From the course: Building Your Visibility as a Leader

The value of mental real estate

- Have you ever needed help and immediately thought of someone you could call to help you? Of course you have. We all have. And having leadership visibility means that when people have problems, you're the first person they think of. Some people call this being top of mind because you are the top, the first person people think of, but I've always preferred another term for this, mental real estate. Have you ever wondered why some people can't remember the names of their distant relatives, but can name hundreds of celebrities they've never met? It's because those celebrities have acquired mental real estate. They occupy part of the audience's mind, and that's why they get paid to go on TV, or be in movies, or show up at nightclubs. Every leader needs to be a mental real estate mogul. People need to think of you. They need to know who you are and they need the chance to see, and read, and hear about what you do. This should be a core guiding principle as you build your leadership visibility, and it's the reason why you need a strategy. Every time you write an article, post on social media, make a video, or appear on a podcast, it should help you acquire more mental real estate. You want people who you admire and people who you want to work with to notice what you're doing. Think of 10 business people you personally know and admire and write their names down. Then write down how you came into contact with them. That's probably the way they acquired your mental real estate. Do you see a pattern? If you do, it should give you some ideas on how to build your own leadership visibility. After all, one of your top goals should be that people in your organization, other organizations, and your industry put you in their top 10. You need their mental real estate and with some planning, and time investment, you'll become a real estate mogul, too. And this course will help you do it.

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