Posted by Rahna on July 5, 2010 under Leadership, Personal Branding | 
Last week, I conducted a “Lunch ‘n Learn” session on personal branding to a real estate investment company and had a great conversation about personal branding as it relates to those at the VP and above level. The question had to do with how personal branding can help those in leadership positions “take it to the next level.”
My answer? Personal branding is extremely important at the executive levels because it is critical for leaders to convey what their leadership brand is. I have conducted personal branding exploratories with those at the executive level for this very purpose. Usually, someone reaches an executive level because they have core competencies in a certain area; however, leadership requires a whole different skill set. Leaders are not “doing” the work anymore…they are coordinating getting the work done. They must learn how to inspire others to do the work, and for that, they need a strong personal brand.
I presented seven principles of personal branding and discussed how they relate to one’s job search. As it relates to leadership, the same principles apply. All the principles we discussed in the Signature for Success program are invaluable to expressing a leadership brand. Leaders need to ask themselves: Do I lead by example? How best can I share my vision for what we want to accomplish? How can I instill trust in my people—those who report to me, those who work with me, and the leadership above me?
For leaders, the principles discussed are reviewed from a slightly different perspective, as follows:
- Be Clear: What do I stand for? What is my leadership brand? Leaders are visionary and need to be able to convey that to their organizations clearly and effectively.
- Be Professional: Leaders need a whole different set of skills, such as managerial and organizational skills that they may not have had to call upon prior to being thrust into a position of leadership. However, they usually still need to have core competency in the area they are leading so that they can provide sound guidance on how the day-to-day operations get done.
- Be Confident: Who would follow a tentative, wishy-washy leader who seems unsure of himself/herself?
- Be True (Be Consistent): Of course, much has been written about how leaders need to “walk the talk.” In addition, leaders generally need to hammer home their vision over and over again, to repeatedly hold the high goal before everyone so that they are continually motivated to reach those goals.
- Be Bold: Leaders are necessarily leading….That means they are out in front, leading the way, sometimes treading in unknown territory. Boldness in leadership takes courage of a different sort.
- Be Connected: The higher up you go, the trickier the networking gets (and the more important it gets). When you are networking with your peers, you must always be mindful of the messages you are conveying. In general, leaders do not whine or complain about unrealistic deadlines or unsolvable problems to those who report to them. They must find other like-minded leaders to discuss their challenges with, in an appropriate forum. But often, the alliances they form throughout their industries can really be beneficial to the company as a whole. So once you become a leader in your company, being connected gets taken to a whole new level.
- Be Dynamic: Leadership skills are different than professional skills. There are ALWAYS new levels of leadership to be achieved. We are never “done.” While someone in Accounting may eventually be able to “check the box” on skills related to tax implications and general accounting principles, a leader of the accounting department will need to motivate a team of tired, overworked individuals when the end of quarter or end of year crunch-times come around. Motivational skills, listening skills and communication skills are the hallmarks of good leadership, and these skills can always be further honed.
If you’re a leader, then you need to focus on your leadership brand. If you aren’t (but would like to be), then you need to focus on your personal brand. The benefits are tremendous!
Posted by jos on May 24, 2010 under Branding, General, Personal Branding |
Click Here To Register
If you will be in Connecticut on June 10th and would like a day of inspiration for your marketing efforts, come to the 2010 CT Expo. I’ll be there, participating as a branding expert with a panel of other branding professionals, including Jody Ferrar of The Perfect Promotion. Click here to learn more about the great sessions on social media, marketing, sales success, and business best practices and business growth.
There will be great information sharing and tons of networking opportunities all day long. Registration is free, so there really isn’t any excuse for you not to join us!
Hope to see you there!
Posted by jos on May 20, 2010 under Branding, Personal Branding |
A few weeks ago, a group of leaders in the insurance industry went through a day-long workshop to learn more about “Building Your Leadership Brand.” Many people fall (or are thrust) into leadership positions by their extreme competence in a given area, but they don’t give much thought to what type of leader they want to be.
What is your personal leadership brand? What do you stand for? How can you contribute to your team, your company, your community? In our Signature for Success program, leaders are challenged to think about the specific messages they convey to their direct reports, their broader teams and to their senior management and colleagues. These sessions are very personal, as most leaders discover that they are passionate about something—customer service, absolute quality, excellence in their field, never giving up. But our workshops don’t stop at simply discovering what individuals care about. The magic of our exploratory work comes in the development of action plans for how best to convey this leadership to interested parties. What specific action plans are you executing to project your leadership brand to others? Do you have actionable plans in place to increase your exposure to (either internal or external) target audiences to increase your influence to your colleagues, your clients, your world?
