There are many approaches to building a strong personal brand but these four criteria are key when it comes to leveraging your personal brand to shape a cohesive reputation, expand your influence and elevate your worth over the longer term:
- Intention
- Alignment
- Consistency
- Authenticity
Intention
It all starts with a desire to be more, an attitude to evolve and a commitment to take action.
Intention sets in train decisions to gain clarity on your purpose, your beliefs and values, your message, your specialist value, your leadership style, your presence. In essence, how you intend to show up to the outside world.
At the heart of this intention is a shift to adopting a personal brand mindset and all that goes with it, including the responsibility and accountability for what you think, say and do, ongoingly.
Alignment
People with a strong personal brand speak and act in alignment with their beliefs and values. This alignment gives them confidence, presence and influence.
Think of sports stars, such as Ash Barty and Roger Federer, or political leaders, such as former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern or former Finland prime minister Sanna Marin.
Although holding the country’s most senior position, Sanna Marin stood firm on her belief to unapologetically express her youth, after a leaked video showed her dancing and singing with friends at a private function.
Similarly, Jacinda Ardern’s belief in a compassionate and open communication style of leadership, rejecting the premise that prime ministers must be aggressive and masculine, underpinned her daily approach to the top job.
Consistency
If you’re consistent with your brand presence – online, in person, in print, via email and on the phone – people gain a more unified understanding of who you are and what you’re about.
Consistency also fosters trust with people because when you consistently make clear your unique character, qualities and capability, you cumulatively build a sense of familiarity, dependability and credibility in people’s minds.
Over time, consistency builds your public profile as your thoughts and ideas come more into the spotlight.
Authenticity
While intention, alignment and consistency are ways of being or habits that all people can embrace, authenticity is unique to everyone. No-one thinks, speaks or does things like you. It’s your you-niqueness that ultimately sets you apart.
While you may think authenticity is a given when it comes to personal branding, unfortunately that’s not always the case. In the world of people branding, the persona that someone projects may not always be their authentic selves.
If, however, you cultivate and project a personal brand that’s not true to who you are in everyday life, you’ll become exhausted keeping up the charade and/or people will see through the fakeness.
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©Ros Weadman 2024 If you would like help crafting your personal brand vision, contact Ros Weadman at www.rosweadman.com.
