KEY POINTS:
Of all the things you do well, which are you most known for? What companies or managers are you bracketed with in other people's minds? Which of your values are others most aware of?
The idea of marketing yourself much as a product may seem strange, but there are many benefits to thinking strategically about the profile you're creating inside and outside your company. By being deliberate and consistent about the messages you send out, you can leverage your existing reputation into a clear and coherent personal brand.
Personal branding can add value to your career. It differentiates you from those around you and can lift your credibility and profile as an expert. The effort it takes you to work out exactly what your unique value proposition is will stand you in good stead for assessing new opportunities as they arise. It will also help you identify personal development priorities.
There are several elements to a personal brand. Industry experts agree strong performance is a prerequisite.
"You can't build a personal brand on nothing," says Ian Taylor, director at Sheffield, a human resources consulting firm. "Ask yourself if you can really deliver the expertise you claim to have."
In the early stages of a career, this strong performance and expertise is likely to come from a technical skill. Taylor knows of one CEO who began his career as a young lawyer, and developed a specialty in an unusual area of the law. This expertise helped him rapidly build networks inside his firm and gave him early exposure to the senior partners. It also allowed him to build a profile outside the firm.
"Specialisation is one way of getting noticed," Taylor says. "You start with a technical speciality but as time goes on you accrete other skills. You need to be proactive and to be able to articulate your ambitions to get support to build those other skills. If you want to be CEO or if you want to be the best in the land at Company X, those different goals will affect what you need to do."
Credibility also comes from individuals acting in accordance with the way they talk about themselves, and with the strengths they claim to have, says Marie Wilson, Professor of Management at The University of Auckland Business School.
Much of what we do at work is invisible to others, she says. The parts that we highlight to others should be the aspects we want to be known for. Those aspects are likely to be our strengths.
"For me, this is the most valuable part of creating a profile: reflecting on your strengths, consciously thinking about what you're good at, what you want to be known for.
"All the literature on performance improvement management is about building on the strengths you have in the organisation or team." She adds that this can apply at the individual level, too.
Personal brands may be particularly potent in small, close-knit markets like New Zealand. In the US and Europe, strong corporate or professional service brands communicate what attributes an employee is likely to have, says Wilson. Here in New Zealand, by contrast, managers are "much more likely to ride on their own reputation".
She ascribes this partly to the fact that there are fewer degrees of separation here, and partly that New Zealand has fewer large corporate brands.
Wilson recommends the Reflected Best Self exercise, which is available online for a small fee from the Centre for Positive Organizational Scholarship at the University of Michigan. The exercise enables individuals to identify their unique strengths and talents by asking for positive feedback from a range of people in their lives. When used correctly, the tool can show both when you are at your best and what you are best at.
These strengths go beyond specific skills or technical knowledge to encompass the best aspects of how you behave with other people; how you view the world; and what your values are.
A reputation can be built around values. Patricia Olson is a management consultant in Auckland who says she is "always careful in any interface with how Im perceived.
"It's about integrity: do they understand what I mean and what I stand for?"
She always thinks about conveying her values in a consistent way. This takes precedence over her industry competence in the messages she sends.
Olson likes to think she stands for transparency and honesty, an egalitarian approach and a willingness to share and test ideas. "I know that in any interface with an audience they'll make inferences about brand credibility. I try to be open and accessible so that people will know they can always call me to clarify things, so there's less conjecture."
To help build a personal brand, those looking to move jobs should seek out companies with brands complementary to their own, says George Brooks, CEO of OCG, recruiting specialists."You want to leverage off the best in the employer's brand. "If you can link your skills, attributes and values to a company's, you can get noticed fast in this small marketplace."
One measure of your personal brand strength is the extent to which you become a magnet for good people, he adds.
A high performing individual in a high performing organisation will often attract new talent.
Individuals at very senior levels of management can "rightfully use PR to support their brand", says Brooks. When there's a good fit with the employers brand this effort is mutually beneficial.
Another way to enhance a personal brand is to be altruistic or unselfish, he says. Sharing time and experiences with others is a powerful way to build an external profile.
Many industry groups, are facilitated by mid-level managers who have built up valuable experience over several years of work. Speakers at conferences and seminars are often drawn from these ranks, too, even though these individuals' workloads are very high.
Olson agrees. When the management consultant is very busy, it is hard to find the time to make speeches or attend networking events. '
'And yet, in retrospect, the effort has always brought some real benefit, in terms of professional and career opportunities. The trouble is you can't see the benefits in advance, you just have to believe they'll come!"
She says her reputation as someone who is "savvy and in touch" and thus able to make interesting comments on her industry, brings her the invitations to speak or write. "It's on the basis of my past accomplishments. I'm seen as credible."
The New Year is an opportunity for a fresh start. Maybe now is the time to find out how you're truly perceived and to manage those perceptions actively. Ask for feedback about what others think you do best.
Look at peers you admire and ask what it is they say - and do - that gives you such a positive impression. Try what the experts say: align your values, actions and goals with your strengths. Refresh your personal brand regularly to reflect new experiences and skills that you acquire.
Whatever your work arrangements or career stage, you should, in theory, find tangible career and personal development benefits from actively developing your brand.
* Sarah Wilshaw-Sparkes and Galia BarHava-Monteith are directors of Professionelle.co.nz