If you’d like to have your leadership team inspired to greater effectiveness and influence in your company, give us a call. We’d love to help!
Posted by jos on April 22, 2010 under Branding, Personal Branding |
Wish you were doing more meaningful work?
Wish you were working in the perfect job, getting paid to do what you love to do?
Then join me on May 14th for a full-day workshop in Connecticut to clarify your personal brand! (And if you cannot make this workshop or cannot travel to Connecticut to attend, please let us know that you are interested. We have been working to schedule a possible webinar sometime in the near future.)
The Signature For Success program has been designed to take someone systematically through a process for identifying and planning an individual’s personal brand. It is meant to help you discover your personal brand and map a clear path to evolve your brand to realize your full potential in any economic environment. No matter whether you work as a solo-preneur or in a big corporate environment, strong personal branding can make a huge difference in your career!!
This deeply thought-provoking, business-oriented program has been designed to inspire greater personal performance, expand your unique value in the workplace and jumpstart your promotability within any organization.
Over the course of the day, you will learn:
- What a Personal Brand is & how it can transform your career
- How to discover your unique Personal Brand
- How to develop an action plan to clarify your Personal Brand to others (Including tips for using tools like Facebook or LinkedIn to enhance your personal brand!)
Seats are limited, so register now! I hope to see you there!
To learn more about the Signature for Success Program and register for the Workshop, please click here.
Posted by Rahna on March 15, 2010 under General, Personal Branding, Strategy |
When I give talks about personal branding, I encourage people to figure out what it is that they are good at, what their core competencies are, what the activities are that bring them the most joy, where they add the most value. We refer to this as “breathing,” doing things that seem so easy to you. These activities, these qualities are a natural part of our personal brand and the strengths upon which we can build a successful career.
But then there’s the other stuff … those things we’re NOT good at, those activities that we seem to struggle with, that take us forever to do because we procrastinate, avoid or otherwise drag our heels. Database management, mailings, on-line coordination, blog postings, ad design, website updates — all tasks that are necessary … but maybe not your forté. Is it costing you business? Maybe you haven’t accepted that offer to give a speech to a roomful of your best prospective clients because you don’t think your slides will look any good. Maybe you need to get your brochure done and out the door. You’re happy with the copy, but you keep fiddling with the design because you don’t like what you came up with on your own. Maybe your brilliant speech hasn’t been transcribed because you don’t have time (or you know that it will take you forever to transcribe it yourself). OR, maybe you’re not spending enough time bringing in valuable new clients because your time is being used to complete these non-billable tasks yourself. Stop it!
This is where a virtual assistant can help. I’ve used a virtual assistant for over two years to help me with presentation development, brochure development, website development — even this blog and newsletter! If you hit a wall and you just can’t take it anymore, I can highly recommend Holly Koziol as the best virtual assistant EVER (in fact, I was the one who insisted she use that name for her business). Check out her website, and then contact her to discuss how she can help you too! You’ll be glad you did!
Posted by Rahna on February 18, 2010 under Branding, Personal Branding |
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As the Olympic Games unfold, there are countless wonderful stories of triumph & trial, of determination as well as disappointment, and it’s always fun to watch. Throughout the Games, we are getting glimpses of these athletes’ personal brands. And as a marketer and personal branding expert, I am always asking myself: What lessons can we learn from these athletes? What can we bring to our personal lives as guidelines for living and expressing our own personal brands? How can we stand out in our own worlds?
Olympian and snowboarding sensation Shaun White has a HUGE personal brand (which is one reason he is so in demand with sponsors). But the fame and glory have come as an after-effect, as a result of him expressing his unique personal brand. If you want an Olympic-sized personal brand, here are some learnings from the half-pipe:
1) Do your thing-Shaun White loves what he does and does not apologize for that. He works at it. He strives for perfection, innovation, and more! Whatever is part of your personal brand—do it! Can you imagine Shaun with short hair? Nope. That’s not to say that that will not happen someday, but that’s not really who he is right now. He’s outrageous, and his hair matches who he is.
2) Put yourself out there in a HUGE WAY (even if it results in a few crashes along the way) – NBC did a comparison of Shaun’s “air” versus another competitor’s air. The difference? At least five or six feet! How does Shaun stand out? By doing what he does in a HUGE way. Will he always have a perfect landing? No. But he does everything in a big, Shaun White way.
3) Never be satisfied-This Olympian is always pushing and pushing and pushing to innovate in this sport. Once outrageous moves are now considered standard. Once that happens, he moves on, looking for new outrageousness—and that marks his personal style. He built his own half-pipe on the side of a mountain so that he could practice new tricks and perfect his moves—over and over and over again!
