Make Your Mark

Hit a high note in your career by playing on your strong personal brand.


What do Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick and Madonna all have in common?

The answer: They have all spent time, effort and energy in creating their unique personal brand.

And so can you. You do not have to be a billionaire, golf champion or celebrity to reap the career rewards of personal branding.

A personal brand creates a point of difference. It helps you stand out from the crowd.

What are the benefits of having a strong personal brand for both employers and employees?

For starters, potential employees can command a higher salary. They can do this because their unique personal brand will add value to the organisation.

Also, and importantly for employers, it reduces the perception of risk in hiring the person because a strong personal brand is built by having a good reputation.

Branding in today's competitive, crowded and noisy marketplace needs to focus on three levels:

• the corporate brand for capital markets, customers and external stakeholders,
• the internal brand to attract and retain the best employees, and
• the personal brand of the chief executive officer as a leader and influencer.

Successful leaders with high levels of power, influence and charisma are able to align their personal brand with that of the company to add shareholder value.

The brand values of the ambitious, hardworking and determined worker appeal to many employers. Brands help keep products or services fresh in the minds of consumers, and the introduction of a new personal brand to a company can bring new energy to an organisation.

Personal branding operates on three levels:

1. The first, or most inner and authentic, level is your core personal brand shaped by your upbringing, family, values, beliefs, personality and attitudes.
2. The second, or middle, level is your created personal brand. This is a planned process of self-development that builds yur knowledge, specialisation and expert power to create and define who you are.
3. The third, or outer, level is your perceived personal brand. You can shape perceptions simply by managing how others see you and presenting yourself in a compelling, visible and persuasive manner.

The most effective way of doing this is through assuming a leadership role (such as the president of a community group or industry organisation), networking, writing, speaking and being quoted in the media.

To be successful, a personal brand must be seen over and over again.

Visibility creates the presumption of quality. People assume because they see a person all the time, he must be superior to others offering the same product or service.

Do this in a constant, consistent and congruent way, and you will create an effective - and lucrative - personal brand. But remember that while strong personal brands take years to build up, they can also be destroyed in seconds.

Five reasons why personal branding is important

• It sets you apart from your competitors,
• It reflects your core values, personality, talent and skill set,
• It increases your credibility, especially if you can harness the power of the media,
• It establishes your expertise, authority and value, and
• It creates a success sprial that can boost your health, wealth and career.

Article contributed by award-winning author, broadcaster and international business speaker Thomas Murrell, who will be running a brand excellence programme in Singapore on Wednesday, May 24. For details and bookings, go to the Times Management Institute website at www.tes.edu.sg

Extracted from The Straits Times CATS Recruit Thursday, May 11, 2006.