TO ALL PROFESSIONALS. NEGLECT YOUR PERSONAL BRAND AT YOUR PERIL!
Clive Kaplan CA(SA)
??Top-Rated Executive/Leadership/Career Coaching | Seasoned Business & Corporate Executive (over 25 years of hands-on experience, largely in the listed company environment)
How you sell yourself makes all the difference. As financial people we seldom consider the sales concept least of all when it comes to our own personal branding.
So what does personal branding actually mean?
Basically it is about first impressions . It has been scientifically proven that impressions are created within the first 8 seconds of meeting someone.
The question is does the first impression you create reflect your best qualities and value? Currently the most valued attributes are authenticity and integrity . And the best way to present this is to just be yourself.
Easier said than done but in order to do this you need to know your strengths (and weaknesses).
It never ceases to amaze me how many professional people fail to see the best parts of their personal brand. For instance I was working with a young CA recently who showed signs of low self esteem. After some prodding it emerged that he had important attributes which make him a valued employee. For example:
- Attention to detail
- Meeting deadlines
- Works well with superiors
- Respected by fellow colleagues
- Management style - engaging but firm
- Quick witted
- Lateral thinker
- Solid and reliable
- Excellent work ethic
- Willing disposition and open to challenges
- Supports BEE (he was a White dude)
- High EQ
- Loves SA and is committed to making a difference
And to top it all he looked the part.
What really interesting was that once we had worked through this, his confidence levels had risen significantly.
What does your personal brand look like?
(Originally published May 17, 2015)