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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, being original, and having a strong executive image. Each of these factors is tied to specific behaviors and can therefore be improved through awareness and practice.

Image is commonly thought of as being based on various external aspects of a person, such as physical appearance or formal status. Your image is affected by these elements, but it is also affected by any impression you make on others. Your personality, behavior, body language, and speaking style all contribute to your image.

Did I Say That?

These are some typical behaviors and their common interpretations. Can you think of others?

Behaviors	Interpretations
lack of eye contact	deceptive
crossed arms	defensive
“… um … uh …”	nervous
shifting eyes	not trustworthy

Your image may be the conduit through which people initially know you; it can have a great impact on how they get to know you as a person and as a leader. Whether someone is getting to know you through a first meeting, over time, or even through the media, your image is being broadcast and your reputation is being formed. In the short term, image is important because you have only a few minutes to interact before others draw conclusions about you. In the long term, your image is tied to your credibility and effectiveness. In particular, people value consistency in what you say, what you do, and how you appear.

Fortunately, you can have a great deal of control over the image others have of you. Laura Morgan Roberts of Harvard Business School puts it this way: “People manage impressions through their nonverbal behavior (appearance, demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosures), and demonstrative acts (citizenship, job performance).”