Self-Branding Worksheet: Tested and Proven

The idea of self-branding is very controversial. Some people swear by it and some people swear at it. Those who reject the idea see self-branding as ego-centered, nothing more that bloated bragging. Those who believe in it say that in the real world recognition is essential to advancement. The naysayers make the claim that “you don’t need to bring attention to yourself. Your work should speak for itself.” Those who applaud it say that “too often someone’s good work goes unnoticed. When that happens a person becomes deflated, depressed, and sometimes heartbroken.”

The problem with this controversy is that it’s framed in stark black and white oppositions However, like everything else life, nothing but a rigidly held concept can be so hard-lined. Life is waaaay too nuanced, waaaay too subtle, and not nearly as simple or simplistic as a two-value system would have us believe.

So. . . what abut self-branding?

As is now obvious, my wife Judith Sherven and I encourage everyone to at least consider self-branding if for nothing more that developing a better picture of who you are. That will be part of your strategy for building and sustaining your confidence and your way of knowing what you have to offer and how that fits into the professional ecology of your company or your status if you are still in school.

So what follows is a self-branding exercise we have developed an have used again and again with very positive results. It’s simple and direct yet when you take it seriously it will help you know the benefits you bring to what you do and the rewards you can reasonably expect. So we urge you to give it a shot.

All you need do is answer the questions below as honestly and directly as you can and see what emerges. We have made the questions broad in scope so as not to influence how you interpret them.

The Worksheet

In the context of my professional career or my student efforts:

I am committed to:

I am driven by:

I am guided by:

I am known for producing these specific types of results:

I want to expand my influence to:

The largest impact I want to have in the world is:

Detail your responses and go a deep as you can. Don’t worry about being humble. As you stay truthful about who you are and how you live and trust yourself to your own honesty what will emerge will be the you you can straightforwardly claim in the world.

How has self-branding been a value to you?.

(Photo Credit: Stefano Principato/Flickr)

James Sniechowski, PhD and his wife Judith Sherven, PhDhttps://JudithandJim.comhave developed a penetrating perspective on people’s resistance to success, which they call The Fear of Being Fabulous. Recognizing the power of unconscious programming to always outweigh conscious desires, they assert that no one is ever failing. You are always succeeding. The question is---at what?

Currently working as consultants on retainer to LinkedIn providing executive coaching, leadership training and consulting as well as working with private clients around the world, they continually prove that when unconscious beliefs are brought to the surface, the barriers to greater success and leadership presence begin to fade away. They call it Overcoming the Fear of Being Fabulous.https://OvercomingtheFearofBeingFabulous.com