What are at least three key course takeaways that resonate with you and may use in your current
or future workplace? Explain how they resonate with you.
The three key takeaways that have resonated with me throughout this course are the power of
brand equity, communication with all involved stakeholders, and strategically coming up with
preliminary plans to build a company back up in the event of a tragic event. Brand equity is the
value that is held and represents the company's worth; this is translated through the product, staff,
and all other associations related to a company's mission and production output. This resonates
with me because as I work within my current role and move up the ranks, it has solidified my
thinking of holding the highest standard as I do my part on the team to build the company’s image
throughout my delegations.
Communication is key to success; therefore, to have effective planning and actions, it is essential to
inform all involved parties with direct facts and avoid withholding information to sustain
relationships and build trust. This skill is something that I will continue to practice as I
communicate with my colleagues, subordinates, and other associates within my department.
Next to communication, working as a team to develop strategic plans to implement has become
evident in avoiding crises from escalating or happening in the first place. That is where proper
protocols and training must be available for all team members to ensure competency and increase
productivity. I will continue to encourage growth by enhancing skills via in-services and training
that I must make available for my staff.
When thinking of attributes of an effective leader, what personal brand traits do they appear to
possess?
An effective leader is proud to represent and defend the company's brand throughout all positive
or negative aspects. This leader will be willing to listen to opinions internally and externally and use
this information to build the brand's best interest while remedying all negatives. This leader must
be a good communicator and build trust with all stakeholders and allies of the organization.
Overall, this leader must be open and willing to live the company's mission and translate it out to
the world.
Describe your desired personal brand. How can being a lifelong learner help reach your selected
unique brand image?
For my brand, I imagine that I would be open and easy to communicate with and pay attention to
detail while working diligently to achieve goals. This goal will be completed and solidified through
having an open mind and being willing to be a team player. As a lifelong learner, this goal can be
achieved through a willingness to participate in all skills that will aid in the growth and
development of my overall being as I lead in my current and future roles.
Three concepts that resonated with me with a lasting effect was understanding the dynamic of
cross functionality, SMART goal setting, and identifying stakeholders and corresponding
communication needs. In the manner of cross functionality, I began to see a macro view of how the
teams worked together, and the importance of each in the dynamic of turning the wheel of a
business. Setting proper goals is just as it sounds. I mostly like the idea the figures associated with
the goals in reference to time of achievement and to what degree of success of those goals. Lastly,
understanding the needs of stakeholders and what methods to take to communicate with them on
their level of understanding and viewpoint.
My leadership style is more of a like it like I talk methodology. Meaning be the change you want to
see in the eyes of others. I believe as long as you do this and carry that energy that people will be
compelled to not only notice, but that it's contagious in the workplace. A smart man believed he
could change the world, but a wise man understood that he must start with himself...... The
learning and continuous improvement is what keeps people relevant in different areas of life. This
approach allows discovery of new skills and untapped potential.
The learnings that I have had from the course have been extremely valuable. The first takeaway
from the course that deeply resonates with me is that leaders must have a comprehensive vision
that can be implemented throughout an organization. By developing a solid vision, it is possible to
enable the workforce to function in a cohesive manner. My second takeaway is that leaders must
possess knowledge in diverse business areas such as marketing, branding as well as strategy
formulation (Leithwood & Azah, 2016). I believe that leaders must use their position to guide the
entire business entity so that it can work in an aligned manner and the business goals and
objectives can be met. My third takeaway from the course is that leaders must use their
communication skills so that they can share their insight with others and enable the organizational
personnel to remain motivated. These three elements resonate with me because I believe that in
the contemporary business landscape, I need to strengthen these areas so that I can be an
effective leader.
While thinking of an effective leader, some of the key attributes that I possess are integrity,
emphasis on work ethics, ability to influence others, and communication skills. In addition to these
elements, I also have empathy which helps me to connect with others and establish strong
relationships with people in diverse settings (Leithwood & Azah, 2016). These elements act as
important brand traits that improve my ability as an effective leader.
