The term “personal brand” used to be one that was used only by those in the marketing and career coaching professions. These days however, almost anyone who works for themselves – or anyone else – seems to be overly concerned with building and protecting their personal brand. The funny part about this though, is that they also seem to forget that personal branding starts with authenticity.
See, at its core, personal branding is about getting other people to see you the way you want them to see you. If you stop there though, that’s when you run into trouble. That train of thought is what leads people into thinking that personal branding is about manipulating people into thinking certain things about you, and it’s a freakin’ epidemic out there, I tell ya. Just look at the dude in this post’s cover image!
Guys.
Personal branding isn’t about tricking people into thinking you’re something you’re not, and it’s not about making yourself into something you think others want you to be. It’s about authentically putting the best parts of who you already are forward for the world to see.
I don’t want to hear another word about how you “need to learn to golf” because “that’s what executives do” – and yes I’m doing air quotes over here right now. If you already like to golf, then great – let it serve you at work when it makes sense. But don’t learn it just for the sake of impressing some senior leader. You are awesome enough as it is without trying to force-fit these bits and pieces in on top of everything else.
How to do Personal Branding in One Easy Step
Want to hear a foolproof way to do personal branding the right way? Alright, I’ll tell you. The good news is that it’s one easy step. Ready for this? Be nice to others.
SHHHHH DON’T TELL ANYONE!
Here’s the thing: people these days generally care more about how their personal brand comes off to others than how they treat others, not realizing that the two are completely inseparable. If you treat people well, the rest of your personal brand will probably follow automatically for you. If you treat people like crap, then no amount of “brand-polishing” will shine up that pig of a personality you’ve got. People can smell bullshit a mile away, and they’re very good at separating the real McCoy from the posers out there.
Wrapping it Up
The best way to approach personal branding is to approach it like it’s photo-editing software. You can use it to polish up a beautiful picture that’s already there, but it’s not meant to transform one photo into another one entirely. If you love fashion, let your keen design eye shine through the clothes you wear to work. If you love a glass of scotch, order it at the next office function and strike up a conversation with someone. But for the love of god, don’t force yourself to drink it because you think it’ll make someone else like you; that’s a disservice to you and the scotch.
