Most of my career I did not think about the value of my own personal brand – even though everyone has one by default – or even consider how others perceived it to be. My belief was if I worked hard and helped others along the way, my goals would be achieved and personal career satisfaction would be the end result. In the early years of my career this was largely true – many times exceeding goals I had set for a given period of time. Unfortunately, as unexpected challenges happened and my career felt like it had reached a plateau – no matter how many hours I put in, who I helped, or the obstacles I overcame versus my able-bodied counterparts – my career achievements started to lose the personal satisfaction they once had – resulting in a constant state of struggle to stay motivated to excel further.
As this situation was going on, I was invited to take part in some training at my company that would help people at my level develop further in their careers. By far the course that made the most difference to me was Developing My Personal Brand. By sharing the pattern I used to intentional own my personal brand, my hope is you can identify, own and evolve your brand rather than letting it control you.
So what is the definition of a personal brand? A personal brand is a perception of an individual – based on their integrity, experience, expertise, competencies, actions and achievements within a given community [i.e. work, school, social media, neighborhood, etc.] The greatest benefit of deliberately owing your personal brand is clearly knowing where you should focus your time and energy. When you know with clarity what you want to be known for, it is easier to let go of the tasks that do not align with your brand and to concentrate on activities that do.
Below are links to a three part step-by-step guide on how to identify, own and evolve your brand. Recommend only completing one step per session and review the previous steps completed before proceeding. This will help you reflect deeper on where to evolve your target personal brand.