Meetings are among the most powerful work activities for building your personal brand. That’s because the people you seek to impact, influence and impress are in the room (or Zoom room), and you were invited because you have something important to contribute to the conversation. Meetings give you an opportunity to showcase your expertise and demonstrate your leadership potential. They are also a valuable forum for building and reinforcing relationships with colleagues and leaders. Meetings provide the perfect venue for bolstering your personal brand.
Future leaders are spotted in meetings
When you take meetings seriously, you’re making a major deposit in your personal-brand bank. Being truly serious about meetings means staying engaged from start to finish, even when it is tempting to tune out after delivering your update. A few simple leadership behaviours can turn a routine work activity into a meaningful career accelerator. Beyond enhancing your reputation, meetings are often where leaders identify those with high potential. It’s where future leaders are spotted. When you demonstrate these leadership behaviours, you turn the meetings you attend into meaningful brand boosters.
Preparedness: Leaders take meetings seriously
One of the most valuable leadership moves happens before you walk into the conference room or click “Join Meeting.” Preparation signals professionalism. Before every meeting, review the agenda and gather key data. Then, arrive a few minutes early. The prep step is among the most important elements of a meeting. Yet, the busyness of work often prevents us from completing this step. That diminishes your opportunity to shine. Successful leaders don’t wing it, they come prepared. When you’re prepared, you’re more likely to get value from the meeting and contribute meaningfully and memorably. Rather than just showing up, take time beforehand to consider:
• What’s expected of you. Are you being asked for insights, approval or a decision?
• Your personal objective for the meeting. How can you add value and enhance your visibility?
• Stakeholders. Who are the key people you want to connect with or support. How can you establish and strengthen those relationships?
• Recognition opportunities. Who deserves a thank you or shout-out? Leaders are generous with praise, and being specific makes recognition even more meaningful.
• Smart questions. Asking powerful questions during a meeting is a great way to help everyone get clarity about the topics. Think about the questions you have that others might also have, and be prepared to ask them at the appropriate moment.
Engagement: Leaders are actively engaged throughout the meeting
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in meetings is letting your attention wane once your part is done. Staying fully present throughout the meeting signals that you are engaged, you care about outcomes and you’re committed to success. Being engaged takes a few forms:
• Use visual listening. Eye contact and cues, like nodding and note-taking, show that you’re listening.
• Ask clarifying questions. These questions will help surface assumptions, risks, alternatives and next steps.
• Connect the dots. Reference content that came before and express interest about future agenda topics to show that you’re committed to the entire meeting.
• Advance the conversation. Summarise what you’re hearing and propose a next step and owner when appropriate. These small behaviours help demonstrate that you’re attentive, collaborative and focused on the team’s success.
Demonstrating leadership in virtual meetings
When attending meetings virtually, be even more intentional about how you show up because the screen is a scrim that dilutes your presence and message. Although many of us treat virtual meetings as less important than those that take place in person, they come with the same opportunity to influence stakeholders and showcase your leadership skills. A few virtual meeting best practices:
• Keep your camera on.
Be visible and frame yourself well (eye-level camera, good lighting, smile).
• Resist multitasking. Virtual meetings come with the temptation to multitask, and virtually everyone is guilty of doing it. Although we all think we can multitask, science tells us that we can’t. Show that visible attention is part of your brand.
• Use the medium. Although most elements of virtual meetings can feel less visceral, there are some features that can make digital meetings more dynamic. Leverage chat to amplify others, drop helpful links and capture next steps in real time.
• Mind your environment. A clean, branded background, clear audio and concise visuals will help enhance your credibility. A little extra effort ensures your ideas and your leadership land, even on a 13-inch (or smaller) screen.
Make the most of meetings to showcase your leadership potential
When you adopt the skills, mindsets and behaviours necessary to show up powerfully in meetings and apply them to all the meetings (real and virtual) you attend, you take a giant step toward moving into a more senior role. Get into the habit and watch your credibility and career soar.
