You know how in not making a decision, you’ve actually made a decision. Well, you have a brand whether you want to think about it that way or not. No need to obsess about it but cultivating it a bit, especially in today’s digital world, would be time well spent.
Just like we were all taught to dress for the job we want, not the one we have. Think of what traits (dependable, generous, expert…) you want associated with your name, your brand, and focus on those and then think about all of the places that you need to consider for updates from your appearance in person to online. People are always watching and your online presence is way ahead of you. Would you want to hire a babysitter whose FaceBook public profile is full of partying pictures? No way!
For me mentoring and helping the generation coming up behind me is important. So, I’ll take those extra phone calls and choose to spend some of my free time mentoring young professionals. Hopefully, those I work with get a safe sounding board and some new things to think about, but I also get a lot out of this investment including insights into how to motivate and lead this next generation of superstars. I never want to forget that I would not be where I am today if a lot of people had not seen something in me that I didn’t and nurtured and helped me along the way.
So, step one is understand what your brand is today. Hint: you probably won’t like all of it and that’s okay. This is your starting point. From here you can start making steps to move your brand to match your goals. And like anything else, your brand needs to be authentic or folks will see right through it.
Dundee Girl's Blog 