Whether you are planning on making a career transition, or staying where you a while longer, what thought have you given to your personal brand? And do you even know what it is or why you need to be concerned with it?
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Your personal brand encompasses who you are, what you stand for, and the value that you add. As Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon is reported as saying, your brand is what people say
about you when you’re not in the room. What do people say about you when you’re not in the room? And is what they say what you want to be known for? Do you even know what they say?
And it is not just what people say and think about you, it’s also what they see, read, and hear about you as well. If potential employers were to do an internet search of your name, what would they find? Would they find images and videos of you on social media that you would rather they not see? Or are you comfortable with all that there is about you in the expanse of the world wide web?
Your personal brand helps to differentiate you, showcase your value proposition, and helps you to stand out from the crowd. If you have never done any work on developing your personal brand, think about how you want people who interact with you to feel.
What do you stand for?
Your values go to the core of who you are, and they define what is important to you, who you are and what it is that you stand for. Do you know what your values are?
Get clear on your values, make sure that you live them and that you can articulate them. If you are not sure what your values are, think about those times in your life when you felt most fulfilled. What were the conditions that were in place?
Get feedback from others
If you want to know what people say about you when you are not in the room, ask them. Ask 5-10 of your colleagues, friends, family how they would describe you as a person? What are your qualities? What is it that they like about you? What is it that they are not keen on and why?
If you get feedback that is not favourable, don’t be dismayed or upset. Remember, that is their perception of you. Use it to increase your self awareness about how you come across to others. The way that we see ourselves is not always how others see us. Feedback will enable you to see if there is a mismatch, and if there is, identify what you need to do to close the gap.
What are your strengths?
What are the things that you are good at? What skills do you have? How are you utilising your strengths and skills? How are they displayed in the way that you work and the way that you conduct yourself?
Listening, empathy, thoughtfulness, are just some of the strengths typically associated with introverts. Make your introverted strengths part of your personal brand.
Your appearance
Although we should never judge a book by its cover, the reality is, this is often not the case. Like it or not, a person will most likely make a judgement about you in the first few seconds of meeting you. This judgement is often made before you have even opened your mouth and is based on what they see. They will form an opinion of you just by how you look on the outside.
Does your image reflect what you want to be known for? I once spoke to a woman who was having problems getting a promotion to a senior leader role. Whilst the way she dressed should not have any bearing on her ability to do the role, the saying ‘dress for job you want not the job you have’ was not something she put into practice.
Be authentic
In extroverted environments, many introverted women try and put on a persona and be something that they’re not. Which can be stressful and draining. Be yourself and be true to who you are. And as mentioned in my recent article about being authentic, it is not just about feeling authentic, it is more about whether other people perceive you to be.
What is your story?
What is your personal story and how does it shape who you are today? What value does your previous experience bring to what you have to offer? Does your story create interest in you? How does your story differentiate you from others?
All of the previous points feed in to your personal story which represents your personal brand. How can you articulate this succinctly whilst creating an emotional connection that lets others believe that you can make a difference that will positively impact them?
Once your personal brand is defined and you can articulate it, live it, own it, and let it become what people say about you when you are not in the room. And if you are an introverted woman and a senior leader, to learn the number one strategy introverted women use to accelerate their influence and impact as senior leaders, join my next free, live webinar here.
What does personal brand mean to you? Are you clear about yours and can you articulate it or do you need to do some work to define it? I would love to hear so please share your comments below.
First published on LinkedIn.
If you are an introverted woman and a senior leader and want to increase your confidence, influence and impact, take my free assessment and get a report identifying areas to develop. You can take the assessment here.