Choose your own leader persona

Stepping into a senior leadership role is a massive undertaking for a million reasons, including one you might not think about. You are being watched 24-7. 

If you don’t say hello or nod pleasantly to an employee in the elevator, he may think that you don’t like him and start mentally updating his LinkedIn profile. Why? Because humans have deeply embedded (mostly unconscious) patterns and beliefs about authority figures. They don’t consciously decide to see you through this lens of biases and fears. They just do. 

Your team members consciously study how you’re behaving. A nervous, angry leader’s face and body language communicate danger to your team. They think ‘Maybe the company is hurtling into oblivion! I’d better quit now!’ A calm, focused leader’s face and body language telegraph confidence and perspective. This makes your team think, ‘I love working for this woman – she knows exactly what she’s doing!’

When you are in a leadership position you are the office as much as you are yourself. Your employees (no matter how seasoned they are) look to you as their guide. Externally, you are the human embodiment of the organization – the brand, the products, and the financial results. 

You are playing a role. 

Some leaders embrace this role and thrive. Others want to be seen as the humans they are. But that’s naive. People will perceive you as ‘the boss’ whether you like it or not. 

But there’s a huge opportunity here. This is your role to create. Your ‘leader role’ must never be fiction. Its foundation is built on your values, your strengths, and your vision. You don’t lose your authenticity playing your leader role, you enhance it. 

When you step into the unique and purposeful leader role that you’ve defined and consistently act according to those decisions, you shape the culture for your team and for your company. What more important thing can a great leader do?

RESOURCES

Jim Collin’s classic is about the power of humility and drive in a leader. Want to see how great CEO personas make great companies? Read this book.  

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996

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