Twenty years in the corporate world certainly teaches you some harsh lessons and some incredibly valuable ones. It is an environment of rapid change and if you are not careful, you can get washed away very easily.
I first heard of the term Personal Brand in 2002 and ever since I have been hooked. Personal Branding is something I am incredibly passionate about and strongly believe in. It was around this time that I had my first Personal Branding lesson!
I had reached a level of middle management. I was very good at what I did and was recognised as such and rewarded well. I’m not quite sure what happened, but I had started to create a brand that was not supporting my expertise. Through not being conscious and aware of how my behaviours were impacting on my Brand, I was quickly known as ‘fun’. Some of you may say that fun is good, and it is, if that is how you want to be known. However, when I was wanting to embark on Senior Leadership, the Brand of fun did not support my quest when I was to be leading a team of over 130 people. Even though I was highly skilled, had lead teams before, my experience supported the next step and I was going to continue to work for my current boss I was knocked back. With a very dented ego, it was time to look in the mirror and accept responsibility for where I was. I had created the brand of fun, now I needed to change it.
It took me a year to create the brand that I wanted and a brand that was authentic to who I really was. I faced into many challenges, wanted to throw in the towel and did get frustrated that this Brand stuff did not happen at the click of a finger. However, I created my brand, lived and breathed my brand consistently and achieved my Senior Leadership role. The most rewarding role I ever had. I can tell you now, it was a great feeling and worth the effort.
My journey was so valuable, and it’s through this experience I bring Umagnet to you. Personal Brand is not a concept. Personal Branding is real. Personal Branding works and it can be your strongest asset and negotiating tool. Most of all, it’s necessary for you.
