Years ago when I moved to Boston I lived in a lovely old apartment in the Back Bay overlooking the Charles River- a stunning part of the city - safe, walkable and within striking distance of chic boutiques (which at the time I couldn’t afford but window shopping was fun). Two drawbacks to living there - you pay nearly the equivalent of rent to lease a cramped alley parking spot often half a mile away, and there isn’t a gas station to be found.

One day with my car on fumes I headed down Beacon Street, and in the far distance spied a gigantic Citgo sign. Those of you who live in Boston already get the joke. For those of you who don’t live here, the sign is a Kenmore Square landmark– without an anchor. Decades ago, the gas station closed.

The story is that in the 1980’s Citgo was going to take it down. The neighborhood rallied in fierce opposition, and won. Today, inside Fenway, Red Sox batters aim to knock a ball out of the park -C-It-GO! People in Boston like to say “London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Boston has the Citgo sign.”

The point here is that we all love traditions - city traditions, family traditions, and even workplace traditions. A shared experience brings us together. As a leader in your company, you can create shared traditions. And you can honor the ones that pre-date you. Traditions are incredibly valuable in bringing people together and making you a workplace community.

In building your leadership brand, I think it’s important to be associated with some traditions - predictable, reliable events, happenings and celebrations that people enjoy and remember. This isn’t fluffy or superfluous. It’s the stuff of team building. I’m not a huge fan of dragging people to outdoor adventures where they have to crawl through mud or play paint ball. It seems so contrived. But I do believe workplace traditions that come around every year and create a glue that binds.

As a leader when you are associated with a tradition it builds your brand with employees. They appreciate that you’ve made the effort. The tradition has to be fun and inclusive, and it needs to be true to your corporate values and culture. What traditions could you start that would build your leadership brand? Or, how could you reignite or keep alive a tradition that people enjoy?