April 2013: Be Visible

As a leader, it’s important that you are visible to the people you’re leading.

Visibility takes many forms. For some, it’s about being in the public eye -- being on CNBC or the speaker circuit. But strong leaders understand the most important form of visibility comes from enabling important stakeholders (beginning on the inside of their organizations) to connect with them on a personal level and get a feel for who they are and what they care about. 

Many leaders are ‘time bankrupt’ these days, often sacrificing their visibility to the pressing issues du jour.  And, the prevalence of electronic communication makes it easy to fall into the habit of transmitting messages to people without ever seeing them – or letting them see you.  As a leader, your job is to galvanize others to achieve a goal. The more personally connected people feel to you, the easier it is for them to passionately embrace the mission. 

Today, consider how you can be more visible – how you can interact more meaningfully and personally with the people who matter most to the achievement of organizational goals.