Entrepreneurs who are new to the game will forsake brand leadership because they believe business leadership trumps all. They also forsake brand leadership despite the fact they want to be brand leaders. Those two things don't go together.
In my early days as an entrepreneur, I didn't see myself as any type of leader. I was more the in your face tough love mom boss. I always wanted my staff to see their value beyond working for me. At the same time I wasn't put'n up with no shit. Imagine my surprise to find out this is a leadership style called COACHING.
I discovered my leadership style back in my Toastmasters days. The pathway I had chosen said I had to give a talk about leadership. Along with it they give a 48 question assessment so you know your style. Before becoming a coach I only ever thought of coaches as it pertains to sports. Since I’m not a sport enthusiast I went digging to find what are some common traits for good coaches.
If you're like me your first image of a coach is a person on the sidelines with their clipboards and playbooks. They alternate between pacing and screaming because they want their players to win. Based on what I found I have a better respect for the madness that is coaching.
Baby Step 1 - Money Is In The Repetition
A coach will make you do the same shit over and over. It's the repetition that makes you good at what you do. They push to do it again, do more, do it faster. The repetitious training causes the player to focus. It makes that thing second nature.
If you've seen either version of Karate Kid you know it was all about the repetition. In the original it was wax on wax off. In the remake it was pick up your jacket, put it on the jacket, take it off the jacket, put down the jacket.
Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers. - Elizabeth Arden
The characters viewed the repetitive process as a waste of their time. They complained and asked when would they learn karate. It wasn't until the person who coached them took a swing while yelling wax on or pick up the jacket that shit got real. They realized the lesson began a long time ago. While in the process they didn't know those repetitive actions were building skills for future success. When they won the championship they were grateful for the skill building.
As a brand leader you should be able to wax on and pick up jackets like no bodies business. Because you're so fucking good at it, it should be at the forefront of your brand. It is what makes you famous. Doing a bunch of things well means very little to anyone. Doing one thing well, all the fucking time, and making sure folx know it, can make you a brand leader.
Baby Step 2 - Recognize & Realize The Potential
The only reason a coach would take on an athlete is because they recognize the potential for greatness. The only reason an athlete will work with the right coach is because they realize they need that work. What the athlete can't realize is the work it will take to make it happen. They need the push of a good coach.
Any coach can work the physical. A good coach also works the mind. The realization of something starts in the head but some of us can't make it happen without a coach. One of the most renowned basketball coaches I know of is Phil Jackson. He didn't just push muscle, he pushed mindsets. Kobe Bryant was quoted saying, "He's really good at working with a player's mind.” Phil Jackson knew there was more to basketball than jumpsuits and free throws.
Using your brand leadership skills to recognize the potential of what you offer means you see its value. Aiming it at the available target market (ATM) is when you realize that potential. When you hit your audience with some of every thing it's because you don't recognize the potential in anything. Take a closer look at that repetitive shit you can do in your sleep and recognize its potential.
Baby Step 2 - Challenge In Order To Motivate
If a coach has done their job, the individual is prepared for future success with the right mindset. Now comes the part where a coach must motivate. If you had my kind of childhood you may have experienced, “I dare you to knock this off my shoulder” moments. Those were words use to motivate you to fight. It didn’t matter what you were fighting for. If you hesitated then you got the double dog dare. If you didn’t want to be a sucka duck you went in with your head down and windmill arms flying.
In order to stay motivated you have to find that chip you want to knock off someones shoulder, metaphorically of course. If there is no motivating factor there is no reason for you to get out of bed every morning to conquer the world. In the Karate Kid they were motivated to stop the bullies. In the sequel with the original cast, there were new bullies that presented a new challenge. Terry Bradshaw said it best. “When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.”
Business Leaders are motivated every day to make money for what they do. Brand Leaders are motivated by the reputation of how they make money. Each serves a purpose and has a different role to play. If you're a business of one right now you have to take on both roles. The motivation of your personal brand and the motivation of your business brand require different challenges. The brand leader knows how to motivate both.
Focusing on just these three nuggets, I agreed with the questionnaire findings. I was a coach and it changed how I saw myself. I had to shift my thinking of being a tough love, in your face mom vibe. That was back when I was a practicing life and business coach. I embraced my leadership COACHING style. It was my fourth certification as a brand coach that lead me down the path of branding.
I never finished my other certifications to become a Master Coach. I'm branded for life. However, as a Brand Leader my style remains as one who coaches when I engage with my clients. I work with second career entrepreneurs who want to brand on their terms. I recognize the potential of what they don't realize, I challenge them to be real in their branding process, I make them repeat exercises so they know their brand better than anybody.
Knowing Your Style Makes Difference
Knowing your leadership style gives you insight to your strengths and weakness as a leader. It puts you in the right place at the right time. You won’t chase opportunities you’re not suited for or you’ll adapt if it’s something you want.
One of my strengths is that I always have a pick me up in my back pocket. I must admit it’s seldom sugar-coated. I pull it out when I see someone giving up on something I know they want and are working towards. It's my gift to speak to total strangers and give them the pep talk they need. The trick is knowing who is receptive to my style so I don't make them cry.
Communicating as a brand leader puts me in a position to be judged positively or negatively. In order to be heard and understood my intended audience has to be receptive to my style. There is nothing worse than looking out into a crowd and seeing boredom and time checkers. Choosing the wrong opportunity will do that to a brand. You launched at the wrong time, to the wrong people, the wrong way.
Leadership styles come in various shapes, forms and packages. Various leadership roles exist in the home, on the job, in the church or where ever else you choose to congregate. Coaching is one leadership style among many. It is most effective in a small group or one-on-one setting. It is a style that creates a positive culture. It is not very effective on those who are averse to change. This leadership style works for me and my brand. It's a style I'm comfortable with because it allows me to be me; a bossy mom type who nags others to be the best version of them self.
If you're struggling to step into your role as a brand leader, click below so we can see what you're already working with.
Ghetto Country Brandmother®
Certified as a Brand Strategist, Business & Life Coach with a degree in Business. She is also a former bbq restaurant owner & certified bbq judge.
She is making it her personal mission to show entrevivalist™ how to connect the dots of their
life, brand & business one brandybaby® at a time.
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