Marketing Yourself through Leadership

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Recently, I made a really cool connection between leadership and marketing--a really cool, powerful connection.  I almost feel silly that I didn't think of this earlier.

When you understand this concept, I think it might really reshape some of your core thoughts...because it will seem SO obvious.  Let's just say that leadership is a technique...that we've known seemingly forever.

How do I arrive this, that leadership is really one of the extreme forms of marketing?

Leading to Logic: Leadership is the Ultimate Form of Marketing

Sometimes, people teach us a lesson, but we do not really learn that lesson at the time they try giving it to us.



Most of the time, it seems like we learn that lesson ONLY when we're good and ready to learn it for ourselves, if we ever learn it at all.

Sometimes, we do not really learn it until we find a practical application for that lesson that other person tried to teach us.

A friend of mine made a really good point about what it takes to be a leader.  He told me that being a leader BEGINS with wanting to HELP people.  Wanting to help people--alone--will not make a leader, because there is much more to being a genuine leader than helping people, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to be a true leader without wanting to help people.

See Also: Purpose of Marketing - Delivering a Message or Just Getting Attention?

Leadership starts there--with a true desire to HELP people.

Hopefully, a leader develops enough to where helping people becomes second nature--if not natural--but this is a good guideline for people who want to become leaders who aren't there, yet.

What does this have to do with marketing?

Leadership = Maximum Marketing by Accident

As it turns, leadership has nearly everything to do with marketing.

Always on Display: When you are a true leader, you are demonstrating to the world that you are a resource.  You are providing your own live portfolio to the world about what you can do.  People are paying attention to you (as a leader), because they WANT to pay attention to what you're doing...and who you are.

Referrals Coming Naturally: People WANT to follow you.  They want to be cool--by association--and RECOMMEND you, because they see you as the best, even if you are the only one they know.  (Therefore, you become the best...by default.)

Connections: Real leaders have lots of connections, sometimes by design...other times by accident.  No matter the original intent, true leaders know a lot of people, and they know which people to refer...acting as a marketing machine.  (Don't think these other people are unaware of how that leader refers people.)

Duplication through Imitation: Leaders inspire people to be greater, but a lot of people don't know where else to begin...besides doing the same things and acting the same way as that original leader.  That leader's efforts become duplicated, because that leader has followers trying to do the same thing.

In the end, isn't that what we want from marketing?  Don't we want people to see us as the expert worth hiring?  worth referring?  worth being referred to someone else by you?

What markets you more strongly--and more convincingly--than these things?

If you haven't thought about it, already, I suggest you begin considering marketing yourself through leadership.  Leaders market themselves just by being themselves.  Plus, other people love to market worthy leaders.

Can you think of any reason you would NOT want to market yourself through leadership?

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