Personal Brand: What Do You Want People to Know About You?
I’ve been having a few conversations about personal branding recently, and I wanted to share some key tenets about why each of us needs to be intentional about the personal brand we cultivate.
Because guess what? Whether you are intentional about it or not, you are creating a personal brand with everything interaction folks have with you, your thought leadership, your work, your content, your character, and your communications!
We are each our own walking advertisements, our own personal brand that markets and conveys information about our credibility, competence, intelligence, self-image, and confidence.
Think of your personal brand of what people say about you when you’re not in the room. What would you want them to say about you? What would you want them to know?
Your image or visual presentation is fundamental because of the link people make between what something looks like on the outside compared to what is on the inside. The visual representation of your brand is essential, particularly when you consider those first impressions about you are formed within 30 seconds or less of someone meeting you for the first time.
At the very heart of your brand message is you—the personal manifestation of your brand. Are you working it for maximum impact?
It is important to understand what brand image you are conveying and how to develop a Unique Value Proposition that positions you for success. You must be very clear about who you are, what you do, why you do it, and what makes you the stand out from others in your sphere.
Here are key tenets of your personal brand:
1. Differentiation:
A well-crafted personal brand sets you apart from others in your industry or field. It helps you define what makes you unique, showcasing your strengths, values, and expertise. Women leaders who focus on creating a distinct personal brand are more likely to be noticed and remembered among their peers.
2. Credibility:
A strong personal brand establishes credibility both within your organization and externally with clients, colleagues, and stakeholders. When people recognize your expertise through consistent branding efforts such as thought leadership content or speaking engagements, they view you as an authority figure in your field.
3. Influence:
By intentionally shaping your personal brand narrative, you can influence how others perceive you as a leader. Your authentic voice coupled with consistency builds trust among team members and followers alike. A powerful personal brand enables effective communication while inspiring others to rally behind your vision.
4. Career Advancement:
Leadership opportunities often come knocking on the doors of those who have positioned themselves well through their personal brands. By strategically aligning yourself with specific areas of interest or specialization relevant to your career goals, you increase visibility amongst decision-makers who can help propel your professional growth.
These are all huge! Yet so many women miss the mark. Why?
1. Self-Doubt:
Women tend to underestimate their accomplishments due to self-doubt or imposter syndrome—feeling undeserving of recognition for their achievements despite evidence to the contrary. This self-doubt can hinder their ability to confidently promote themselves and build a powerful personal brand.
2. Playing Small:
Society's expectations, gender biases, and cultural conditioning often lead women to downplay their strengths or shy away from self-promotion. As a result, they may miss opportunities for growth and impact by not fully embracing and showcasing their unique talents.
3. Lack of Support:
Women sometimes face challenges in finding mentorship or support systems (like a coach like me!) that encourage them to develop their personal brands. Limited access to networks or resources specifically designed for women leaders can make it harder for them to navigate this aspect of leadership effectively.
But there’s hope! First, you can conquer a lot of these limiting beliefs by reading my book It's Your Time to Shine Girl!
Second, there are folks like me out here who would love to help you craft, cultivate and communicate your unique personal brand as an executive or entrepreneur.
I have been passionate about personal branding because I’ve honed so much of my work around leadership presence and leadership posture and one’s personal brand identity is deeply interwoven in both of these.
When you hear me say “unveil your brilliance,” part of that has to do with making your personal brand potent and purposeful. It’s one of the reasons I created my leadership style quiz—to help women start to get a clearer visual of how their leadership style, a.k.a. personal brand posture is showing up.
You’re going to hear me talking more about the eight leadership archetypes I’ve curated around this assessment and I’m excited to continue to share them with you.
And, as always, if you know you need more personalized help in this area, schedule time for us to CHAT.
To Your Continued Unveiling!
Natalie
The Brilliance Unveiler
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As "The Brilliance Unveiler," Natalie Jobity leverages more than fifteen years of experience empowering hundreds of women as an image consultant and now as a leadership elevation coach & personal brand strategist of The Unveiled Way. She empowers heart-centered, high-achieving women seeking to make their divinely designed impact, to operate in their brilliance so they are positioned to lead authentically and unapologetically in their arena.
Natalie Jobity is an ICF-certified coach, bestselling author, mentor, speaker, and facilitator who recently published her second book titled, It’s Your Time to Shine, Girl: Own Your Brilliance, Step into Your Influence, and Lead Like a Trailblazer. This leadership development and empowerment book and her She Shines Affirmation card deck, will inspire women the world over to step into their purpose, and also give them the tips, tools, and techniques needed to succeed and thrive as a woman of influence.
Visit Natalie’s website to learn more about how she partners with purpose-driven women to propel them forward so their impact and influence increase. Discover your leadership posture and style by taking Natalie’s popular assessment, LeadHer Way Brand Identity Assessment.