I was reading an article recently, written by a former Navy submarine captain, about the personal brand of one of his mentors, an admiral he served under from 1995-2005.

In three well-written paragraphs he inadvertently, albeit eloquently, summed up all that is wrong with the type of leadership development so many senior management today are “lucky” to have as part of their professional career development.

The admiral’s virtues and characteristics were described in vivid detail, including the striking anecdotal evidence that demonstrated so clearly a man who was not just a commander, able to use his power and influence to ensure his teams obeyed his rule, but a true leader who inspired people to follow him.

Described as ”possessing a humility that, despite his significant authority and influence, allowed him to walk amongst those who served beneath him as a team-mate”. A man capable of translating his self-confidence and incredible intelligence into a tool to get the best out of his people. On being asked whether his ego ever ran riot, the former seaman replied that the only time the admiral displayed a hint of an ego was on the basketball court, where he would ”talk big but with a big smile on his face”. However, outside of the basketball court, “his ego was replaced by an evident pride in, and devotion to, those he served with”.

A couple of years ago I was retained by a city firm to work with one of their ‘rising stars’ on their personal brand. Described by the HR director as being “an exceptional talent but lacking in the ‘corporate-ness’ necessary to lead and therefore succeed” I was intrigued to meet her, especially given this was a comment once made about me.

This rising star was truly exceptional. Bright, engaging, intelligent and confident, she knew her subject matter inside out and was able to translate it into any number of amusing and witty anecdotes to get her point across. Beneath the genuine smile and boundless enthusiasm also lurked a will of iron and an uncompromising view of what she expected both from herself and from her team. On meeting her team, I discovered she was both loved and respected. Her more trusting approach in man-management had secured her the trust and loyalty of every single one of them.

After spending a few days with her and with her team, I visited my client (the HR director) to better understand why I had been retained. From what I could see, this rising star was not in need of any help with her image or behaviour. If anything, I felt she should be held up as an example to many of her colleagues. The answer I was given was as follows:

“We are a business with a high-performance culture. Although she has all of this intelligence and expertise she neither looks like nor acts like the rest of the senior managers in this business and as such needs her personal brand to be more business-focused”.

With an earnest and serious expression on her face, my client continued to describe her own personal disapproval of the rising star’s appearance and leadership style. How she disliked the fact that she had eschewed the need to conform and dress in a suit like her peers (opting instead for elegant and feminine dresses). Another source of frustration to her peer group appeared to come from her innate ability to be one of her team as well as the leader of it; and her occasional informality with and total trust in those who reported to her.

After listening, I had a request. I asked my client for access to a meeting whereby I could observe the rising star with her peer group/line report (a board director) as opposed to with her direct team. Sensing an opportunity to further demonstrate her reasons for disapproval, I was immediately given such access.

A few days later I attended a “senior manager away day” chaired by the director who also doubled as the line report of the rising star. In attendance were over 15 of her peers. As the meeting was about to start my client opened the door and whispered to me:

“This should be a good example of what I was talking about. He (the director) is one of our high-fliers and is loved by the board. He is an example of the kind of personal brand and leadership style we want to be famous for.”

As I took my place at the back of the room, this director stood up in front of his team and this is what he said:

“I, your esteemed leader, am pleased to welcome you today, to the first of what I hope to be many opportunities for me to share my experiences of sitting on the board, with all of you. I don’t think I am wrong in stating that you, as a team, are very fortunate now that I have been made a board member, as my opinion is taken very seriously and I am now a very valuable member of this businesses leadership….”

As soon as the meeting paused for its first coffee break, I left the group and went to find my client. It was a quick meeting as I remained only long enough to decline the assignment as the only issue I could see was this rising star being led by both an individual and a business for whom brand equalled ego. Their passion for conformity was smothering their ability to identify and therefore develop any true natural leaders they possessed.

As my client stared at me open-mouthed, I shared what I felt to be a long overdue observation. That their view of what constituted leadership and the “personal brand of an exceptional leader”, as demonstrated by the rising star’s boss, could not be more detrimental to the success of their business, or the well-being and productivity of their people. The ability to lead a group of people towards a common goal that has personal relevance to each and every one of them is a skill that rarely appears when people are forced to conform to a pre-defined idea or cookie cutter “personal brand”.

It says something of the skill of our armed forces that even in their necessarily regimented and highly disciplined environment, leaders in the form of individuals like the Admiral often emerge and flourish.