You work hard. You’ve got great results. Your team loves you. You’ve made strong internal connections. That’s a start. But others are doing more.

Define what matters most. Build your brand. Share it with the world. Build relationships and find resources beyond your current reach.

Don’t wait for tomorrow to matter beyond your current role. 

Perhaps you’re “too busy” “don’t know how or “hate to toot your own horn” Get past that. Learn how (resources below). Make the time. Connect.

Executive Coach, Speaker and Consultant, Henna Inam, is building her platform. She recently found me through social media and asked to connect, just as I do with others. That’s not networking, that’s building real relationships. It’s easy. It just takes a few minutes to make a connection. She’s got a mission to help women realize their potential as transformational leaders. I have a mission to grow leaders at all levels. We should know one another and collaborate. She shares insights on building your brand (excerpt and link below). That’s only the beginning. You can build these kinds of relationships too.

Five Steps To Amplifying Your Leadership Brand

1) Get clear on your leadership brand. As I define “The Authentic Brand YOU”, it is your unique essence and impact in the world. This sense of clear purpose, the difference that we want to make in our work and in our community, ignites the fire that gets us going and helps us stand out. Karin’s leadership purpose is growing people and organizations through transparency and trusted partnerships. She says “Bad leadership is my enemy!”. Mine is helping women realize their potential to be transformational leaders. What’s yours?

2) Get clear on why you want to amplify your brand. For some leaders it’s about making a big impact – fully expressing who they are in their workplace, industry, and community. For others it may be to create an alternate stream of income while they work. Others may think about this as a way to kick-start their second careers. Once you get clear on the objective, determine how much time and energy you will put into this.

Read Henna’s other steps here

Other Resources I’ve Used in Building My Brand and Platform

Building your brand takes deliberate work. It can feel overwhelming. Start by cleaning up what’s already out there. Google your name. Take an objective look at your Facebook page. Update your LinkedIn Profile. Join a Professional Google Plus or LinkedIn Group. Connect with someone new every day.

I am constantly learning from experts. I have mentors, coaches, and deep relationships formed through social media. I invest time in finding the right resources. We are all learning together and helping one another to become more.

Some Books That Help

The Icarus Deception (Seth Godin) Seth will inspire you to move with urgency and confidence.

Trust Agents and The Impact Equation (Chris Brogan and Julien Smith) Chris and Julien teach about building trusted relationships and the logistics of connection.

The Start-Up of You (Reid Hoffman & Ben Casnocha) A primer from the founder of LinkedIn. An easy place to start. Really good for frontline leaders.

Renegades Write the Rules (Amy Jo Martin) The title says it all. How to unleash your inner renegade.

Never Eat Alone (Keith Ferrazzi) The advanced course in building connections. I learned a lot about the approach to conferences here (it works wonders).

Platform (Michael Hyatt) The basics of starting a blog to build your platform. I literally went chapter by chapter to set up my blog.