Let’s meet at the Crossroads of Vision, leadership and Brand. By Jessi LaCosta

You may ask – “Where is this crossroad? I don’t see it on a map…”

And that is precisely why we need to look harder. This crossroad has always been there – whether we see it or not. Just like a brand. It is up to us to manage it.

So now let’s say you have a vision – an idea of great purpose. You must get to a specific destination to bring this vision into reality. So you are facing a crossroads – which path do you take? You also know that if you could find a partner – someone willing to help – accomplishing this idea of great purpose may happen sooner. You are standing at this crossroad and a stranger comes along, stops next to you and has about 10 minutes before heading down a path. The stranger just wants change and is interested in where you’re going. You’ve just figured out your path, and you realize that the one the stranger is about to take is very long with many questionable turns. You also know that if this stranger were to join you, powerful things could happen. Yet, when you got to explain all this – the words come out scrambled. You know that if the stranger could just understand your strategy, your brand and head down the path with you, the outcome would be awesome. So, how could you have articulated your idea of great purpose – your vision so that this stranger would have followed? What about Vision and how does that lead to Brand?

Brands are merely perceptions of and experiences with an organization, person, product or service. They are built by how that organization, person, product or service lives up to its promise- promises that stemmed from vision. Brands are more than slogans and logos. They are the concepts – the essences behind this organization, person, product, or service. Brands are also about the value that others receive by being in connection with this organization, person, product, or service. Leaders have brands – and they reflect on the leaders’ values, promises and visions. Without good articulation and implementation of vision by the leaders, followers can be unsure and wavering. More than that, the followers begin to craft their own version of the leaders’ brands – often with perilous results. So back to that crossroad. If by chance before the stranger came up you, you had asked yourself three things and prepared genuine answers, would you be able to guide the stranger to a better path? I say probably so. What would that moment have looked like – before the stranger arrived?

- What are my three best attributes – and how can I share them with others?

- What is my primary goal with this great idea of purpose – and how can I make it happen?

- How will achieving this goal impact others – immediately and than in the future?

Just by answering these you have begun to define the destiny so much better, you will be able to lead because you can articulate:
1. Your personal brand
2. Your mission
3. Your Vision
And when you lead with your vision and deliver on your promises – you develop your authentic brand. This is the platform for articulating great things and being the leader that others WILL follow.

Great leaders are more than focused. They are more than passionate. They have vision. They deliver on their promises. They have an authentic brand – and they manage that brand brilliantly.

Jessi LaCosta is one of the leading authorities focusing on organizational effectiveness through Brand Leadership Coaching, Visioning and Strategic Planning for nonprofits as well as other mission-driven organizations and leaders.

For over eight years, Leadership UB has provided leadership training and opportunities for service and reflection to University of Baltimore and the surrounding community. To find out how you can get involved, visit www.ubalt.edu/leadership or e-mail leadership@ubalt.edu.

Heaps of Praise for a True Team Player

With the NFL season drawing to a close, and football fans suddenly searching for something else to do with their Sunday afternoons, I thought it would be a great time to talk about football and leadership.

For those of you who don't watch football (and I'm told you're out there somewhere), don't stop reading now. While football is the metaphor in this case, this is still a post about leadership and I promise it will come to a good point.

Todd Heap is the starting tight end for the Baltimore Ravens, a franchise that went from 5-11 and a fired coach last year to 11-5 and the conference championship this year, under the guidance of a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach.

What led the Ravens from the bottom of the proverbial Heap (I promise not to abuse that pun any more) to the upper echelon of the NFL in one year? To be sure, it wasn't the work of one player. No, the Ravens made it to the game that decided the eventual Super Bowl champion with a total team effort. Let's not discuss, for the moment, that the Pittsburgh Steelers beat them on the way to winning the Super Bowl in that game - that would only distract us from the question at hand.

How did Todd Heap contribute to the winning formula of a superb 2008 Ravens team?

A look at the stats will tell the tale. If you throw out his 2007 season, where he was limited to only 6 games due to a nagging injury, the numbers are quite favorable. For the six seasons between 2001-2006, Heap averaged 52 catches, 610 yards and 4.3 touchdowns per season.

So how did Heap do in 2008? Glad you asked. The two-time Pro Bowl receiving tight end hauled in a pedestrian 35 catches for 403 yards and 3 touchdowns. A bad year, right?