4) Continually find new ways to delight your audience - There was so much anticipation about a super-secret new move that Shaun had been working on which was to be unveiled during these Olympics. In the half-pipe event, each competitor gets two runs and the best of the two becomes the score. Shaun was able to win with his first run (without the new move), so he didn’t have to go on the second run. You could overhear the conversation as he was celebrating with his coaches and there was mention of him just sliding down the middle of the pipe. But that wouldn’t have been in keeping with his brand! Even though he already had won, he put on a show and performed the new move (even improving on his already-winning score). Ever the showman, Shaun didn’t disappoint. For a longer video, showing both of Shaun’s runs, click here.
Posted by Rahna on January 12, 2010 under Branding, Personal Branding |
This time of year allows me to talk about topics I love to talk about all year long—including the evolution of your personal brand! However, maybe this time of year is more about revolution than evolution. New Year’s is a time of reinvention, both personally and professionally. The question is, what do you want to change, add, delete or transform?
Embrace the idea that 2010 is going to be your best year ever, and that you are going to take charge of your career this year! Remember that all brand managers put a plan in place to guide the development and delivery of their brand, and you are no different! What’s your plan? Want to add new leadership skills? Then what—specifically—are you going to do to add those skills? Attend a class? Read a book? Practice some skills? Talk to a mentor?
Take some time to think through how you will develop the habits, practices and skills to get you to the next level. I can tell you that this practice WORKS. I recently heard from a private executive personal branding client of mine whose specific goal was to be promoted into senior management by her next performance review period. We talked about specific qualities that she wanted to express and she put a plan in place to express those…and guess what? She got promoted!
So embrace some new thinking this year. Don’t accept “that’s the way I am.” Baloney. Everyone changes over time, so actively manage your brand!
Posted by Rahna on December 3, 2009 under Branding, Personal Branding |
In a Signature for Success talk I gave recently on personal branding, I asked the audience members to think about the qualities that are core to their nature…those character traits that describe them best—things like detail-oriented, friendly, strategic, passionate. Then I asked them to write down some qualities that they might not be so crazy about, character traits that they would like to get rid of or improve. Several of them noticed that the things they are really great at, the things that make them special, are closely related to what they perceive as their character “flaws.”
Have you ever found that to be the case? In my work with executives in many different fields, I have found that this phenomenon is almost ALWAYS the case. Someone who is detail-oriented can be seen as a perfectionist, someone who is passionate can be accused of being too vocal or fervent, someone who is a creative idea-generator cannot seem to stay on a concept long enough to execute their ideas. They are two sides of the same coin.
So what do you do about that?
Well, the first step is to simply be aware of the issue. That’s a big step. In actively managing your personal brand, it’s critical to know what your strengths are so that you can leverage them, highlight them, build upon them.
But be aware of how that may come across to other people, and how there could be a negative perception associated with it. I have always told people to celebrate what makes them unique; it is what makes them valuable. But be aware that there could be some perceived downsides and look for ways to mitigate those downsides. Here I offer two possible solutions:
Compensate with other strengths on your team: If you know that you are a great idea person, but not so hot at follow-through and execution, make sure you have a real go-getter on your team. It can be a beautiful complement to have someone who is NOT like you on your team. Anyone who has been associated with me for any length of time has heard me rave about my assistant, Holly. She and I are so different—and delightfully so. She is organized, detail-oriented, thorough, task-oriented, steadfast and patient. I am contained chaos. Having her as a vital member of my team allows me to do what I do best and leverage her most valuable skill set as well. So think about the tasks you hate to do, the ones you don’t feel you are good at, and ponder whether there is another team member that would be better suited to those tasks. What qualities would you like to add to your team that may not exist today?
Expand your brand: I believe that people can (and do) grow and change. Once you are aware that perhaps you are too rigid, find small ways to express greater flexibility. The more you practice a skill, the better you will become. It’s just like flexing an unused muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. I’m not saying that you will ever “flip the coin,” becoming the opposite of what you are today. But if you are aware that your passion can come across negatively, you can find ways to channel it positively. You can find (and create) more balance and enhance your brand even further.
Regardless of how you deal with the issue, I must counsel you with this: In order for you to really find your Signature for Success, you must embrace what is good about you rather than what is wrong with you. Yes, you should look to grow and improve, but be sure that you are looking at the shiny side of the coin more often than the tarnished side, for that is where your path to success lies.
Posted by Rahna on October 1, 2009 under Branding, Personal Branding |
Click Here To Register!
