A Personal Brand

Part of your personal brand is the cumulative perceptions people have about you. It is your reputation, both online and off. It is what makes you one of a kind, even in the midst of all the others who have the same or similar skills. This is what makes people choose you, and only you. Your personal brand is basically your promise.

Maria Elena Duron  US News 11/13/14.

 

It sometimes feels as though new and improved terms are surfacing almost daily. At work we have what I call corporate slang but these terms are new label for old concepts.  For example, the first time I heard someone suggest that I “reach out” to someone I had to cover a smile.  The term reminded me of the old AT&T commercial where we were encouraged to “Reach out and touch someone.” I still don’t understand why we are “encouraged” me to “reach out to someone” instead of just saying, “Why don’t you call them to discuss?” 

Amongst the multitude of trendy terms that seem to surface on a regular basis, the one that recently caught my attention is ‘developing your personal brand.’  When I tried to get a clear and concise definition of what a personal brand actually is, all I found was a series of explanations that were vague and subjective. When an opportunity presented itself for me to attend a seminar to discuss how I can develop my own personal brand, I signed up.

As expected, the concept of developing a personal brand is a new term for an old concept.  Basically, it means that first impressions count and people should promote themselves according to how they want to be perceived. The personal brand is a label, a label that identifies the perception we want others to have of us.  Of course, the difference between the old concept and the new one is that the new one has a nifty new label to make it sound better.      

At the seminar, the speaker promised that a personal brand could improve my quality of life.  She said that a personal brand motivates us to do better.  In other words, if we decide that we want to be lose weight we can add the words active and motivated to our brand.  These words will motivate us to stick to our diet, wake up at 4a.m. to exercise.   Basically, we strive to live up to the label we want to identify with.  I may sound cynical about this theory, but I do have doubts.  This sounds like a new term for the old concept of ‘identifying a goal, outline steps to achieve the goal, and sticking to it.’  If establishing a personal brand really made it that easy I would set up a personal brand titled “Self- made millionaire who looks twenty years younger and wears a size 6.”  

 Projecting an image that only reveals certain qualities allows a one dimensional view of who we are and we humans are not one a dimensional species. I agree that we should promote our strengths; but relationships are built when people remove the veneer to reveal the real person behind the illusion.  If I only share the part of myself that hides the nuances in my personality, I end up compromising my authenticity.  I do believe that there is value in promoting our best qualities. However, a brand should not completely define me.  I am not a one dimensional being and I am definitely more than a label.