Be willing to reveal your personality and humanness.
With a little research and work, you can create the image you want and become an authentic leader. For example, I recommend that after each presentation you give or meeting you run, take the time to sit down with a few trusted members of the audience for a debrief and discuss the following questions:
- Did I accomplish the objectives of the presentation/meeting?
- How was I perceived by the audience?
- What went well?
- What did not go well?
- When the presentation/meeting was over, what did most audience members think about the presentation/meeting?
- If I could do it over, what would I do differently to make a better impression?
Try these tips for yourself and see if they help you improve your image. But, keep in mind these powerful words of advice from CCL, “Successful people often define their image more narrowly than they should. They unnecessarily put tight limits on themselves as they try to uphold a powerful façade. Revealing your personality and humanness is a far better sign of effective leadership.”
~ Lisa Quast
Source:
CCL podcast: http://www.ccl.org/leadership/podcast/transcriptLeadershipImage.aspx
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