The Engaging Brand

My 6 Leadership Prinicles (Well, Dad's actually)

When I lead teams I am passionate to convey one key point

"I trust you, because I believe in you. If I didn't you and I would not be working together!"

The trust comes from both ability and attitude. Here are my 6 principles which I was given by Dad to live by, to grow by, to lead by...and  I try :)

1. You are free to take initiative without fear of retribution - I promise. All I ask is that you think of how it impacts others and think about potential risks and how we can handle them together.
2. Take risks, fail! Failing to me means you are pushing your own boundaries...only one ask - learn by them and become stronger.
3. Talent is the most valuable resource and it is my job, actually my mission to ensure that you drive away each night, eager to return tomorrow to carry on changing the world.
4. Please say what you think...maybe I should add constructively....Don't just be one more person in the company...BE YOU....as YOU were the person I hired. When you rebel, rebel with one aim...to improve other people's lives.
5. Don't settle...push me for more.
6. What do I look for?...Performance through others, not at the expense of others. It is not what you say you are going to do which will impress, it is what you do and how you do it. Deliver and grow - that's the way to go.

Dad used to say...there is one reason to trust and believe in others and that is because

1) If you don't why are you working together?

2) And by giving that trust openly there is a much greater chance that it will be reciprocated.

If you could live your life over....?

I remember reading a survey a while back which asked people over 65 "If you could live your life over, what would you do differently ? The top 3 answers were:

1. I would like to stop and ask the big questions
2. I would like to be more courageous and take more risks in work and love
3. I would like to live life with purpose - to make a difference

Poignantly, I asked my dad that question about a fortnight before he died. With a cheeky smiled he looked me in the eye and said

"Absolutely, nothing. I spent everyday, living my dream....if you don't live your dream then you end up living your nightmare or not living at all. I have always felt the person who invented the word regrets must have been sad! Imagine inventing the word regrets as your legacy! You cannot change the past, only the future and each second is another part of the future...don't waste even a second "

I will never forget that for as long as I live, I mean how good must that feel - even when faced with you last few hours you have no regrets. You have lived life to the full and that you believe in everything that you have achieved and the relationships around you, you have lived your dream.

When you look at the way you live your life do you concentrate on how much you have or the things that you would like?

Life is amazingly short in the grand scheme of things so at work, in love and with friends make sure that you think about the wonderful things you have in your life especially during these hard recessionary times it is easy to lose sight of them.

My motto in life is "live life forward and understand it backward"...and help others do the same.

If you face redundancy...the question you should ask is

I have a couple of close friends who have been highly successful and through no fault of their own are facing the New Year without a job. It is heartbreaking. They have both asked me what they should do, they are both struggling to know how to find a role that will inspire them. In this situation I always think of a quote from Aristotle

"Where your talent and the needs of the world cross, there lies your calling"

When you lose your job it is hard - I have been there, trust me I know! However, it can also be a real chance to think about what you are really passionate about, what makes you feel so inspired that it almost hurts ? If you can find that role - then like me you have just started fulfilling your dream and from darkness comes the brightest light that energizes you beyond belief.

When people ask me the best thing that has ever happened to me - it was losing it all because then I gained the world, I regained my dreams.....I hope that is true for my friends as well. I don't mean to downplay losing a job, I only want to show there is hope for every personal brand....

How to Stand Out In Your Career

Average is a bland description and yet the most used score in business. To stand out within business I think there is an unusual difference between a team member and a leader of a team

Extraordinary performance by definition is doing what is not expected of the level that you work at....therein lies the ultimate irony.

• To be extra - ordinary as an employee, you need to go beyond the expectations of your level. You can star, by showing your potential - to give more than is expected, to take personal responsibility. In essence the extra is performing to a level above.

• To be extra - ordinary as a leader, you inspire partly by being ordinary! By understanding that it is the ordinary aspects of human leadership - the thank you's, the seeing the person not the role, by being available to people, by  showing that you are an ordinary human being. Extraordinary leaders are ordinary people at heart who inspire them to believe in the dream.

I think it is worth thinking about your role - the extra needed to be a high performer is often ordinary human elements that you have naturally inside of yourself.

The extra is understanding what is not often seen in your role and delivering it - that may seem difficult, when in reality what people are looking for, are ordinary in your everyday life. Just think of the team member who is a scout leader outside work, or the powerful leader who is the parent who reads to their child when they get home, knowing the joy sharing one on one time, gives that child.

5 Leadership Thoughts For A Bad Day

I love words, I love the inspiration that words can give you and also the effect that they can have on others. I thought I would share some sentences that I have written in my moleskine that keep me going through those BAD days when you are wondering whether it is all worth it..

You cannot change what has happened, however you can change what happens next.

You create success when your past record shows that you deliver on your promises and your words illustrate a brighter future.

Concentrate not just on who you are, but who you can be

When all else fails...celebrate! You are nearly there in finding out the right answer.

When in doubt, go with the truth

What leadership thoughts keep you going, what thoughts help you find that inspiration to keep changing the world one idea at a time?

Don't Sell "You" as a Product, Sell "You" as a Brand

Can you imagine how successful companies would be if they sold their brands like we sell our personal brands?

Just imagine it. They hand out sheets of paper to potential consumers, listing their qualifications, their work history and a line about how they love reading, quizzes and of course music! Do you think that would bowl future consumers over, do you think people could engage emotionally with the product? Do you think consumers would pay a premium for the product or service...

