In my last post, I shared that I have begun a journey to discover my personal brand. I am being coached through this endeavor by Kathy Crandall from Meaningful Connections.
This initial post is a high-level overview on what personal branding is and briefly touched on why I’ve decided to proceed down this path. Since that post, I’ve started the process and as people find out I’ve been asked more than once for a more in-depth explanation.
One person even challenging me with this question, “Why are you doing this? It makes no sense to me”.
I completely understand this feeling and the question. I asked it of myself many times before deciding to move forward. I also asked this question of Kathy prior to “signing on the dotted line” so speak.
Her answers were motivating and made complete sense to me which is why I decided to move forward.
So before I dive into posts on how the process unfolds, here are my top 3 reasons for embarking on this journey to discover “What happens because of Me”.
CURIOSITY
Pretty simple really. I was curious and the entire process fascinates me. I wanted to know how one goes about figuring out their personal brand. What are the steps, what is the process.
I also wanted to understand how to leverage my brand once discovered. As you will read in my third reason for this undertaking, it’s also very important and becoming even more so with each passing day, month and year.
KNOWLEDGE
I wanted to gain insight into me. This sounds crazy I know. But lets face it, we are all pretty good at “seeing” what others are good at and forming impressions about them.
Unfortunately, when it comes to ourselves what should be obvious becomes much more difficult to see. It’s easier to find fault than acknowledge our merits.
Rather than focus on faults, I’ve decided recently that I’m going to take the opposite approach. Meaning, I want to know what I’m good at (what happens because of me) and do more of it.
Re-read that sentence and think about it for a minute. Yes, I want to do the things I am good at, not the things am not good at.
In business when we to solve a big problem or initiate a new project we often break up into a team. Why is that do you think? To understand, we need to remember that teams form in order to leverage the collective experiences of those on the team.
To really gain the benefit of the team format we need to let people do what they are good at doing. It's natural in teams to let the operations person focus on operations, for example. We would never dare to let the operations person manage the marketing function within a team. Why?
Because the project or initiative would not move as quickly or may fail. It's because of the fear of failure that we assign people to areas of their expertise, not areas needing development. This has been the case our entire lives. Growing up, we are put in positions where our talents can best be used.
Take for example youth sports. Ever seen a youth basketball coach have the biggest child play point guard? Heck no! That kid is going down on the post. Would you switch a pitcher with a first baseman because the first baseman needed to improve his pitching?
Sports, like it or not, is all about winning. This is why we put children where they are the strongest, where they perform the best. This is why when we form teams we use people where they have expertise.
But when it comes to us, you and me as individuals, everything seems to become about improving where we are weak. Have you never take a strength assessment or held strength dialogs with your superiors with the intended outcome being to identify what you do well and have you do more of that?
Of course not. Instead, we have development dialogs or improvement opportunities so that we can go do the things we are not good at.
Because of this as you try to navigate the corporate ladder you may find yourself taking assignments not because your natural talents will flourish but because someone else deems you need experience in a particular area.
Imagine for a minute what you could accomplish if you very intentionally focused on taking assignments or positions where you could do more of the things you excel at vs those things you don't?
PERSONAL BRANDING IS IMPORTANT
Today more than ever before, you and I are being defined by Google and our online interactions. Everything we say or do online contributes to our personal brand, good or bad.
Unfortunately, many folks do not see the bigger picture when it comes to the Internet. They believe the picture they posted of themselves shirtless or flipping off the camera will stay between them and their “friends”.
I have news for you, my friends, it won’t. When you least expect it, that photo of you flipping off the camera will reappear back into your life probably when you least want it to show up.
How about when a potential employer is conducting research on you? Put yourself in their shoes. If you saw a picture of a potential candidate flipping off the camera what would think? Subconsciously, that photo taken years before is now flipping off that employer.
This last reason is the one that hits home for me the most. Not so much for myself but more so for my children.
Fortunately, for most of us, the only “evidence” that could be captured of wrong doing when we were growing up was through an eyewitness.
Today kids and sadly adults as well willingly put stuff on the Internet of themselves engaged in inappropriate acts, clearly never thinking about potential future ramifications.
You must control your online identity and if you have children you must control theirs as well, at least until they are old enough to do it themselves. Why? Because it’s important. More important than you think.
QUESTION:
When was the last time you Googled yourself? What comes up? Could you show it to a potential employer, your mother, or your grandma? Take charge of your personal brand.
