A certain reputation always precedes us - What do you want to be known for?
Ask yourself this question: Does your personal brand take you to the places you want to go in your career? How do people see you at work? Maybe you have a reputation as a problem solver, organizer or deal maker - but does it serve you well? One of the most important questions you can ask when building your personal brand and looking at what's next in your career, what do you want to be known for?
Your personal brand is not your job title.
If you rely on your job title to position yourself in front of others, you become a commodity and blend into the crowd of thousands of people doing the same thing as you.
Your personal brand is not just what you do; it's how you do it, who you do it for and why you do it. It's about the difference that only you can make to others because of the unique value that your purpose, strengths, expertise and experience bring to others. People with strong personal brands get noticed because they share their passion for what they do in a way that is relevant to the people they want to serve.
Without visibility, you deprive those around you of the opportunity to share and benefit from your knowledge. And that is such an incredible shame! Because you never know who is waiting to discover you and your talents. So come out of your shell and show yourself to the world!
Take this example, as outlined by Arruda in his book Ditch, Dare, Do: 3D Personal Branding for Executives: What if at your next networking event you met Sarah, who introduced herself to you as "a biologist and senior researcher in bio-research at ABC Pharmaceuticals." Would her personal brand catch your attention? Probably not.
But what if Sarah said, "I lead a team of scientists who develop drugs for very rare diseases and change people's lives. It's a good reason to go to work every day. "That sounds a bit more interesting and memorable. Or how about Sarah saying, 'I fight bugs every day, the kind of bugs that cause rare diseases and make people really sick.' My team and I won't rest until we squash them. "
Now is your chance to see the passion, dedication, intelligence and commitment that is authentic and unique to Sarah. This is her personal brand and it will not be easily forgotten.
Visibility is the basis for your next career move, for your individual goals and for your impact. And we both know: more impact leads to more success.
Of course, your personal brand has to be credible, it's not about being someone you're not, but it can be about becoming the person (and brand) you want to be.
"In order to stand out, we first have to know what we stand for." Simon Sinek
So, how would you like to be remembered by others? Play with the following questions and see where they take you when it comes to your personal brand and career success:
Imagine it's a year from today and you've achieved the career goal you currently have set for yourself. How would the value you are creating, why you are creating it, and the expected outcome be described by the following people ?
The client recommending you to one of their friends.
A peer explaining your role to a new colleague.
Your boss recommending you for a promotion.
Based on this, write one or two sentences that can be used in an email to introduce and position yourself to a client, a colleague or at a networking event. Try to capture the value you are creating, who you are creating it for, and the expected outcome of working with you.
How do you think that brand statement would feel to the people you work with today? If it feels like a stretch, think about how you can tell the story of where you've been, how your past relates to your future and where you're going now. What are the steps you need to take to make this brand development credible to others?
Developing your personal brand takes time and effort. You need to be clear about who you are in your career and life and what drives your vision. By spending time and energy getting to your authentic core and aligning that with your passion and purpose, you can define your personal brand and answer the critical question everyone needs to know the answer to: What do you want to be known for? And it will play a more important role in your professional success than you currently imagine.
What do you want to be known for?
However, it doesn't have to have anything to do with fame. You may just as well want people to say of you:
"He/she is a good listener, you can trust him/her with anything!"
"I admire his/her determination and willpower!"
What you want to be known for tells you what motivates you inside.
A certain reputation always precedes us.
We still know this from our school days, when every teacher was given a different label by us pupils: the one is strict, the one is unfair, the one is particularly precise and rule-oriented, ...
The more actively we shape our own positioning, the fewer topics end up on our table that are not our cup of tea, that slow us down and make us dissatisfied.
Instead, we end up with more projects that are really cool because they suit us, our strengths and interests. We can bring in our know-how, do what we are competent in. Quite automatically, we are successful. And that, in turn, is fun.
You can ask yourself these questions:
1. How do I want to be seen?
2. How do I act to support this?
3. How do I combine both into a single positioning sentence so that I keep myself focused on it?
Far too often we take our strengths for granted. Feedback from others will help us to get a new view on our abilities.
To support you in this whole process I have created the program SHOW UP! In 8 weeks you develop your positioning and show it in your organization and your network without feeling inauthentic or pushy. If you want to know more about it here is the link to the waiting list. Here is the link to book a discovery call.
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