Not hardly. To understand Heap's contribution, you must understand blocking. For those who are not NFL fans, blocking is an unheralded but vital part of a football team's offense. The tight end can be used in one of two ways - to go out and try to catch the ball, or to stay in and essentially become a sixth offensive lineman, keeping the defenders off the quarterback (who throws the ball) or the running back (you can guess what he does).

Heap was wisely called upon to block for most of the year, to open up holes for a much-needed (and highly successful) running game, and to protect a rookie passer (Joe "Joe Cool" Flacco).

Did you hear Heap once complain about his lack of catches? Did you hear him criticize his coaches for the way he was utilized? No way. Granted, it's easier to keep your peace when the team is winning, but you get the feeling Heap wouldn't complain even if the team was losing.

Heap obviously knows a thing or two about leadership. He was asked to trade in a visible role on the team for one far less glamorous (and one much more likely to leave black and blue marks the day after). His reward? A trip to the championship game, one win away from the Super Bowl.

To have a successful team, you must have team members who are willing to sacrifice individual recognition for the good of the group. True leaders don't always stand out. Many are nearly invisible but vital parts of their teams.

It takes a whole team working together to accomplish key goals. Every great team (football or otherwise) has a cast of veritable unknowns working feverishly behind the scenes.

Does your team have any Todd Heaps? Unnoticed, unhearalded, "cogs" who do the dirty work but don't necessarily get recognized for it?

Do you have a story about a team member who went above and beyond to help accomplish a task, or who took on work no one else wanted to do because he or she recognized it was work that absolutely had to be done?

Comment below and tell us about the Todd Heaps you've met, and how important they are to the success of your team. And, while you're at it, consider throwing some praise their way the next time you see them.

Anthony Butler is the assistant director of leadership in the Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement at the University of Baltimore.

Visit Leadership UB online at www.ubalt.edu/leadership. For more information, e-mail leadership@ubalt.edu or call the Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement at 410.837.5419. Please feel free to comment here and return often for weekly articles on leadership by scholars, presenters and participants involved in Leadership UB.

Leadership is a choice.

Welcome to Take the Lead, the new blog for Leadership UB, the Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement's Leadership Certification Program.

This is a place to discuss leadership, in every facet and every way it affects our daily lives. The world needs great leaders now more than ever. Never before has it been more important to recognize that the potential for great leadership lies within each of us.

Note that I said that the potential lies within us, not necessarily great leadership itself. Great leadership requires action and determination, skill and execution, and occasionally, just a bit of wit. Potential that isn't acted upon is nothing more than a vanity exercise (and sometimes it's not even that).

Someone once said "whether you think you're a leader or not, you're right." Actually, that quote probably works for a lot of things, but it works especially well for leadership. Think about what that quote means. You are fully capable of convincing yourself that you cannot lead. You're also fully capable of convincing yourself that you can. It's all up to you.

No matter your position within an organization or group, you have the ability to influence others and create change.

That's not to say that it's easy. Anyone who tries to lead a group, organization or community, will face significant barriers. They may even face a moment of total doubt, when the situation is grim and success seems impossible. These are the times when we most need to rely on skilled leadership, along with a quality that cannot be fabricated or replicated: An internal fire. The determination to succeed.

Leadership is a choice. Whether you believe that leaders are born are made, you must recognize that they are nothing if they do not choose to lead. In fact, you might say there's a third option: Leaders make themselves.

Consider ways you can make a positive change in your group, organization or community. Realize that the first step is believing that you can. Understand that you have access to tremendous resources, a powerful network, and the support you need to get things done, if only you know where to look.

One such resource is Leadership UB, the Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement's leadership certification program at the University of Baltimore. Visit www.ubalt.edu/leadership to review our Spring 2009 schedule and a full range of activities that can help you develop your leadership skills, and earn certification as an Emerging, Established and Experienced leader. Our program is primarily for students, but is also open to University of Baltimore faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the community at large.

Feel free to use this space to suggest ways you can make a difference in your group, organization or community. There has never been a better time to decide to take the lead.

For more information, e-mail leadership@ubalt.edu or call the Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement at 410.837.5419. Please feel free to comment here and return often for weekly articles on leadership by scholars, presenters and participants involved in Leadership UB.