Manage Your Personal Brand
Manage your Personal Brand
Recently, I had the honor of providing a series of training and career coaching sessions to a group of ladies and gentlemen at a homeless shelter. One of the classes that I developed and taught was a personal branding course. You might ask, 'how can a personal branding course help the homeless?' How will personal branding help them to secure employment? Their goal should be simply to find a job. Right? If only for that reason alone, I would argue that a personal branding course is of significant value to someone who is homeless. Why? Because today every individual already has a personal brand—the perceived value that you bring to others! So even though the people in my class were homeless; like all of us; they still have a brand. Regardless of their educational level, background, or experiences they still have a brand. And each of us also has a brand. But ironically, even though many of us are not homeless; like them, some of us have not consciously cultivated and managed our personal brands.
Your personal brand should represent the value you are able to consistently deliver to those whom you serve. It should represent the value that you bring to the people you lead and the organization where you work. Peter Montoya, a recognized leader in personal branding, wrote a book called The Brand Called You. It is a wonderful insightful book that helps readers create a personal brand that highlights their value they bring relative to their competitors. He argues that the difference is not necessarily in the services you provide because many people can offer similar services. Instead, the value is in how you approach and connect with the potential customer. He stresses the importance of that connection. Still, he also discusses the importance of honing /further developing the skills that you need to be successful. The personal connection may get you in the door but it is your skills and experience that can keep you there. So what can you do to foster a positive connection and develop the skills that you need to successfully cultivate or build your brand? I would like to offer the following suggestions to get you started.
Discover your Passions
We all have something that we are passionate about so what is it that excites you? What would you do even if you were not getting paid for it? Is it providing a service that involves helping others such as coaching, mentoring or perhaps a combination? Or perhaps it is a product that you have created or want to develop that will transform the world. Whatever it is—don’t give up on it! Think about a time when you have you been the most committed about something in your life. What was it? Once you discover your passion or passions, you can begin to seek career and life opportunities that connect with your passions.
Recognize and Embrace your Strengths
I’m a firm believer that all of us are unique. And we all have skills & talents that may come more easily for us than others. We are good at doing certain things. So what is it for you? What are your strengths? What talents do you use the most? Is it encouraging others? Is it leading people? Are you a great writer, creative problem solver, dynamic speaker? Or is it something else altogether? Embrace your gifts and talents because they will ultimately contribute to your success.
Explore Perceptions of Others
Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not around. It is the words that they you to describe you to their families, friends, and colleagues. And it is how they genuinely feel about you. Exploring their perceptions provide a lens into what others think of you so it can be just as important as what you think of yourself. Have you ever asked your colleagues how they perceive you? What about your friends and your family? It can be helpful to find out what comes to mind when others think of you. Great news! If it is different from what you thought; you can change and modify it.
Develop your Personal Branding Statement
Now that you have the above questions answered; the next step is to develop your personal branding statement. If you were on an elevator with someone who had the power to give you the career you want. The career that that is ‘spot on’ and in alignment with your strengths and passions. Or perhaps you were explaining your services to a potential customer. What would you say? How would you communicate the value that you can bring?
These are just a few steps. As you continue to build your brand, you might find that you need to strengthen or develop certain skills by taking some classes. You may need to do some networking because relationships are critical to building your brand! Bottom line—Personal Branding takes time. Following these steps is just the beginning but it’s a great start!
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. We would love to hear your comments. What have you done to build and manage your personal brand? How are you sharing it with others? What tips can you provide?
You can contact me directly at DrC@VincentAssociates.org with additional comments.
