Building an Authentic Leadership Image

Your image can be either an asset or a liability for you as a leader. Image building is neither superficial nor unimportant. It's not about creating a false image, but recognizing genuine aspects of yourself that should be coming across to other people-but aren't. Crafting your image requires you to gain a clear picture of the image people are currently perceiving, decide what image you would like to portray, and develop the skills to close the gap.

This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. 

Corey Criswell is a research associate at CCL's Colorado Springs campus. She researches senior executives in the Leadership at the Peak program and manages a component of the program designed to help executives hone their executive presence. She holds an M.S. in biology from the Florida Institute of Technology.

During his thirty-four years at the Center for Creative Leadership, David Campbell was a Visiting Fellow, executive vice president, and the first Smith Richardson Senior Fellow. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota.