In this episode, we explore why every leader has a personal brand — whether they’ve defined it or not. But this isn’t about marketing or social media. It’s about consistency, clarity, and trust.

Your team is always watching how you show up. Are you steady under pressure? Clear in your expectations? Aligned in your words and actions? The most effective leaders aren’t unpredictable — they’re intentional. When people know what to expect from you, they feel safer, more focused, and more confident in their work.

We unpack what it really means to cultivate a leadership “brand” rooted in values, behavior, and emotional consistency — and why predictability isn’t boring, it’s powerful. If you want to lead with greater influence and build deeper trust with your team, this episode will challenge you to think about how you show up every single day.

Leaders eat last...meaning they get the perks and credit last. The team always gets those things first.

But leaders GO first.

Which means when something difficult must be done the leader has to go first.

When a new standard is set, the leader must model it first.

When the difficult things need to be said or a tough conversation needs to be had, the leader must initiate those things first.

Leaders don't wait around for the team or someone else to go first. That's pure abdication of leadership.

Going first is a responsibility every leader must embrace if they want credibility and buy-in from the team and the people around them.

In part one we discussed how easy it is to fall into the habit of leading through authority instead of influence and the pitfalls that come with that style of "leadership".

In this follow-up episode we discuss how to build influence so you no longer have to "lead" with authority and have the people you lead give you their hearts, minds, and effort because they WANT to and not because they HAVE to.

This style of leadership will lead to much more success and fulfillment for you and the team/organization you lead.