Is Your Brand Keeping You From Getting Promoted? Did you know you had one?
Have you ever thought about what your personal “brand” is?
Just like companies, we as individuals have a brand. Most people develop this unconsciously. As you make decisions and interact with people, your brand is developed. People see that you are dependable or intense or love to have fun while you work or a bit of a slacker. However, you can cultivate this intentionally. And if you are trying to move forward in your career or grow your business, it may be helpful to do so. Because if you don’t clearly define your brand, others will decide what it is from their observations which are typically only bits and pieces of what you are overall.
The key to doing this successfully is being authentic to who you are while considering questions like this:
• What do you want to be known for?
• How do you want people to feel when they think of you?
This can take some thought. Do you want them to associate you with trust, fun energy, strength, decisiveness, creativity? Your values and goals come together here. Not just who you are, but the character traits you will need and have when you get where you want to be in your career. You want to make yourself the obvious choice for that position – a “no-brainer.”
When you decide this, then just like a business designing its packaging and marketing, make sure you are demonstrating it.
- Your Product: This is the work you produce and deliver. Is it always dynamic? Clear? Mistake-free? Creative? What do you want it to say about you?
- Your Messaging: This is created by the questions you ask in meetings and how you follow up and interact with people. When you hear people say “You always tell me that…” you know your messaging is working. For instance, my team would say “You always tell that doing the right thing pays off in the end. So, I am going to…” or “You always tell me to be sure the client knows we appreciate them, so I am going to…”
- Your Packaging: This is your appearance, speech, and body language. Our brains collect this information quickly and it unconsciously (and sometimes consciously) impacts how our messaging and product are received. Maybe you want to be seen as a little rebellious – a contrarian. Using the clothes and speech that help portray this, is an option.
I would never suggest you create a persona that is not true to you. It never works. People see through it quickly and it creates a pervasive lack of trust.
But when it is authentic, it is powerful.