AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Building an Authentic Leadership Image
IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOKS
Aimed at managers and executives who are concerned with their own and others’ development, each guidebook in this series gives specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership problem.
| LEAD CONTRIBUTORS | Corey Criswell |
| David Campbell | |
| CONTRIBUTORS | Vidula Bal, Al Calarco, |
| Craig Chappelow, Sara King, | |
| Laura Quinn, Cresencio Torres, | |
| Ellen Van Velsor | |
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS | Martin Wilcox |
| EDITOR | Peter Scisco |
| ASSOCIATE EDITOR | Karen Lewis |
| WRITER | Rebecca Garau |
| DESIGN AND LAYOUT | Joanne Ferguson |
| CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS | Laura J. Gibson |
| Chris Wilson, 29 & Company |
Copyright © 2008 Center for Creative Leadership.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
CCL No. 436
ISBN No. 978-1-60491-003-2
CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
AN IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK
Building an Authentic Leadership Image
Corey Criswell and David Campbell
THE IDEAS INTO ACTION GUIDEBOOK SERIES
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared—in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today’s leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL’s mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. We think you will find the Ideas Into Action Guidebooks an important addition to your leadership toolkit.
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
Many leaders assume that image building is superficial and therefore unimportant, but you can benefit from knowing how you come across to others and making improvements if necessary. This doesn’t mean creating a false image. The idea is to recognize genuine aspects of yourself that should be coming across to other people—but aren’t. Crafting your image requires you to gain a clear picture of the image people are currently perceiving, decide what image you would like to portray, develop the skills to close the gap, and practice. It takes skill and practice to be comfortable in your leadership role and to have an image to match.
A Leader’s Image
Your image is the concept that others form about you as a result of the impressions you make on them. Your effectiveness as a leader is tied to your image. Your ability to project a leadership presence in the eyes of employees, customers, other important constituencies, and the general public is closely related to your ability to do your job well. Your image, then, can be either an asset or a liability as you engage in the tasks and roles of leadership.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that paying attention to image building is superficial and therefore unimportant. However, leaders can benefit from knowing how they come across to others and making improvements if necessary. A study of 150 senior executives who attended CCL’s Leadership at the Peak program shows that the image leaders convey has a significant correlation to perceptions of their leadership skill. In this study, leaders who conveyed a strong vision were rated higher on several important factors than those who conveyed a weaker vision—factors such as the ability to lead change, being dynamic, competence in strategic planning, being farsighted, inspiring commitment,
