Personal Brand Development
Tips for developing your personal brand and managing your reputation for professional development and career advancement.
Ever since McDonalds introduced its McCafé iced coffees almost four years ago, it’s been nearly impossible to resist the temptation of swinging by the Golden Arches every morning on my way into the office. Twenty-two ounces of sugar free, vanilla, iced coffee bliss not only satisfies my morning hunger pains, but because coffee is an appetite suppressant, it holds me over until lunchtime. One word: delicious!
One morning while in my office, one of my coworkers, Alex, stopped by to chat. Upon entering my office, he saw the McDonald’s cup sitting on my desk. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Good morning Alex,” I said. He immediately shut my office door and exclaimed, “You eat at McDonald’s?”
I started to laugh. Alex had known me for over three years, and the thought of me eating at McDonald’s shocked him (we are, after all, on the westside of Los Angeles, home to such icons as Spago, Mastro’s, and Valentino). It seemed totally out of character. In other words, it wasn’t consistent with my personal brand.
Whether we realize it or not, each of us has a personal brand. It’s our reputation. It’s a direct reflection of who we are, and it’s comprised of everything we do. The organization we work for. The university we attended. The brand of car we drive. The jokes we tell. How we treat others. How responsive we are to emails and voice messages. And the list goes on and on.
Mr. Passion
While relaxing poolside during a recent trip to Miami, I happened to strike up a conversation with a group of guys who were in the lounge chairs next to me. Knowing nothing more about them other than that they were from Toronto, I inquired as to what each of them did for a living.
One guy, Jim, said he was a banker. Another guy, Ron, a real estate broker. When I turned toward the third guy, Ken, he stared back at me with absolutely no facial expression or response. I further inquired, “So Ken, how about you? What do you do?” With the enthusiasm of a dial tone, Ken responded, “I’m a lawyer.” I replied, “Oh, I work in the legal field too, what a coincidence. How do you like it?” Ken’s response? “I absolutely hate it, but it pays the bills.” His passion underwhelmed me.
I quickly changed the subject to something more lighthearted, but couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation.
My grandfather, Free “Fitz” Fitzgarrald, was a cattle rancher in Nebraska. If someone had asked Fitz about his “personal brand,” he would have invited them into his barn. Once inside, he would have shown them a long, metal rod with a handle on one end and the letters “FZ” on the other. For my grandfather, branding referred to the process he used to mark his livestock. For fellow ranchers, the mark reminded them of him.
Today, branding is the personality or identity of a specific product, service, individual, or businesses. A brand can take on many forms, such as a name, symbol, logo, sign, design, or slogan. These forms are used to link the product, service, individual, or business with a specific feeling, perception, or experience.
For professionals, a personal brand is nothing more than how others perceive you–your reputation. It is the first word, phrase, or image that comes to someone’s mind when they hear your name or see your picture. For example, what comes to mind when you read:
An economic downturn, career boredom, or the triumph over a life-changing event has an uncanny way of coercing many of us into considering a different line of work. For me, it was the burst of the Dotcom bubble.
After graduation and with three years of experience under my belt, I relocated to the Silicon Valley to direct the public relations department at a telecommunications start-up. After a brief 18 months, it was brought to my attention that the company was having financial issues and that I should start “putting out my feelers.” Unfortunately, I would be competing for positions against seasoned professionals, who were willing to take drastic cuts in compensation in order to have a job.
Although the tech industry was in decline, the legal industry was booming. I applied for a marketing position within a law firm. I knew my reinvention from high tech, products PR to professional services marketing would require a personal branding overhaul.
The severity of my career change, at least from a perception standpoint, would determine the gravity of my course of action. As Longfellow noted, “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” Convincing myself that the basic principles of PR and marketing could easily be transitioned to the legal context was not enough–I would have to sell others on the idea.
Five steps were key to my reinvention and can also be to yours.
Mr. Popularity
At one time or another, we have all probably worked or associated with someone whose performance begged the question, “how the heck did they get that job?” In most cases, they probably knew someone who pulled some strings or was influential in getting them the opportunity. Apparently it is not what you know, but who.
A study published in the Harvard Business Review concluded that a person’s likeability factor–having multi-dimensional appeal–is more important than education and experience when it comes to getting hired or promoted.
In his best selling book, “The L Factor,” business guru, Tim Sanders, goes on to point out that people do business with, vote for, and spend precious time among those they like. In other words, those around you have the ability to make decisions about your health, wealth, and happiness.
If likeability is such an influential force, does your personal brand reflect it? A combination of personality traits can positively strengthen your appeal.