My desired personal brand is ‘I am an effective leader who believes in empowering my
subordinates through my communication skills, empathy, integrity, and management skills so that
proper cohesion can be maintained within the organization.’ By being a lifelong learner, I will be
able to reach the desired personal brand image. I would basically try to seize both formal as well as
informal learning opportunities to develop new skills that can enable me to lead and influence
others. In the evolving business landscape, I need to constantly learn and grow so that I can adapt
as a leader and strive to become an effective leader that creates value for organizations as well as
subordinates. b b
It’s hard to believe this course has come to an end. Three key course takeaways that resonated
with me were the importance of creating an internal communication plan, how traditional and
digital marketing methods can be blended to reach target audiences, and the utilization of a
continuous improvement plan for preserving brand identity and reputation.
In my opinion, an effective leader’s personal brand traits are the ability to communicate effectively,
mentor individuals, be able to admit when they are wrong, and reward employees for stellar
performance.
I have and still am working hard on building my brand image. My learning is achieved through
professional, academic, and personal experiences. I strongly believe in Albert Einstein’s quote
“Once you stop learning you start dying”. With that, I will never cease to learn something new that
may make me a more effective leader. As a result, my brand image will surely improve as others
will see the level of dedication I place on lifelong learning.
What a crazy ride this term has been. I certainly learned a lot that can be applied in my current
career and most definitely in the future.
First, I learned that branding is fluid and has more to do with an organizations overall vision,
mission and strategies than just the products they are trying to sell. Marketing has had to evolve to
due the increased need for immediate gratification through digital applications and social media
platforms, in order to be successful it is important for an organization to constantly evolve and
keep their brand at the forefront of their marketing strategy.
I believe that effective leaders possess strong integrity, creativity and the ability to look beyond
what is right in front of them to create innovative changes in the organizations and within the
teams that they lead.
The type of branded leader I would like to be is strong, effective and empowering to not only my
organizations but to the people that work within my organization.
We finally made it to week 10! I have really enjoyed learning from you all and appreciate the
insights you have given me. Though my undergraduate is in marketing, much has changed in the
past few years, and I am truly grateful to be able to see different ways to look at this course
scenario. The three course takeaways that resonated with me were the Hubspot Inbound
Marketing Certification, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Multi-generational Marketing. The
inbound marketing certification was a fantastic way to better understand what the buyer’s journey
is and how customers go through these decision-making processes. I have spent many years in
outside sales where I would have to find the potential customer and interrupt their day to try and
convince them of a value proposition. Inbound marketing is a great way to “accelerate leads into
sales opportunities” and would have been a great tool to take advantage of in my previous roles
(Feinberg, n.d.). Understanding multi-generational marketing was a tremendous help as well. Not
only do we need to tailor our message to suit our target audience, but different generations
require different channels of delivery. Finally, the research I did in Corporate Social Responsibility
will help in my future career. It is not enough for a company or brand to simply provide their
respective products or services; they must use that platform to strengthen their communities.
Research shows that 87% of American consumers are more likely to buy a product from a company
that advocates for an issue they care about, and 76% would refuse to purchase a product if they
found out a company supported an issue contrary to their beliefs (Murphy, 2022).
My MBA focus is Sustainability and Environmental Compliance, and CSR is something that I will
enjoy helping businesses develop and implement.
Two of the most important qualities of an effective leader would be visioning and communication.
Without being able to envision the future and communicate that vision effectively, it would be
difficult to inspire others. “Leaders who Inspire a Shared Vision passionately believe that they can
make a difference” (Shafer Leadership Academy, 2018). This is critical to my personal brand. In
focusing on sustainability and environmental compliance, I want to inspire others to make a
difference. My desired personal brand is one of passion, integrity, empathy, and a desire to make
the world a better place. Being a lifelong learner is so critical to my trajectory because to be
successful, we must have a learning and growth mindset. The world is volatile, uncertain, and in a
perpetual state of change. By having this learning mindset, I will continually build value in myself
and seek opportunities that are out of my comfort zone (like this class). Though I have no intention
of being in a marketing role, having this understanding of buyers is an invaluable asset to add to
my repertoire.
The three takeaways from the course that resonated with me the most and will takeaway in my
current or future workplace are assessing cross functional capabilities more deeply with various
stakeholders that I interact with. This includes IT Finance and internal audit specifically. Trying to
build relationships from which to leverage efficiencies that are pain points such as developing a
new sampling calculator and automating recs that are currently manual in nature. Challenging to
develop alone but with various skill sets brought together from an accounting and data science
backgrounds create a lot of possibility.
