Securing your advantage with personal branding

- One of my favorite restaurants is a little Thai place on the corner of a main road. When you enter, you're greeted with, sawadee ka, and the genuine smile of the Thai waitress. As you're guided to your table, the decor, the smells, the design, it all feels like you're on the streets of Bangkok. I don't go just for the food. I could get something just as good, but cheaper elsewhere. But I go over the experience. It tells a story. And when we talk about personal branding, it's about your story. This story that you tell that others remember about you, this is your reputation and it includes your expertise, your skills, your personality, your tone of voice, how you present yourself, and even the language that you use. So at its foundation, personal brand is about the reputation you forge in the eyes of others through what you consistently say, and more importantly, do. It lies at the intersection between who you are authentically and what you want to be known for. In my 10 years of experience in law and banking, and now running a global leadership and performance consultancy, I've come across the full gamut of personal brands. One of my colleagues at a Fortune 500, Terry, stood out for consistently delivering exceptional results while still being one of the most caring people you'd come across in the organization. People noticed, and the word spread. She became highly sought after and this opened a lot of doors. On the other hand, another senior leader, let's call him Simon, was outspoken about how much he valued his people. Yet, he was abrupt and dismissive towards subordinates in meetings and seemed to only look out for himself. His brand, a self-serving and disempowering leader. Although talented, he didn't stick around for long. While personal brand is all about how people perceive you and the story you create in their minds, it's a function of what you consistently say and do. It's a way of continually reinforcing who you are and what you stand for in your life and career. If you are a restaurant, you'd need to ensure that your menu, your staff, your chairs, your meal, the smells, all match the story your conveying. Similarly with your brand, each touchpoint someone has with you needs to be consistently telling the same story. But this is still not enough. If you truly want to influence your career's trajectory you still need to be intentional about helping others see, not only where you've been, but where you want to go. It allows you to take control, not only of your present story, but your future story.