Embracing Your Personal Brand

Everyone has a personal brand, whether they want one or not. Your brand can enable you to soar, and it can also hold you back. Considering this branding is how others perceive you, it affects how they treat you, respond to you, trust you, follow you, spend time with you, respect you, buy from you, listen to you, admire you, hire you, promote you – or not.

Here are seven key characteristics that define a large part of an individual's personal brand:

1. Uniqueness

What sets you apart from the crowd? What makes you different from others?

2. Image

What imagery do you create? It's both subjective and objective. How do you appear to others? It might sound trite, talking about looks, but think about it. It's not always about looks, of course, it can also be something intangible. People can make judgements and branding decisions in milliseconds based on how someone looks, their wardrobe, or how they carry themselves. Do you walk proudly or sulk? How is your hygiene? Body language, facial signals and voice inflection are huge telltale signs to many people. Do you have a friendly smile or are you always frowning?

3. Signature traits

What do you bring to the table? What traits are you best known for? Are you accurate in your work? Are you a good writer? Are you good at making decisions under pressure? Do you come up with creative ideas?

4. Reputation

It's about what others think of you. You have to earn your reputation in others' eyes. Are you reliable or are you always running late? Are you always playing the contrarian? Do you pay your own way or always borrow from others? Do you cheat or do you respect the rules? Can you keep a secret? Are you considered a "go-to" authority on things?

5. Principles

What do you stand for? Trust? Honesty? Doing whatever it takes? How do others perceive your ethics, your sense of right from wrong? What guiding principles drive your decision-making?

6. Attitude

Are you known as a negative person most of the time? Are you candy-corn, super-sweet much of the time? Are you typically over the top with even the simplest things? Are you known as an optimist or a pessimist? Are you cheerful and approachable, or snarly and gruff?

7. Skill set/talents/abilities

This is where it gets real. At some point, you have to have the actual necessary skill set and the talents to pull off whatever it is you are trying to do. You can have the best attitude and intentions in the world, but if you can't do the job correctly because you don't have the skill, you know how that will turn out. If you need to add skills or learn new talents to improve your brand, get help and start upskilling. 

Growing your brand

To grow your personal brand, be a lobster. Lobsters grow by molting, or shedding their hard shell to replace it with a newer, larger shell. We can learn from lobsters by constantly "molting" and expanding our personal brand via actions, thoughts, words, etc. You can't stay rutted in your old shell; you won't grow and your brand won't evolve, limiting your potential for success.

If you're looking for an easier path, as in "fake it till you make it," that's a crock. Today, most people and organizations value genuine, authentic people with brands that reflect those same qualities. Being fake is a short-term play that can end badly.

Gary Hernbroth is a speaker, business coach and author who specializes in helping professionals navigate transition. In his new book, "Twist the Familiar," he presents stories curated to inspire and encourage readers in a variety of critical business topics important to today's professions, and helps readers create their own personal playbook for success.