Another part of the course that I think will be helpful is implementing the PDCA method around
several SOX controls I work on as it pertains to a co-sourcing initiative that my company entered
this past year. It has been challenging venture but using the method in the project gave me ideas
of trying to measure the efficacy of testing in various different ways and recalibrating based on
findings to improve transfer of knowledge surrounding control testing to parts of our team that are
now very far away.
Lastly, I enjoyed the part of the course regarding developing SMART objectives and working to
develop objectives that are profitable. In the future I would like to move from an internal
audit/corporate governance background to a role more versed in financial planning and analysis. I
felt getting experience creating objectives that align with modeling for profitability is valuable
regarding future career aspirations.
When I think of attributes of an effective leader certain brand traits that come to mind include
integrity, flexibility, strong communication, competence, and being self-aware. When I think of my
personal brand as I develop in my career, I hope to develop these traits and then some. Being a
lifelong learner, I think helps develop self-awareness which in my mind is one of the most crucial
elements of being a leader. Being able to dissolve one’s ego and being open to different thoughts
and ideas that are outside the scope of what you may typically engage with.
What are at least three key course takeaways that resonate with you and that you may use in your
current or future workplace? Explain how they resonate with you.
As we complete this course I takeaway a higher appreciation for marketing teams. Brand equity
was a totally new concept to me as I have always worked in operations which function in response
to customer demand for a product/service that is generally already known. However, thinking back
to other courses where I looked at Amazon an Apple. Both these companies had products with no
initial demand (ecommerce/iPod).
My first takeaway is seeing how well they created awareness of their products. For our fictional
company we were challenged to create awareness that our services are better. I found this
particularly challenging. I figured theme parks, people go or the don’t. Most know they are taking
their lives in their own hands. I thought about trying to reach those people who are the fence. How
do we reach that group with a positive message that the park is once again safe? I am not sure I
figured it out.
My second takeaway is understanding how important communication both internal and external is
to maintaining brand loyalty. Customers put a lot of trust in theme park services and if messaging
sounds just a little disingenuous then that trust is broken. Though in researching I am sure lots of
us read about Action Park in NJ. Not sure how that place stayed in business. Nonetheless
consumers are fickle and easily turned off so the whole of the company needs to speak to the
brand message and that message must be genuine and backed up by product quality.
My third takeaway is understanding how connected consumers are to a brand. Our first discussion
post asked what our favorite brand is. Most of us tried to answer the question without seeming
too brand conscious but I think each of us agreed that we do associate brand to a memory. Good
memories mean we buy a brand while bad memories mean we do not. I think this happens when
marketing presents company products in places where customer can associate good memories.
There is plenty of empty wall space in a dentist office, but I am pretty sure no company wants to
waste money trying to advertise there.
When thinking of attributes of an effective leader, what personal brand traits do they appear to
possess?
The effective leaders I have worked with all possess a sense of confidence in themselves and the
ability of the team. They believe in the organization’s ability to do good for the customer. They
provided a clear strategic approach and empowered the team members to determine the tactical
day to day approach.
Describe your desired personal brand. How can being a lifelong learner help with reaching your
desired personal brand image?
I have been working as management consultant for 17 years. My goal in this position is to be
regarded as a knowledgeable and practical advisor. My personal brand is that of trusted advisor.
That means always reading, always asking questions, always aware of the world around me so
lifelong learning is how I stay employed. The most important part of my job is earning the trust of
my client. I have not thought of this as brand management but now that we are at the end of this
course I can see now that having a personal brand is as important as supporting the corporate
brand.
References
Leithwood, K., & Azah, V. N. (2016). Characteristics of effective leadership networks. Journal of
Educational Administration.
Feinberg, J. (n.d.). Inbound Marketing vs. Inbound Sales. SP Home Run Inc. Retrieved May 24, 2022,
from http://www.sphomerun.com/blog/inbound-marketing-vs.-inbound-
sales#:%7E:text=Inbound%20marketing%20attracts%20new%20strangers,sales%20opportunities%2
0into%20new%20clients.
Murphy, C. (2022, March 24). Why Is Social Responsibility Important to Some Businesses?
Investopedia. Retrieved May 24, 2022, from
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/041015/why-social-responsibility-important-
business.asp
Shafer Leadership Academy. (2018, August 26). Inspire a Shared Vision. Retrieved May 24, 2022,
from
https://www.shaferleadership.com/inspireasharedvision/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CLeaders%20who%
20Inspire%20a%20Shared,enlist%20others%20in%20their%20dreams.
