Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Is it time to brand YOU?

When Tom Peters first wrote about branding yourself it was revolutionary and cool. Today it is a necessity if you want to succeed in the corporate world.

Like a plumber with a leaky tap, as a professional communicators you too can get so caught up in doing what you do that you can forget to apply all that great knowledge you have to your brand and career.

As a communicator and marketer being bland is NOT a way to stand out and sizzle as a model of what you teach. If you really want to boost your career and be an expert in your field, then you can’t be passive. You MUST be able to stand behind your personal brand without fear or embarrassment.

In a conversation I had recently with one of my wonderful coaching clients, she discovered that she had such a strong fear of other people judging her. Her need for approval was such that she wasn’t being her authentic self and certainly wasn’t living her personal brand and being visible.

Coaching around this was fun and enlightening! We discussed her strengths, her target market and what she wanted to really be known for. In particular, we took time to explore the language she used to describe herself when meeting others as well as the self-talk going on in her head.

What she came to realise was that she was trying to be everything to everyone and in the meantime was draining all her own energy. PHEW! The relief on her face was visible when she made the decision to focus in on her personal brand, to allow herself to be what she wanted to be and to form new brand messages for herself. The result was a refreshed, congruent and confident woman, with a newly refined career objective and a new personal brand image.

So do yourself a favour and take a moment now to pause and reflect…
Are you happy with your personal and professional life?
What’s missing? What do you really want to be doing?
What are you putting off?
What getting in your way of you doing and being all that you want?
Are you letting others tell you where your career is going or are you being bold and developing your own unique brand?

Take the effort to explore where you're selling yourself short and enjoy the freedom that being YOU will bring.

Click This Link To Play My Special Audio Tip to Help You Boost YOUR Career!
http://playaudio-345.com/play.asp?m=488475&f=PWAICC&ps=13&p=1

Yours in prosperity, passion and purpose
Heidi Alexandra Pollard

3 comments:

Mariana Sarceda said...

Thanks a lot Heidi for the article. It's given me the final push I needed to start my own PR and Communications blog. Thanks!!!

The Professional Commuicator's Coach said...

Great Marianita - let me know when it is up and running.
All the best
Heidi

City Sights and Observations said...

What a great message!
This also sounds like approval addiction -- a very common thing for women. Joyce Meyer wrote a book about approval addiction. It's worth a read!