What's Your Personal Brand at Work?

Back in the early 2000’s I was just a young sprout in my professional career. I went from making minimum wage in a factory to pulling in a decent entry level salary working in an office. The dress code for the office was business casual. A simple shirt/pants combination was sufficient. But the owners wanted to switch things up from time to time. So they created “Dress-up Day”, which fell on the first Tuesday of every month. The idea was to wear more formal business attire. For me that meant wearing a tie and blazer. Being young and in my 20’s I loved the idea so much that I started wearing a tie all the time!?It was a reflection of the work I wanted to produce. Dressing up motivated me to produce at a high level. And eventually I hoped to be compensated for it with raises and other opportunities. Like that iconic quote from Deion Sanders, “If you look good, you feel good, If you feel good, you play good, If you play good, they pay good!”

But my ambition to look my best was often taken the wrong way by some of the older employees. Walking into the office wearing a tie, they would often poke fun and make comments like, “Hey you got an interview today? Good luck with your interview!!” It would happen every single time. But I was unfazed. I knew what success and leadership looked like. And I was determined to play the part and be known as someone who had aspirations of doing more than the role I was currently working in. Through my work, my actions and my personal image (simply wearing a tie!) I created an identity for myself that was unmistakable within the organization. Everyone knew who I was and what I stood for. The conversations I had with others reflected my core values and eventually new opportunities and salaries would follow.

I share this story because this mindset has helped me elevate throughout my career. Being proactive about showing who we truly are, our personal brand, is one of the best ways to elevate our experience at work. When we connect authentically with the people we work with and share our core values, beliefs, ideals, and personality with them, we become trustworthy in their eyes. It influences others to share their authentic selves with us. And studies have shown, authentic connection with our colleagues goes a long way in improving our job satisfaction and overall happiness at work.?

But it can also make us stand out within the organizations we work in. When we have a personal brand at work, the leadership team and other stakeholders get to know what our ‘calling card’ or our ‘hallmark’ is. What exactly does that mean? Let’s break this down.

Back in the 15h century, a calling card was a small, decorative card that was carried by individuals to present themselves to others. It was a common practice, especially among the upper classes, to leave a visiting card when ‘calling’ on someone (which means to visit their house or workplace). By the 18th and 19th century, men and women needed personalized calling cards to maintain their social status or to move up in society. These small cards usually featured the name of the owner and specific details about them. Calling cards were left at homes, sent to individuals, or exchanged in person for various social purposes. In modern day, when we say things like, “that’s their calling card”, we’re describing the impact of that particular person’s actions (good or bad) when they’re not currently present. It’s a reputation that is built over time where everyone knows what to expect. His or her calling card, like the original, becomes an important part of their personal brand.

"[Our calling card] is the reputation we build over time, where everyone knows what to expect."

A hallmark on the other hand is similar but has different origins. A hallmark is a stamp or mark that is imprinted on an item made from precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, or palladium. It’s used to guarantee the metal's purity and quality, and it provides important information about the piece, such as the manufacturer, the year of production, and the country of origin. From a historical perspective, hallmarks has been used for centuries throughout multiple civilizations. The original purpose of hallmarks was to protect consumers from fraud and ensure the quality and purity of precious metals. In medieval times goldsmiths would mark their creations with unique symbols or initials to identify themselves and distinguish their work from others. As this process advanced and became more uniform throughout time, hallmarking systems were created. Today, we can consider someone’s 'hallmark' as the quality of work (again, good or bad) they display and their unique signature on it. In a positive sense, they become known for actions like their attention to detail, or delivering a project consistently ahead of schedule.

Our personal brand at work is built on the foundation of intentionally cultivating our reputation (calling card) and the quality of work we want to be known for (hallmark). Elevating in both areas directly makes us people of integrity, and as a result builds our overall confidence in our daily work life. Speaking from the perspective of a former manager, this type of mindset gets noticed. When pulling from the talent pool of current employees for an open position, there’s a fine line when considering culture fit over skills and experience. But I have never regretted selecting a candidate based on how I perceived their personality (or personal brand) would fit within the team over someone who would be slightly more experienced, but seemed like less of a fit for the team.

Having a personal brand is really about having a deep confidence about who we are and what we stand for. It will eventually show up in all the work we do. It has a way of opening up opportunities for us to thrive that we may not have noticed before. It might take some time to discover, but when we know who we are and what we’re good at, we build strong professional competency within ourselves, earn trust with the people we work with, and increase our job satisfaction. Most importantly, a personal brand ensures that our name gets mentioned? in rooms we're not in!??

Sheldon Barrocks is passionate about personal career well-being and helping teams find joy in their work. His engaging Smile! It’s Monday newsletter inspires professionals to unleash their full potential by creating purposeful career goals and encourages leaders to build a culture that inspires for organizational success. As an award-winning Supply Chain professional, he's provided creative solutions for major brands like Mars, Kelloggs, General Mills, Conagra, B&G Foods, Ingredion, Henkel and others. Check out his book Unstuck Mondays and join his mailing list to level up in your creativity and career!