Let Your Leadership Speak For Itself

If you want to make a name for yourself and be recognized as a leader in your field, remember: It’s not who you know, it’s how you know yourself.

Most people assume that the most efficient way to make yourself known is to meet the right people. And certainly that’s worth doing—but if you think meeting people is the only way to network, think again.

The best way to make a name for yourself is to carry yourself in such a way that your name speaks for you.

Let your life speak for you. Your effectiveness as a leader is tied to the image that others form about you, and your ability to project a leader’s presence is closely tied to who you are as a person and how you lead your life. Anyone can live to please others; the harder task is to live for yourself.

Let your character speak for you. You can spend a lot of time crafting your leadership skills, but it will be your character—as seen through your words and actions—that tells the story of your leadership. Spend the time to learn who you are and what you value, and demonstrate that knowledge in the things you say and do. A true character makes a great leader.

Let your virtue speak for you. The moral cement of leadership lies in virtue—right words and actions. They unite and preserve, while vices separate and destroy. For a virtuous leader, everything stems from that moral core. Be a person of virtue and you will be a great leader.

Let your integrity speak for you. Stand by your principles. Refuse to accept less than the best from yourself. Ask of others only what you yourself are willing to give. Speak the truth even though it may create conflict. True integrity and great leadership mean doing the right thing, even when nobody else will see or know.

Let your trust, and your trustworthiness, speak for you. Be careful with trust in even the smallest matter. Let your own trustworthiness be impeccable, and be a role model in building trustworthiness in those around you.

You don’t aspire to be anyone else, so let your words and actions make a name for themselves.

Remember, if you don’t know where you are going you will end up somewhere else, and if you don’t know who you are- you will become someone you are not.

Lead From Within: Our leadership is what others see of us and our life is what we know for ourselves. Spend time repairing any elements of your life that do not reflect who you really are, and work hard on living every moment in a way that’s true to yourself.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and customized leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

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