Managing your personal brand

It is judicious to gauge the strength of your brand and the impact that you have on people.

What  does it take to have people  take you seriously ,be receptive to your ideas ,supportive of your strategy,and in general  be positively  disposed towards you? The answer lies in how strongly your personnel brand stands out. Your brand is your identity or the reputation you enjoy amongest your stake holders .It is a montage comprising thousands of impressions that people have farmed from their interactions with you. Are people’s perceptions important? Absolutely !In the market place ,perception  is reality .It would be judicious ,therefore ,to gauge the strength of your brand  and the conscious or unconscious  that b you have on people ,as your brand determines the extent of your influence ,chances for a promotion .or the prospects for that coveted  role or the carer enhancing assignment that you are seeking.

Consider great product brands such as Tata ,Raymond’s or Nescafe, or personnel brands like Ratan Tata , SachinTendulkar ,or Barrack Obama .Alternatively consider people closer home ,those who can relate to ,people at the workplace ,perhaps .whom would you consider as great brands and why? Who are the people who stand out ?and how would you position relative to theirs?What constitutes the brand ? Susan Hodgkinson , in her book “The Leaders Edge ”,has defined the  architecture of a .brand along five dimensions- persona ,product ,packaging ,promotion and permission.

Persona :persona is your aura ,or the emotive response that you invoke in people .It is  represented by the way people react to you, or what crosses their minds  when your name is mentioned .Fore instance ,if your name flashes on a colleague’s phone screen ,does he take the call enthusiastically, or retract his extended  hand ? Your persona is the manifestation of the way you relate to people ,which is embodied  your emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman in his 1995 book Emotional intelligence  proved that cognitive skills like decision making ,memory, problem solving and tenacity play a rather in determining why some people are more successful than others. These  are considered as entry-level skills for success. what really propels you forward in your carer  is the way  you understand people ,connect with them and take them along with you .Emotional  Intelligence is defined by two main elements. The first relates to the self ,an understanding others really systems understanding yourself   -- your strengths,weaknesses,priorities,goals and motivation :and the degree of your self control in chanalising your disruptive moods and emotions. The second element relates  to your ability  to understand others  - appreciating cultural and ethnic differences, gauging  people’s  emotions and understanding the underlying  messages  by reading their body languages .This is  contingent  upon the extent of  your interest in and appreciation of people ,and how likeable you render your self  through your pleasant disposition.

 Product : refers to your substance or the value that you bring to the table .It is the sum of your qualification ,experience ,wins and losses ,ideas and communication skills. It determines people’s confidence  in your expertise  and your ability to deliver  results. Are you keeping your product current and fresh  by learning constantly ,adding to your skills  and reinventing your expertise ,or are you becoming stale by hanging on the same set of skills.?

Rough introspective  and by seeking feedback Packaging:Packaging refers to your outer shell ,or the way you present yourself to the world.It transcends your appearance and communication style. For instance a cluttered desk gives  the impression of being  disorganised ,spelling discrepancies in communication point  point to your lack of attention to detail ,not returning  a call or acknowledging a mail point to lack of etiquette or sensitivity .Is it important ? Absolutely! Research has proved  that people from snap judgements about you  based on your external image in the first 15seconds whether a meeting,interview or a party.These impressions are strictly  sticky,as it takes 8 pieces of positive information to undo an initial  negative impression. And this is the filter through which people view all your subsequest actions. There is therefore ,great merit in taking care about the way you present yourself.Dress right and to the occation. Good Grooming,including accessories like bag,pen,shoes and  socks,handkerchief and the business card case ,may not be important individually ,but they all contribute to your brand..Remember the market place may never discover the jewel inside unless they find the packing attractive to explore future . Your strengths may never be appreciated ,if they are hidden under a clumsy exterior,for this is the first step to reaching your substance.

Promotion : Promotion  is about communicating  your substance and achievements  to the market place .How will people appreciate your good work  if they do not know about it ? And who is responsible for promoting you? Your manager? Yes, but the ownership lies with you !promotion is not about beating your trumpet ,but informing people about  your work  and achievement s through  responsible communication. The trick lies in communicating to the right people at the right forums, without our over- promotion or steeling someone’s thunder and remember: your credibility is enhanced when you promote others and give credibility when it is due .

Permission: Permission is about your self-confidence and self belief. Do you believe in the value that you bring to the table? Do you hold yourself in high esteem and consider yourself a valuable team member? Do you believe that you have a voice at the table, or you tentative, waiting to be invited and failing to seize the movement in the process? It is about conducting yourself with conviction and self –belief.

As with any product brand,you need  to actively manage  your brand,striking  a harmony between what you seek to  portray and the way people perceive you. And discrepancy  is bound to be a roadblock in your seccess.Susan Hodgkinson made a pertinent point  in saying that “Iam  who iam ,take it or leave it attitude is an abdication  odn personnel responsibility”.It is crucial ,therefore,to evaluate  this periodically  through introspection and by seeking feedback from stakeholders who are likely to be honest and responsible in voicing  their views.Rajeev  Peshawaria ,the author of Too Many Bosses .Too  Few leaders ,says : “It is impossible to  wear a perfectly centred tie without standing in front of mirror .We need to be mirrors  for each other .remember ,It is not what  you say but what they say, that counts!