How I Grew My Personal Brand
This may come as a shock to some, but other than for professional purposes, I am not active on social media. I have this thing about privacy that I value and don’t feel like sharing every little detail of my life with the world. But a few years ago, I had an A-ha Moment that led me to ask myself this million-dollar question – other than colleagues, family and very close friends, what will others remember about me when I leave this world?
I ended up asking myself follow-up questions. How do I want people to know me? When they hear my name, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Everyone has a word or two in mind for Mother Theresa. Amelia Earhart. Oprah. They are well-known for their expertise and societal influence. What do I want to be well-known for? Honestly, at the time, I couldn’t really answer. In talking this topic over with a mentor, she advised I do a certain exercise without judgement and to trust the process. She told me to write my eulogy.
Whoa – what? As morbid as it sounded, I committed to trusting the process. Of course, it was a challenge, because, let’s face it – who has ever wanted to write their own eulogy? The only guideline I was given was to include my passions. There were moments in my writing when I became emotional, and it took a lot out of me. But at my next mentoring session, it all came together. My mentor told me to use the eulogy to build my personal brand.
What is personal brand? It’s an impression that an individual makes to others based on their expertise, achievements, or influence in the community or industry. It took me a while to figure mine out. When I first started out my career, my focus was gaining all the experience I can and establishing myself as an IT professional. When it was time to move on, my focus was repeated but in a new department or company. My personal life was centered on being a wife and baseball mom. Being viewed as an expert at anything was far-fetched for me at the time, until that mentor advised me otherwise. I saw myself in a different light and decided to invest some energy into some soul-searching.
Fast-forward to today, I’m very proud to showcase my expertise in things I’m passionate about – technology, business, motivational speaking, writing, and volunteering, among others. It took a lot of time, career development and mentorship to determine how I’d like others to view me. The eulogy approach helped me and the process I went through truly guided me to pinning down who I really am to answer those questions. The eulogy I wrote of myself contained aspects of myself that I’d want people to know about, how I changed the world. I learned those facts are what makes up my personal brand, which I should build and maintain. That was another defining moment for me. Seeing it on paper gave me the inspiration to be proactive in developing that part of myself. Branding your career will always be a work-in-progress, but I learned tips and techniques along the way.
Soul-Search – Go back to the basics of when you started your career and review your goals and development plan. The age-old interview questions are a good place to start. Where do you see yourself short-term? Long-term? What perception do you want to give others?
Strategize – Mesh your career goals with your personal passions to come up with a plan. Creating a mission statement for yourself will set that foundation for your goals. Determine how you want to achieve your mission statement. Use project management concepts – plan based on what you want to accomplish (scope), how much time you’re giving yourself (schedule), and what you are willing to invest to build your brand (cost).
Execute, Review and Measure - This is a great way to discuss with your manager or mentor to find opportunities to succeed. Do the things you say you’re going to do. Are you reviewing the mission statement and goals on a regular basis? Are they officially documented on your development plan? How are you doing against those goals?
Adjust – Do you need to revisit your mission statement or strategy? Are they still realistic?
Rinse and Repeat – go back to these steps throughout your journey
Whether you’re starting your career and still figuring things out or have been in your career for a while and want to make your mark in the world, it is important to build your personal brand. I am still not as active as others on social media, but I am starting to come around with limited platforms, including this forum, so that’s progress – especially since what I share may help you grow. I have grown as a leader in IT, and I’m still a wife and baseball mom (much less involved but proud to be watching college baseball games), but my perspective changed since going through the process. My passion for helping others in their career helps me grow in mine. I have leveraged my love for speaking, writing and leadership into my career, and as you can tell, love to inspire. Your brand is what makes you come alive to others, and lets the world know what is truly important that makes you, you. Your accomplishments and talent shine through your story. That story, my friends, will take you far. What’s your personal brand?
-Gail