Should I Have a Personal Brand?

If you’ve ever wondered why you are not being promoted, why your colleagues are targeting you or why everyone else seems to be in the right place at the right time, except for you, it’s time to work on your personal brand.

Let’s start from the basics. Continue reading to learn about personal branding, what it is and why it matters.?

What is personal branding?

Personal branding is a newer concept, introduced a few decades ago when Tom Peters authored an article for Fast Company?promoting the value of having a “brand called You”.

Today, global individuals, professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and leaders are learning that the techniques and systems used to promote an experience with a business, product or service can also be applied to how individuals set themselves apart and create a belief about themselves in the minds – and hearts – of their target audience.

Brands – corporate, product or personal – are all about the promise or belief of a feeling and emotion. Consider those of the things you enjoy: brands, by definition, make us feel something.

Personal branding sets the intention and strategy of how you, as an individual, want to be perceived. Do you want others to believe you’re collaborative, thoughtful, and helpful? Or that you are innovative, creative, and possess strong values of integrity and honesty? Do you want your clients to trust you and refer you? All these goals are made possible through personal branding.

As a system, personal branding first sets the expectation of how you want to be perceived. Then, strategies and tactics ensure that your brand is consistently, confidently, and clearly communicated to your target audience. That audience is defined by the people who hold the opportunities you want (new job, promotion, better work, more visibility, etc.) and who align with your values.

Your audience, to put it succinctly, is the people who must “get you,” who must find you relevant and compelling, and who need to understand how you’re different from your competition and must value you for that.

Why does personal branding matter?

Your brand drives your reputation, and the way others will believe you to be. That perception is what leads others to want to refer, endorse and support you… or not. They’ll want to hire you, advocate for you, and provide you with trusted insight and additional resources… or not. If you’re not intentional about how others see you and what they believe to be true about you, you give away your power. You’re leaving it up to chance that they’ll see you in the right light to support your goals.

Consider this example: Bruce wants to grow into the leadership ranks at his company. To get there, he constantly volunteers for key projects, leads high-visibility initiatives, and offers his insights even when not asked. To Bruce, he’s demonstrating leadership qualities that he believes will make him promotable. When his executive sponsor is asked about Bruce for a potential opportunity in the senior leadership ranks, the sponsor replies, “Actually, I think Bruce is too self-motivated. He’s concerned with his own interests, above those of the company, and that’s not what we need in the leadership team.

To Bruce, he was displaying leadership. To his company, he was being self-interested.

Who needs a personal brand?

While people in a career crisis should look at their personal brand to drive change and achieve better results, there are other times to consider personal branding. If you move from one career to another (e.g., exiting the military and joining the private sector, retiring from a corporate job to start a non-profit, moving from being a medical doctor to life as an entrepreneur), you’ll experience, what is called, a reputation pivot, and personal branding is important.

Personal branding techniques and insights can help ensure you keep on the course to building a meaningful and rewarding career and don’t make mistakes or missteps which could fracture your good brand.

Instead of leaving being appreciated and valued for what you have to offer to chance, personal branding clarifies and empowers you to promote the unique qualities and characteristics that make you interesting, relevant, and compelling to the people who have opportunities to endorse, support, and advance you.

In the absence of a system to stay “on brand” and protect your reputation – online and in-person – the future can feel abstract and random. Instead, drive your reputation and brand, control your narrative, and build your career in authentic and meaningful ways, today and into the future.

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