Welcome to another episode of our Creating Your Executive Brand series. I’m getting some great feedback on how this series is helping you think about your executive brand, even for those of you who aren’t executives yet, you’re letting me know how this is helping you prepare for the next level and I love it. Congratulations on the growth and development of your executive brand!
This week we are talking about common pitfalls newly promoted executive women face when creating their brand. We have talked through a few of them over the previous weeks, but let’s take this week to be fully intentional about this topic.
Last week we talked about what an ideal executive brand is, today let’s talk about what an executive brand is not. The way we are going to talk about what an executive brand is not is by discussing the common pitfalls a new executive faces that actually prevent them from stepping into their ideal executive brand.
I mentioned earlier in the month the difference between a professional brand and an executive brand. The professional brand is one of doing and execution while the executive brand is one of influence and people leadership. If you stay in a doer mentality, this is a sure way of not developing an executive brand. Yet many new executives try to stay in this space because it’s where they feel comfortable, they already know how to succeed in this space, and they feel safe being a doer. Yet none of those personal fulfillments are adding value to the company. This is the same type of example that I gave last week when I referred to doing a job that isn’t yours.
Another common pitfall is thinking you must know all of the facts, concepts, and ideas of a situation before you speak up and truly own your new seat at the table. This perspective couldn’t be further from the truth. While you were being that manager or that executor, you learned a significant amount about the customer, the processes in the company, and how things work in their current state. This knowledge is valuable in a strategic meeting to ensure the success of the proposed strategy. Of course, you don’t want to be the first person to say, “that won’t work,” but if you know that’s the answer, it’s your obligation to speak up. It’s why you’re at the table! So speak up!
The third pitfall is one where we believe that our knowledge of our new role is more important than building relationships in the role. That couldn’t be further from the truth. You should have a good idea of what is expected from you. You have a job description, a copy of a performance review, how your bonus is calculated, etc. All of these pieces and more tell you how to add value and how you will be rewarded for it. Stop valuing knowledge over people and start building relationships.
Now, are there more pitfalls? Yes. There are over 10 common pitfalls that hold women back from creating and executing a high-performance executive brand. But these are the top 3.
Get your workbook and do the activities to identify if you are actively in some of the pitfalls and let’s get you out of them if you are.
Schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team to avoid all 10 of the common pitfalls: Schedule HERE!
Be Legendary!