Tell Your Story: Taking the First Steps to Build Your Personal Brand

"Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room." ~ Jeff Bezos

If you don't tell your story, someone else will do it for you. Why not give them some talking points?

The first step, then, is to write your story.

What is the value you add to your team and organization? Not, what work do you do,

but the value that brings. How do you make the lives of your co-workers easier? How do you make the customers loyal and happy? If you weren’t there doing the work, what gap would that leave? Can you craft a case study based on your outputs based on one or a group of your customers, be they internal or external? It’s not just about the work, though, it’s about you too. YOU make it unique and put your own fingerprint on the work. No one does it like you do. Think about compliments you often hear about yourself, keep note of the consistent positive feedback you’ve received. What is your superpower?

I’ve coached some leaders who often say they feel like this is bragging and that they’d “rather the work speaks for itself.” Don’t undervalue yourself and don’t let someone else tell your story! Not many people are going to have the time to understand what it is you do and the unique skills that you bring to the table.

Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Be sure that you’re clear and focused on what you want to be known for based on what you do best. Come up with a few different versions too. Try to create an expanded version, an abridged version, a “Cliff Notes” version.

Next step is to determine your audience.

Identify the key stakeholders that you want to know your story. Your boss and your boss’s boss may be on that list if you’re looking for a promotion. Or perhaps you need to reach some new faces in the organization to get buy-in for your project. Sometimes rebranding is in order if you’ve done an internal pivot or your role has morphed over time into something different than what you started off doing. Know your audience and know what matters to them.

Finally, distribution.

You’ve written and edited your story and you know where you want to market it. It’s published and ready to go. How do you begin to share it? If you have a regular cadence of meetings with senior leadership where you’re reporting out on stats, how can you weave in your story and illustrate the impact you’re making? Quarterly reports, performance reviews, and opportune hallway conversations are all an invitation to share your full story, or perhaps a trailer to your story.

Before your meetings, take some time to know who’s in the room and think about what might come up in conversation, what has their attention right now, and how you help with what they’re focused on.

Remember that you’re building your brand and this will take time to establish, build, nurture, and maintain. Each encounter, each time you tell your story, builds on the last. Be intentional and know your North Star. Y

our North Star is your Why. What are you ultimately trying to achieve by crafting your personal brand and telling your story? Understanding your Why is critical to designing a career/life plan that represents your values, passions, and purpose. When you are living in alignment with your values, you are excited, engaged, and fulfilled in what you do.

Be you and let the world see it!