Personal Branding
Personal branding. It’s such a bizarre term. Why do we even need a personal brand? I get asked this a lot in my 121 coaching. Personal brand isn’t about being deceitful or only showing parts of yourself. It’s more about knowing how you want to be perceived by the people you work with and identifying which bits of yourself you want to bring into the room more. Often the difference between getting a promotion or not quite getting it, is about how you present yourself, the kinds of words you use, the energy you have. A great personal brand is all about the bigger picture though; knowing where you want to get to and nailing how you want to get there and how you want people to think about you. More and more in this competitive market that self assurance can be such an advantage.
Here are five steps to help you on your way to establishing a strong personal brand.
Know your purpose.
Start with the end in mind (Steven Covey – the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). Know why you’re here and what drives you and stick to it. Because when all roads are linked, you become so much more powerful. It becomes easier to say no to things and people will understand what it is you stand for and what you are trying to achieve. Very quickly you will be perceived as a specialist in what you do.
Be real
Don’t fake it. You have to feel it and believe it and know it for people to respond to you in the way you want. Otherwise it won’t be fulfilling and you’ll feel like a fraud. Having a personal brand is all about getting ahead, but it’s about doing it in an authentic and genuine way, so that it works for you on the inside as well as the outside.
Walk the talk
And wear the talk and basically live your personal brand. My personal brand is all about energy and fun and impact. It’s also all about knowledge and growth and enabling change. And underpinning it all is a serious focus on learning and researching and growth. All of these have to come out in how I interact with people, what my website looks like, what clothes I wear, how I approach fitness. And that’s why it needs to be real (see number 2). Because otherwise my whole life would be fake.
Be consistent
It’s easy to be consistent when you love your personal brand. Everything you do, all your social media posts need to use language that you’re happy to have out there that supports your branding. Your LinkedIn posts should also support your brand and help it grow.
Let your brand tell your story
We all have a journey that we’re on, battles that we’ve fought and lost and then won. These are the elements that make us who we are and these are the tales that make us interesting to others. When you tell them right, you bring people with you. When people are invested in your story, they are also invested in your brand.
If you need help understanding what your personal brand is and putting it into action then drop us a line using the contact us page.