Why you need personal branding

By Glenn Llopis

Developing your personal brand is essential for the advancement of your career and development as a leader. 

Unfortunately, personal branding has become a ‘commoditised’ term that has lost its intention as people have irresponsibly used social media as a platform to build their personal brand and increase their relevance.   

They believe social media can immediately increase their market value for their personal brand rather than recognising that the process of developing their personal brand is a much bigger responsibility; a never-ending journey that extends well beyond social media.

Personal branding, much like social media, is about making a full-time commitment to the journey of defining yourself as a leader.

Your personal brand should represent the value you are able to consistently deliver to those whom you are serving.  This doesn’t mean self-promotion – that you should be creating awareness for your brand by showcasing your achievements and success stories.  Managing your personal brand requires you to be a great role model, mentor, or a voice that others can depend upon. 

Sounds like a lot of pressure and a tremendous responsibility to your audience doesn’t it?  Well – it is at first – but over time the responsibility becomes a natural and instinctual part of who you are.   This is the mindset you must develop and the level of accountability you must assume when deciding to define, live and manage your personal brand.  

Commitment 

View your personal brand as a trademark; an asset that you must protect while continuously moulding and shaping it.  Your personal brand is an asset that must be managed with the intention of helping others benefit from having a relationship with you and by being associated with your work and the industry you serve.

So what is a personal brand?  A personal brand is the total experience of someone having a relationship with who you are and what you represent as an individual; as a leader.    Think about what that means to you. Let it simmer.     Ask yourself and then ask a close friend – what is the total experience of having a relationship with you like?    Write down the top five things you would expect others to experience and have your close friend do the same.   Are the answers the same or similar in meaning?  If they are, good for you!  If not, you have some work to do.

Every time you are in a meeting, at a conference, networking reception or other event, you should be mindful of what others are experiencing about you and what you want others to experience about you.   

Each of these engagements is similar to a job interview – expect in these cases you are being evaluated by your peers.  Those who know how to live and manage their personal brand will earn their respect in any situation.