A client started our session today expressing great distress about a development plan conversation in which it was suggested he could “greatly” benefit from “Build Your Personal Leadership Brand” training. He asked how come he woke up in the morning to suddenly become a brand. Well, in all fairness, the concept has been around for quite some time. When we talk about building a personal brand, it’s about establishing a good professional reputation. Just as having a strong corporate brand works to build business and customer recognition, building a strong personal brand opens up professional opportunities in getting better jobs, getting on the “fast track” to advancement, and gaining greater influence. Businesses create vision and mission statements. Creating a personal brand begins much the same way by creating a personal vision. Even if you haven’t consciously cultivated a personal brand, it exists nonetheless. It might be an interesting exercise to conduct your own 360 review asking friends, colleagues and former bosses how they would describe you and what qualities they associate with you. Creating a brand is mostly about clearly identifying what drives you, your strengths, and the qualities that make you unique. Try and create your own personal tagline, a short and clear message that defines who you are and what you do. This should be your LinkedIn headline. Once you create your brand, you can start taking action to deliver on your brand promise. Our personal brand is the image we project to the world. The connections we form are based on that image. Forming connections is a two-way street; we need to be strategic about the opportunities we work to attract, and once our reputation precedes us, we start to attract the opportunities we seek. There are 3 key elements to having a well-defined personal brand: Defining Yourself Self-definition starts by answering 3 timeless question “who am I?” This question encourages the next questions “what do I really want?” to be followed by the third in the set “what do I have to offer?” There are no wrong answers. It might be possible to build a brand around a “fake” self, but it is never sustainable in the long run. Our brand should be founded on authenticity. It should be about who we are, what our work-life purpose is, and what we bring to the table. As a starting point to develop your brand, you need to brainstorm a list of all the things you are good at; your areas of expertise or those you are interested in. Circle the items that you are most passionate about. If you’re having difficulty narrowing the list down, pretend you are packing for an important business trip. What must you have in your suitcase? Remember that the list should be re-visited periodically. Things are changing rapidly; we must stay current and relevant in our chosen field. Maintaining a personal brand entails lifelong learning. If you are not learning, you're not growing. If you are stagnating, you’ll be left behind. Projecting Yourself Self-projection is about answering the question “what do I want to be known for?” It’s about visibility and credibility. Once you define your best self, it’s time to highlight it for the world to see. We all have variations of ourselves. Creating our brand is choosing how we present ourselves positively in our interactions with others and online. Nowadays social media is the engine that drives our personal brand. Make sure your personal media profiles are consistently aligned with your brand. In the cyberspace, we are what we post. Many hiring managers review candidates’ social profiles before making a hiring decision. Be sure to have a presence and be a participant. If you are nowhere to be found, employers may question whether you have the required skills to keep current with the latest trends. It’s always interesting to see what pictures come up when doing a simple Google search. Be careful not to post anything you don’t want your current employer or potential employers seeing. But most important, you must make an ongoing effort to manage and maintain your brand and online presence. You never know when the next opportunity will present itself or from what source. Extending Yourself Self-extension is the key to growing your personal brand. It’s about being generous in keeping the balance of “give and take.” Networking should be an ongoing activity, not only when you are looking for a new job. Extending yourself to others is the process of building personal and professional connections on the basis of mutual benefits and as a strong pipeline with a steady flow of referrals for professional growth opportunities. But truly, the primary reason to connect is to learn. Engage with others in your field and anyone who can enhance your knowledge. Attend networking meetings. Join the conversation. Find a mentor. Networking requires the investment of time and energy to fully enjoy the benefits of a strong professional network. Building a personal brand is like planting a garden. Your work is not done once you lay the groundwork and plant the seeds. It takes time and dedicated effort to grow and expand a garden and to prevent weed invasion. Creating and building your unique brand is an organic and ongoing process. And we are all a work in progress.
