3 work activities CEOs can reshape into personal brand builders

Every individual has their own way of presenting themselves to the world, known as a personal brand.

Regardless of whether they carefully manage or completely dismiss their personal brand, an individual can alter the ways they are perceived by others even through the simplest of interactions.

This is also the case for business leaders, who must keep a close eye on their personal brand, since they are very often linked with their respective company’s image. A strong personal brand can provide business leaders with an advantage over their competitors, indicating that they are capable of making decisions that will benefit one’s business.

However, building a personal brand can be seen as time-consuming and inessential to many, particularly to CEOs who already have tightly packed schedules. Therefore, posting inspiring posts on LinkedIn, together with participating in discussions during conferences may seem impossible.

Despite this, there are a number of different ways that business leaders can grow their personal brand further through some common work-related activities, particularly those of emailing, mingling, and meetings.

These three activities are all core parts of a workweek, yet they can also serve as means for an individual to show that they are a true leader.

1) Emailing

Business leaders with strong personal brands are ones that are champions of effective communication.

Even though the business space has become flooded with different ways of collaborating with one another, emails remain one of the most popular means of interaction. It is also undoubtedly an activity that takes up a significant chunk of business leaders’ time.

Research conducted by Slack has shown that users tend to dislike emails which are way too long or unclear, especially since tone can be easily misinterpreted in text.

Therefore, if business leaders want to grow their personal brand, they must first analyse whether email is the best medium to communication through. They must ask themselves whether calling, having a video chat, or a meeting up in person would be more effective in getting the message across.

Should email be the best means of communication, then business leaders must ensure their messages are brief and straightforward. This is where the subject line becomes so important, as it must contain the right keywords to aid in future searches and make recipients fully aware of the topic at hand right from when it lands in their inbox.

2) Mingling

Given the increased dependence on technology, building strong relationships with one another has never been as important as it is today. The ability to connect with others on a deep human level is one of the few things emerging technologies such as AI ultimately struggle with.

With many people now shifting to remote or hybrid work models, it might be difficult to physically interact. However, this also presents business leaders with the opportunity to make their mark more clearly whenever they have the chance to do so.

Business leaders must allocate time every day to connect with different people, and and must also actively reach out to check in one colleagues, business partners, clients, and others.

Once building and strengthening connections becomes a priority, business leaders will be able to cultivate relationships, the most important component in business.

3) Meetings

Leadership skills are arguably the best place to exhibit your leadership skills.

Irrespective of whether a meeting is being held physically in a boardroom, or online through Zoom, these are the perfect opportunities for business leaders to make an impact, influence, and also impress others.

Meetings are also the prime event through which decision makers identify future leaders, those individuals who showcase leadership qualities without already holding the title.

Additionally, meetings allow business leaders to have the chance to recognise others for their efforts, placing them in the spotlight instead of themselves.

In order for meetings to effectively enhance one’s career, a business leader must focus on the participants and aim to give them a valuable and meaningful experience that they can learn from, inspiring them to think.

Meetings should also only be as long as they need to be. Business leaders must not make meetings drag out for long periods of time. Focus on achieving the meeting objective and creating connections.