We’re Teaming up with Bearingstar Insurance and the Emergency Aid Association to Spur Career Advancement, Stimulate Job Growth and Ease Financial Hardship
I have been conducting a lot of sessions about personal branding and have been asked to provide some more in-depth sessions to help people really dig into these concepts. By finding a corporate sponsor, we are able to conduct these at extremely low out-of-pocket costs! So, we will conduct a series of seminars entitled “Your Signature for Success: Realize the Power of Your Own Personal Brand,” sponsored by Bearingstar Insurance in Suffield, CT throughout the month of October, starting on October 16 in Suffield. These workshops will be conducted at several times and in several different towns throughout Hartford County in an effort to allow easy access to all who wish to participate and includes a charitable tie-in with the Emergency Aid Association. The program takes participants through the process of identifying their key strengths and unique attributes and helps them to construct an action plan for clearly communicating those strengths to relevant audiences. The types of people who will be attending include job seekers, small business owners, and those in corporate careers who want to solidify their positions or get promoted.
Because of the generous sponsorship of Bearingstar Insurance, this program (which would normally cost over $1000) is being offered at a fraction of its normal rate. In addition, both Beacon Marketing and Bearingstar see this as an opportunity to give back to the local community by lowering the price of the seminar even further (to $99) and asking participants to bring donations for the Suffield Emergency Assistance Association’s Holiday Basket Program. Desirable items include food, paper goods, cleaning supplies and personal care items.
This full-day seminar is a follow-up to an initial two-hour talk given at the Simsbury Library called “Personal Branding for Job Seekers.” This workshop will provide more in-depth “how-to” advice to allow local professionals to make stronger impressions and find new ways to communicate their value. All we are hearing about these days is how high the unemployment rate is. As a personal branding expert, I know that if someone can clearly articulate to a potential employer what unique skills and abilities they have to offer, they have a much higher likelihood of getting hired. In addition, those who already have jobs are nervous about losing them, but if they can highlight their contributions to their clients or within their workgroups, they can strengthen their positions and build new opportunities to do really meaningful work.” As a result of the interest generated from the Job Seekers meeting, we turned to community advocate Pamela Horton of Bearingstar as a logical sponsor. “We are thrilled to be able to host these events and jumped at the chance to work together with Rahna to bring these programs to the community in a very cost-effective way. We pushed ourselves to maximize the benefit for everyone. By adding the charitable tie-in for the Emergency Aid Association, everyone wins—participants get an action plan for showcasing their talents, we have the opportunity to help those with insurance needs, and the Emergency Aid Association gets donations to distribute here in the local community.”
Anyone interested in strengthening their personal brand is invited to attend one of these sessions. The first date has been identified: October 16 at the Bearingstar Office in Suffield, CT. In order to provide hands-on coaching, registration is limited for each class. Those interested are encouraged to reserve a spot early. If you cannot make that date but are interested in another date, please indicate that on the on-line registration form here.
Bearingstar Insurance is sponsoring this talk as a part of its community outreach programs. Bearingstar insurance agents can work with you to cover everything that’s important to you and everything you’d like to protect, including watercraft, recreational vehicles, flood coverage, and personal umbrella liability policy to cover nearly everything else. The Emergency Aid Association is a private, non-profit organization, providing health and social services that positively affect the well-being of local residents during periods of family or personal need.
For more information about the seminar and to sign up for the full-day workshop, please click here, or contact Rahna Barthelmess at 860-254-5907.
Posted by Rahna on September 17, 2009 under Leadership, Personal Branding |
Last week during a leadership conference, I had an opportunity to hear Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Forbes and Zig Ziglar speak from the podium. It was a very inspirational day. One of the things that stood out to me was something Colin Powell said: “It ain’t where you start; it’s where you end up my friend.”
He was talking about how he had a 2.0 grade point average from Community College of New York, and how now, there is a Powell Center named after him. So if you are discouraged about where you are or how you are performing currently, take heart. You are simply on your way to greatness!
Powell was urging the audience to continue to learn and grow because he believes that everyone can achieve greatness. He talked about not bemoaning all the bad breaks that you got in life. “Don’t go through life looking in the rearview mirror,” he admonished. That’s not a quick road to success. I’m reminded that every once in a while, it’s important to take stock of where you are and where you’ve been and celebrate the successes that have come. You may not be exactly where you want to be; you may not have achieved all of your goals in your career and your life (yet!), but I’ll bet you’ve made progress. Celebrate that progress and keep pushing forward. Remember as Colin Powell says, “It ain’t where you start, it’s where you end, my friend.”
