Thank you for listening to The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher! A personal brand is the image that you want people to think of when they hear your name or see you in person. A strong, healthy personal brand will help you succeed with your coworkers, earn the trust of your clients, and get promoted. In this episode, you will learn how your actions affect your personal brand and what you should be doing to create a brand that will get you noticed and help you reach your fullest potential.
You will reach a point in your career where results alone will not be enough to take you to the next level. The people conducting the hiring process for high-level positions consider more than just your resume. These leaders are looking for serious individuals who they feel connected to and have earned a high level of trust. If you want to win, you have to create a personal brand that inspires people to trust you and want to invite you into their inner circle.
1. HAVE STRONG COMMUNICATION SKILLS
How you communicate will be the cornerstone of your brand.
Make sure that you know your audience and speak or write in a way that you know will give you a good response.
Respond promptly to emails, texts, and voicemails.
When in doubt, opt to speak on the phone instead of in an email or text.
When talking to someone in person:
Be aware of your tone of voice.
Lean forward and tilt your head to show that you are engaged and interested.
Never cross your arms.
Be direct; don’t waste people’s time.
Make eye contact
Don’t let distractions make you appear disinterested.
Practice good posture.
Have an intentional awareness of your body language.
Every time you communicate with someone, think about the lasting effect of the conversation. Make sure that you are someone they want to talk to, not someone they would rather let go to voicemail.
How you communicate will say a lot about how you value people and how committed you are to excellence.
Q: Describe a time when someone’s communication stye caused you to form a positive image of them. What did they do differently than someone who’s communication style caused you to form a negative opinion? What impact do you think your communication skills have on the way you peers view you? Is that different than or the same as your boss?
2. GO BEYOND YOUR IMMEDIATE TEAM TO NETWORK
Make an effort to connect with managers and executives above your current level.
Interacting with other teams and other leaders will help you develop your brand beyond your team.
A great best practice is to attempt to establish a mentor that is outside of your current circle of influence.
Even better would be if they would happen to be in the job that you want or maybe even they themselves would be the decision-maker in your next big promotion.
The broader your circle of influence the better off you will be.
Q: What do you think about a person who has connections with a wide variety of people? How have you been able to leverage your connections for a promotion or a new opportunity? How do you think people might view you differently if you had more connections?
3. VALUE YOUR WORD
One of the greatest ways to build a positive brand is to do what you say you are going to do.
It is always better to over-deliver than to over-promise. Make sure that you do more than you say you are going to do, never less.
Being known as a reliable person that can be counted on will go a long way in developing your brand.
Your brand of reliability and trust will transcend your job and be far-reaching throughout your organization and will be essential as you climb the ladder!
Q: Have you ever been in a situation where someone over-promised what they could do for you? How did that affect your opinion of them? Have you ever been in a situation where someone under-promised and over delivered? How was your opinion of them affected? Which would you rather have happen and why?
Application Activities
How would you define a personal brand? Consider your personal brand from a marketing perspective. If you were selling yourself, what qualities would make people want to invest in you? What qualities do you think people actually see when they look at you? To see if your predictions are correct, ask a few people what they think of when they think about you in just one or two sentences. Use this data to see which areas you need to work on to produce the brand you want!
How do you respond to conflict? How did you communicate the last time you had a conflict at work? Remember that the way that you act during conflict will say a lot about your values, your temperament, your problem solving skills, and your standards. The next time you face a conflict, think about these topics before you address the conflict so that you can make sure that the way you communicate is a positive reflection of your personal brand.
Consider the next commitment that you are about to make. Is there anything that you can do to over-deliver on that promise? Evaluate your commitments and make sure that you are never over-promising. It is better to give yourself room to outperform your boss or client’s expectations. One easy way to do this is to over-deliver on time. For example, many photographers will promise their photos in a certain number of weeks but will make an effort to get them done sooner. This creates a positive impression in the minds of their customers. Brainstorm a list of 5-10 ways that you can over-deliver on your projects and commitments.
Contact Jeff
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Email: jeffhancher@thechampionforum.com
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