So think about your Personal Brand!

When you hear the term Career Management it’s a pro-active statement. The most successful individuals see themselves in terms of Brand. The idea is that just like any commodity your ability to represent yourself is in itself a PR exercise. Tom Peters book ‘The Brand You’ is a typically robust and sometimes over stated work , but portrays brilliantly the Peter’s soothsaying (and often right) view that 90% of the regular jobs in business, such as HR and Purchasing will be gone (or at least greatly reduced) in 10 years to the point where it won’ be a viable career choice.

The idea of Brand You is a fascinating one to employee, leaders and coaches. What we discover as we move through life is that there is a point in your career, where it’s expected that you can do the job. If you’ve been the Group FD for Pepsi Co and Walmart for the last 15 years then its understood that you can do the role, there won’t be a real challenge as to whether you can create an End Of Year Report. The questions that will be asked are whether or not you will:

1. Add value
2. Are an agreeable work colleague
3. People will follow where you lead

Of course there will be the expectation you are technically able, but honestly a good percentage of the people operating at your level are technically able, but consider how many of the work colleagues or bosses you have had, could technically do the job, but some how:

1. They got the ‘job’ done, but didn’t appear to add value
2. Peers either didn’t like them, or at the least were indifferent
3. Their team did as they were told, but were not engaged

As you are moving up the corporate ladder, you validate yourself through your outputs because when you are 21 this is the most viable method to get noticed, “Look at how hard I work, How smart I am and How wonderful are the things I create’. Which gets you moved up the ladder, but then eventually you are in the leadership group, you are at the top of that ladder and everyone who has made it there is: Guess What!? Like you!

But of course they are not. Those that continue to rise are managing their Personal Brand. The manner in which they portray themselves. Remember, “The image you portray is the destiny you chase”. Gerry Roche one of the worlds most respecrted executive recruiters talks about the ‘Essence of Management being Human Sensitivity’ and within this he talks about the ability to recognise within oneself that your differential is the recognition and development are your personal characteristics, with the predominant focus being:

• Human Sensitivity
• Communication Skills

Which both culminate with the ability to ‘get work done through others’. Yes you are with me now. Brand You isn’t just looking the part and having the ‘elevator speech’ ready (though you should), but its about honing the two points above to enable you to feel the pulse of the business and the people within and to be able to communicate to them in the moment in a manner that shows your personal integrity and connection to the moment.