What’s my brand?
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."
~ Coco Chanel
Reflective Exercise: “What’s my brand?”
Personal branding has become more important than ever due to forces such as globalization, organizational change, and increased competition. In our current influencer age, the idea of standing out and having a memorable (and mostly positive) impact is considered a crucial component of professional success. Compared to the proliferation of social media ideology of “being seen”, the professional context focuses more on the constructs of “being known and respected.” It's about understanding your strengths and values and aligning them with your professional goals. This exercise is designed to help you discover and showcase your distinctive strengths, creating a consistent and impactful personal brand.
At its core, personal branding reflects who we authentically are and how we express that through our executive & leadership presence. At its best, the essence of your brand is a seamless integration and emulates through all your actions and interactions. This process involves being honest about who we are, recognizing our unique attributes and qualities, and then promoting an authentic brand that resonates with our audience. It manifests in our ability to meet our colleagues, situations and circumstances, considering four key elements.
Character: Encompassing your values, principles, and integrity - a strong personal brand is built on genuine character, which guides your actions and decisions, earning trust and respect from others.
Consistency: Key to maintaining a cohesive personal brand - it ensures your actions, communication, and behavior align with your brand’s core values and messaging, creating a reliable and recognizable presence over time.
Clarity: Defines the focus and purpose of your personal brand - it involves understanding and clearly articulating your unique strengths, goals, and value proposition, allowing others to easily comprehend and appreciate what you stand for.
Conveyance: Effective communication of your personal brand to your audience - It involves showcasing your brand through your behavior, communication, and interactions, ensuring that your message resonates with and influences others.
Understanding the elements that comprise your ideals, values, and what’s important to you is the first step in developing a strong personal brand. It's equally crucial to identify the qualities you can consistently demonstrate, regardless of the individual or circumstance. An effective brand allows you to be recognized and familiar in any situation while also enabling you to strategically tailor your message based on the specific audience you want to influence. This exercise will guide you through the process of defining and expressing your unique personal brand, helping you to align your actions and communications with your authentic self and making a lasting impact in your professional journey.
Step One: Questions to consider…
The following questions help you focus on the common components and aspects of a personal brand. They’re designed to help you identify and define what’s important as it relates to your professional self, your core values and strengths, and how you show up in professional environments.
Values & Principles: What core values and principles are most important to me, and how have they influenced my actions and decisions in the past? Below are ten common values and principles. Select the top three that most reflect your primary professional values and principles. Feel free to choose other values if they better align with you, but limit yourself to only three as your primary values.
Integrity: honest and having strong moral principles.
Reliability: dependable and trustworthy
Excellence: the pursuit of high standards and continuous improvement
Empathy: ability to understand and share the feelings of others
Innovation: create and embrace new ideas and solutions
Courage: face challenges and take risks with confidence
Collaboration: commitment to working effectively with others towards shared goals
Accountability: willing to take responsibility for one’s actions and decisions
Respect: regard for the feelings, rights, and traditions of others.
Adaptability: ability to adjust to new conditions and challenges
Strengths. What unique strengths, skills, and attributes do I bring to my professional, and how do they align with my goals and values? Listed here are ten common characteristics. Select the top three that most reflect your primary professional strengths and skills. Feel free to choose other values if they better align with you, but limit yourself to only three as your primary strengths.
Leadership: guide, inspire, and influence others effectively.
Communication: convey ideas clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Creativity: capacity to think outside the box and generate innovative ideas.
Analytical Thinking: ability to assess situations, identify problems, and develop solutions.
Adaptability: adjust to changing circumstances and environments.
Empathy: capacity to understand and share the feelings of others.
Organizational Skills: plan, prioritize, and manage time and resources effectively.
Resilience: bounce back from setbacks and persevere through challenges.
Strategic Thinking: think long-term and plan for future success.
Interpersonal Skills: interact effectively and build positive relationships
Communication. How effectively do I communicate my thoughts, ideas, and goals to others, and what attributes indicate strength in my communication style? Using a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the highly effective and 1 is not at all effective, rate each attribute.
Adaptability: Adjust communication styles to suit different audiences and respond to changing contexts.
Engagement: Capture and maintain the interest of others and create dynamic interactions.
Managing Up: Effectively build positive relationships with superiors and navigate hierarchical dynamics.
Active Listening: Fully focusing on the speaker and understanding their message.
Effectiveness: Appreciating the impact of my words - being mindful of tone and context to the audience.
Timing: Knowing the right time to speak up and out
Persuasiveness: Convincing others and influencing their opinions or actions - using logic and emotion properly .
Safety: To speak up and out - asking questions, taking risks, sharing ideas, and challenging norms
Giving Feedback: Offer constructive and useful feedback to others.
Crucial Conversations: Navigate and support healthy conversations when the stakes are important and emotions rather than reason are influencing outcomes.
Managing Conflict: Address and resolve disagreements directly and constructively.
Step Two: Centers of influence
The infographic below illustrates the key professional relationships that shape and influence your professional environment, contributing to your career development, growth, and recognition.
Step One: Take a few minutes to review all of the roles relevant to you today. If any relationships do not apply or you don’t expect them to apply in the near future, you can exclude them.
Step Two: For each role that you’ve included, jot down the names of the first two or three people who come to mind. You do not need to create an exhaustive list—it’s best to start with what’s top of mind, and you can always revisit the exercise later.
Step Three: Review your answers from Step One and consider how closely your responses align with the way you show up, interrelate, and function in general with each role type. For example, you may perceive that your ability to offer feedback is stronger with your direct reports and subordinates but less so with your skip manager and cross-functional partners. The most important part of this step is to be open and thoughtful about your responses—there are no right or wrong answers. The basis for brand development hinges on our ability to see clearly how our values, strengths, and communication styles influence how we see ourselves and how we’re seen by others.