Yet it always amazes me that is how humans sell their own unique personal brand - through flat one dimensional pieces of paper called a CV...with words that dehumanise them so that they appear professional rather than who they really are....

So if you were the marketer of your personal brand, how would you sell your uniqueness, how would you sell your value......your personal brand can be the difference between a medium wage in an average company and earning that premium in a company that values your strengths and personality....

We are all marketers of our own brand, but do we spend enough time on developing the value of our personal brand, I wonder ?

Childhood Dreams Can Come True for Business

Career choice is such an important part of motivation and personal satisfaction. I was speaking about social media to a group of people I asked

"As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?"

I asked the question because I think we lose track of our childhood dreams and I believe business is a lot more like our childhood dreams than we think..Let me explain what I said to their answers

Train driver - Absolutely. Choose your journey and keep the people on track for safe arrival at your destination!

Astronaut - Absolutely. Each day we should be shooting for the stars and making experiences that are out of this world.

Pop Star - Absolutely. Each day it is about connecting with your audience....consumers, employees, peers. Give them the "hook" of your business song so that they can talk about you and your company.

A mum - Absolutely. As leaders we need to give birth to ideas, nurture them through their life and guide our community through the highs and lows of life.

Nurse/Doctor - Absolutely. Business is about diagnosing problems and solving them. It is about taking the pain out of life. To be an effective leader monitoring those vital signs of pressure and energy are important so that you can address issues before they become fatal!

Business is a chance to live out our dreams - for me it will never be just a job, not when in my own small way I can help change the world.
My childhood dream was to be a golfer, though I was a scratch golfer I chose to go into business as it was "more sensible". But the skills I learned through golf...importance of rhythm, emotional self control (!), practice, the shortest route is not always the best, imagining the perfect shot before you hit it and of course no matter how well you play, you can always improve....have all helped me in the business world.

What was your dream?

10 Ways to be a Great Employee

I believe that you can build a great personal brand at work, one that can help you achieve the success that you want. Here are some tips on how to be a great employee

1. Be clear about your aspirations with your boss.
2. Take responsibilty for understanding how you can help your boss achieve their objectives.
3. Live by the values of the company, day in day out.
4. Develop your knowledge of the company by creating links around the organisation, by talking to people at breaks, across lunch, at events.
5. Develop your knowledge of the market and the competitiors - subscribe in your blog reader to key words, competitor stories, trend sites.
6. Be positive about change. Change is inevitable and a positive attitude will ensure that you both stand out from the crowd and also stand the best chance of benefiting from the change.
7. Volunteer for projects to extend your network and your knowlege/experience.
8. Take responsibility for your own development including seeking mentors for areas that you want to improve upon.
9. Always think about how you can help others - ask "What can I do to help you in your role?"
10. Be a knowledge sharer rather than hoarder - power lies in sharing information, not keeping it to yourself.

Top Ways to Use the Web for Your Career

I was not someone who grew up on the Web, I came to it late. But I believe the web is a fantastic tool to build a career. Here are some tips that I would share on how to use the Web to improve your career prospects

1. I believe blogging is a fantastic tool to market your talent. Blogging allows you to share your ideas, share your talent, share your thinking in a honest and authentic way. Remember many large companies are using blogging to search for new talent, using it as a recruitment tool to spot the talent that will grow their business. So why not put your talent, your personal brand on the web?
2. A "feed" reader is a must. I use Google Reader to keep up to date with the conversations on the web, to stay up to date with latest thinking and ideas that I can use in my day to day work.
3. Networking sites. Great ways to make new friends, new contacts that both expand your mind and also your network. I really enjoy LinkedIn, especially the ability to post a question that you are seeking help with and also Google Groups on areas that I have an interest in. Again it is like having a free online support group that can inspire and develop you.
4. Google Alerts. Another free tool that allows you to watch key phrases. I have them set up for my clients, my company and my industry topics - easy to keep up to date without having to read several papers and magazines.
5. Podcasting is my key tool for my personal development. I have a list of areas that I want to build upon and learn about.....I can then find podcasts that deliver my own tailored development.

There are many sites that you can use, don't worry about which site - concentrate more on what you are trying to achieve and then using the site regularly to achieve that goal. The key point is that you need an online presence - both so that you can be found, that you can find the companies that you want to work for and also so that you understand the new technology and how it is changing the workplace.

Aim Ahead of the Rest

The old saying goes that

To shoot your target, aim at it, then move ahead and shoot at where it is going to be not where it is now.

This is true for your talent. If you have a target or a legacy you want to create, to make it happen then think forward rather than staying in the present.

• Concentrate on where you want to be not where you are now. Create a picture in your mind of what your personal success will look like, and what it will feel like. Keep that picture in your mind.
• What are the market trends, what are the emerging themes in your marketplace? How do you use this knowledge to move forward quicker or even get ahead of the trends to stand out from the crowd?
• What is the vision of your company and how can you create help create that success? How can you use the direction the company is going to help you in your career - fill out the CV, expand your knowledge, increase your network of mentors? Search out opportunities, search out people you can help, search out uses for your talents in the future.
• What development do you need to do now to be ready for your success in the future? Be honest with yourself but also ask others.....contact people who you admire, who are in roles that you want to do and understand what skills, what knowledge etc that you will need when you get there.
• What do you want your legacy to be at retirement - no matter how long there is to go - then use every second of every day to start creating your legacy now. If it helps write the legacy now, record a legacy, share your legacy....by doing this you are making it real and holding yourself accountable for its achievement.

Think ahead to get ahead, think forward not to be passed over.