Personal Brand: Authentically You

What is a personal brand? And how does it relate to leadership?

Personal brand is often associated with things like a flashy logo, sharp business card or snappy attire. Or with other external things about a person like the kind of car they drive, what their office looks like or the places they’ve worked.

When I was graduate student at Pepperdine University I had the honor (and joy!) of working with Karl Speak, a renowned personal brand expert and consultant. Through him I learned that brand is so much more than the façade of personal image. Brand gets to the heart of the individual - the leader - encompassing their values, vision, purpose, authenticity and how they’re perceived.

Let’s look at the power and depth of personal brand by examining 5 fundamentals. Strong personal brands are: values oriented, distinctive, relevant, consistent and authentic.

Values

Values are at the heart of your brand because they represent your inner principles that guide your actions, behaviors and decisions. Values are the driving force for how you lead. Being clear about your values and leading in accordance with them makes you a content, confident and authentic leader. 

Let’s take this a step further. It’s when your employees notice (even subconsciously) your commitment to your values that your brand as a leader starts to take shape. This is when employees begin to recognize the real you. When they see and understand the real you is when your brand starts to gain traction.

Distinctive, Relevant and Consistent

The book, “Be Your Own Brand” by David McNally and Karl Speak is where I began to learn the meaning and depth of personal brand. I gained even more insight and appreciation for personal brand when I worked with Karl during the dissertation phase of my program. As David and Karl put it, strong brands are: distinctive, relevant and consistent.

Distinctive:  Means that you stand for something. It’s how you separate out from the crowd, but not just by simply being different, by serving others in a distinctive way. What’s a quality, characteristic or trait that you want to be known for? That makes you unique in how you serve others? In how you show-up?

Relevant:  This is about understanding and caring about what’s important to someone else. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes to understand what they need, value and desire. Being relevant starts with taking your distinctive quality and using it in a meaningful way that makes a difference for others.

Consistency: Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Consistently demonstrating your distinctive quality in a relevant way over and over again is fundamental to having a brand that is understood and recognizable. The more consistent you are the stronger your brand grows.

Let’s illustrate this. I have the privilege of teaching at a local university and I’m always very conscience of how to best serve my students. A distinctive approach I take is an experiential classroom environment with high student involvement and interaction. This is relevant to the students who want to learn, expand their thinking, stretch their skills and not listen to a professor lecture for hours on end. This is a consistent approach that I’ve taken since I started teaching and it’s what I’m known for. Now, try it on for yourself! How are you distinctive and relevant, and is it consistent?

Authenticity

Authenticity means being genuine and true, which is the foundation of leadership and of any strong brand. It’s showing the real you to the world and those you lead.

We seek to be authentic with ourselves and to have authentic relationships. Internal authenticity makes us feel good, confident and sure of ourselves. Authentic relationships embody trust, vulnerability, respect, esteem and camaraderie.

Practicing your values, being true to yourself, establishing connected relationships and demonstrating vulnerability are ways to live and lead authentically. Living and leading authentically is not necessarily easy. It takes practice, fortitude and a strong sense of self. The payoff, though, is tremendous for both you and your team.

Summary
 
Personal brand is about the real you - - your true leadership. It’s not about presenting a manufactured image, rather it’s about bringing out the best in you. Ask yourself how you can strengthen your leadership and brand through being: values oriented, distinctive, relevant, consistent and authentic.

Heather Backstrom is an executive coach, leadership development consultant and speaker. She has a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. She can be reached at www.heatherbackstrom.com