Brand Me Not

I recently came to grips with the fact that I have a brand. Despite years of actively trying to avoid one, it turns out I had one without even trying.

I've long prided myself on defying labels and avoiding categories, partly out of an innate need to be different and partly out of a desire to chart my own path. Yet, the more I've actively pursued this, the more I've realized that many others are doing the same.

It's a paradox for sure: seeking uniqueness often leads to discovering others striving for the same individuality. But, perhaps, therein lies the true essence of being unique—asserting your separateness and apartness while navigating a landscape where others do the same.

Despite living and working in Central Europe and Eastern Europe for nearly a decade, I still don't identify as either an expat or an immigrant. The more integration and inclusion beckons, the more tempted I am to assert my identity as an outsider.

As a social impact consultant, I work across sectors and industry segments. I've helped launch,?grow, and restructure more things than I can count or remember. But I still can't bring myself to say that I'm an entrepreneur or founder. And I still can't quite shake my nonprofit/NGO roots and advocacy background.?

Despite now-routine travel across an established circuit pattern of cities and countries for different client needs, I still can't commit to calling myself a digital nomad, road warrior, or commuter.

The CEE region's diverse mix of languages, cultures, and norms will prove challenging and disorienting for any outsider. As an African American from the American South, it can honestly be intimidating and overwhelming. And if you openly and honestly say you consciously chose this region to help groups working for social change and social impact, just imagine the reaction.

Whatever you call yourself, however you identify what you do, you ultimately realize the need for connection, rootedness, and stability. Without these, you grow bored, frustrated, tired. You doubt your purpose and and question your choices. You cannot enjoy your experiences. You will not realize any benefit from the time and effort you've invested.?

You have to be part of the place(s) where you choose to live and work. A sense of community is vital, and a sense of belonging is essential, especially when working with people and groups striving for change and progress. It is not enough to simply exist anywhere.

Your brand is essential for gaining trust, building connections, and effectively navigating the complexities of everyday life. That same brand is crucial when aiming for social change. Your word is not enough. Your actions are not enough.

Thus the brand I never knew I had becomes the shorthand I need for the impact pathway I created for myself, and continue to follow.

Facite quod mones. Do what you advise. So often, I've relayed to organizations the importance of knowing and owning their identities and reputations. So, much like what I've relayed to the organizations with which I consult, I've come to accept my brand, its necessity, and its value.

• It helps me stand out from other options by highlighting my unique value proposition.
• It signals credibility and helps build trust by establishing and reinforcing my reputation.
• It ensures consistency in thought and action to reinforce reliability and dependability.
• It attracts the clients who are most aligned with my values and expertise -- and helps clients determine whether I'm the right fit for them.
• It positions me strategically in the fields in which I'm active.
• It amplifies?my impact by forcing me to reach a wider audience and stakeholder community.
• It adds diversity and representation to the social impact spaces in which I am active.
• It creates connections and builds relationships that are genuine and authentic.
• It helps me learn what works and what doesn't.
• It enables?me to nurture change and progress on many levels and in many ways.
• It allows me to break barriers, challenge assumptions and stereotypes, and combat biases and prejudices held by others and myself towards a more inclusive sector and society.

So therein lies my brand.

I enjoy the?flexibility that comes with being a?consultant. I'm energized by the myriad challenges I can help organizations and teams navigate.?But I do grumble about the operational and administrative chores required to maintain order amid multiple external demands. And shifting gears from strategic collaborator to tactical implementor to intermediary to sounding board can drain time and energy from myself and the groups I serve.

I dig the freedom to explore. I appreciate cross-cultural contexts. That dual impulse fueled my decision to choose Central and Eastern Europe as the next chapter of my professional and personal journey. There's still the occasional barrage of suspicions, aspersions, and criticisms from doubters, naysayers, and outright haters from here and abroad. There's ongoing challenges to my hard-earned expertise and lived experiences-- if not outright hostility to my very existence-- which can be numbing and dispiriting.

And yet...

Even on those days when I feel like screaming and cursing in multiple languages, throwing my hands up and saying it's time to fold and pack it in... I get that random nudge or faint poke that makes clear I'm supposed to be where I am, at this time, doing what I do in the way I do it.

Chalk it up to adaptability,?flexibility,?and resourcefulness. Call it determination, intensity, resilience, and tenacity. Or maybe it's just my innate stubbornness.

No matter what it is, it's my brand. The one I am learning to live with. And eventually the one?I may even come to embrace.

Who am I? I'm Ryan. I'm an American based in the Czech Republic. I work with social impact organizations primarily in Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Europe, and the United States.

What's my pitch? I offer comprehensive consulting services for nonprofit organizations, NGOs, and social enterprises. My focus is strategic planning, development and fundraising, capacity building, and English language communication support.

What's my unique value proposition? I bring more 30 years of cross-sector experience in the social impact field. I also contribute a distinctive multicultural perspective, shaped by a wide range of influences and extensive international experience. I hold a fundamental belief in open, honest, direct, transparent, supportive and accountable interactions with clients.

I do not sell pre-existing solutions, nor do I promote a one-size-fits-all framework that is guaranteed to work for every organization. I work deeply with each client to identify, co-create, and implement an individual plan that fits their goals, their priorities and their reality. Each client's circumstances are unique, and deserve respect. Every social impact organization deserves the best path forward towards success.

Interested in working together? DM or connect with me, and let's talk more.

?? Consultant for strategy, program development, and fundraising

??? Writer, advisor, mentor

?? English language trainer

???? www.turnerer.com

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