Personal Brand

This week, I'm going to talk about your personal brand and how you can build one.  When you hear the term, what impression does that give you?  For many, I'm sure you associate the term with celebrities, athletes, and social media influencers.  But, I'm here to tell you that it applies to everyone.

So, what is a personal brand?  At the simplest level, your personal brand is the impression that others have of you -- your reputation.  But it's more than just that.  Your personal brand statement is a concise summary of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for -- or rather it's a concise summary of who you want others to think you are and what you want others to think you do and what you want others to think you stand for.  Your reputation is based solely on the impression that others have about you, whereas your personal brand is also the aspects about yourself that you work to project and how you go about projecting them.

As you look to progress your career, often, you are promoted or are not promoted based on your personal brand.  When your manager suggests your name as a candidate for promotion, how do his peer leaders react to that request?  If they know who you are and have a positive opinion of you, that promotion request will be easy.  But if you are unknown or the perception is negative, your leader will have to fight a lot harder to justify your promotion.

Within your company, are you known -- not just within your team, but within your organization and those organizations that you interact with?  If you are known, what are you known for?  Is that the reputation that you want to have?

As you look to build your personal brand, identify what makes you unique.  If your strengths are similar to the strengths of everyone else on the team, you will struggle to stand out.  Is there something that only you are capable of?  Is that something that you want to be known for?  Maybe your reputation is that you are the person that can solve the most challenging problems.  Or maybe you’re the one who can get any project back on schedule.  Or maybe you're a great negotiator.  Maybe what makes you unique isn't so much what you do or can do, but instead is how you approach things.  Are you calm under pressure?  Are you a take-charge leader?  Are you able to talk anyone into anything?  The more uniquely you can define your brand, the easier it will be to highlight those capabilities to the wider organization.

When you identify what aspect or aspects you are going to concentrate on for building your brand, look around the company to see how others will value them.  How can you leverage those aspects to advance the company's goals?  How can you leverage those aspects to advance your personal goals?  If your company values logic and reason, how would branding yourself as being strongly empathetic play with the organization?  Each situation is different -- being antithetical to the values of the organization could be invaluable or it could be ostracizing; you'll need to make that call for yourself.  But, once you've decided, you'll need to put in the work to make that the opinion people have of you.

Your personal brand is about perception, but perception starts with action.  As your brand begins to take shape, come up with a brand statement.  Actually write it down, like on a sticky note, and place it somewhere that you will see it daily.  Use the brand statement as your mantra throughout the day until it becomes a natural part of you.  Every action and decision you make should trace back to your brand statement.   When your actions support your brand, it almost sells itself.

If you are struggling to write your brand statement, come up with a short statement (often a phrase or a single sentence) that describes what makes you unique.  Here are some examples:

• I build and grow great teams.
• I aggressively manage cost in order to maximize profits.
• I treat everyone with compassion and equality.
• Nothing is impossible.
• I apply logic and reason to produce optimal solutions.

The second part of perception is communicating your brand.  In the social media world, you build your brand by how you present yourself on the various platforms.  Within a company there isn't usually a platform for you to use -- but, you can be social.  Work to build your network within your company.  In Episode 028 - Building a Network, I cover ways to build your external network.  However, when building a network within your company, it takes a different approach.  Look for projects that allow you to work with people outside of your immediate team.  Volunteer for initiatives that put you in contact with new people.  Attend social events that you would otherwise avoid.  Offer to give presentations on topics related to your brand.  Find ways to have your name be associated with the brand you are building.  How can you be viewed as the resident expert on your brand specialty?

Spend the next couple of days formulating your personal brand.  Then, visit the Managing A Career community and make it real -- post your personal brand for everyone to see.  By posting it publicly, everyone in the community can become your accountability partners.  Everyone in the community can help you clarify your brand and ensure that you begin the path towards building it successfully.