Today's fast-paced environment challenges organizations to keep up. It also demands that we as individuals stay ahead. Your personal brand is one of your most important assets.
How is your brand? Fresh, relavent and competitive? Or could it use a little inspiration?
Dorie ClarkMeet my friend and colleague Dorie Clark, marketing strategy consultant, speaker, and author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future (Havard Business Review Press, 2013). While I've only known Dorie in her current career, her eclectic background is fascinating as is her evolution moving forward.
I invited her to have an electronic Q&A with me here. In my experience of individuals I meet through my consulting and coaching work, the people who embrace change and their own professional development seem happier, more successful, and are more likely to be flourishing in their organizations (or new ones they select).
I also know from my personal experience that it is too easy to get stuck. It happened to me. If you're not reinventing yourself, you may find yourself at the same brick wall I faced, not knowing where to go next. Being proactive and creative about where your future is heading and the narrative you share with people about it may help you avoid the brick wall. (And if you're facing a brick wall, I can tell you that there is a way over it!)
Q&A with Dorie Clark
What’s the most surprising thing you discovered in the process of writing Reinventing You?
I think many people feel there’s a “reinvention window” – that it might be acceptable to reinvent yourself at 30 or 40, but if you’re over 50, you’re out of options. My research showed that’s absolutely not true. In my book Reinventing You, I profiled many talented professionals who successfully embraced change later in life, such as Deborah, a top human resources executive who became a political campaign manager, and Tom, a newspaper bureau chief who was laid off and transferred his skills into a new job as a nonprofit communications director (and is actually now working as a freelance journalist in Singapore).
Why is personal branding so important in building one’s career?
Many of us have been taught that if you just do good work and keep your head down, your contributions will be noticed. Unfortunately, in a crowded and competitive world, that’s simply not true anymore. If you sit back and wait to be rewarded, you may be waiting a lifetime. It’s incumbent upon us to take responsibility for ensuring that others understand who we are and what we’re capable of. Some people hold back because they assume that all personal branding is obnoxiously self-promotional, but that’s a fallacy. When done right, personal branding is a win-win, because it helps your organization better understand how you can contribute and add value, and enables you to share your skills where you truly excel.
How does an individual continue keeping their brand current and relevant?
It’s important to understand that reinvention isn’t a one-time phenomenon; ideally, it should become a way of life. That doesn’t mean you need constant change, but it does mean that we need to consider small ways we can continually stretch ourselves and grow. Even if you’re in the perfect job and never want to change a thing, the world is moving fast. If you stop growing and learning, eventually the job will outpace you because new skills will be needed. So even small gestures like having coffee with one new person a week, or keeping up with reading industry periodicals, or taking a class to learn something that is increasingly important in your field – that can help ensure you’re up to date and growing.
Are there different approaches to consider when someone is branding internally in their organization vs. externally?
When you work for an organization (as opposed to being an entrepreneur), you need to be mindful of the fact that some people may worry that the stronger your personal brand, the more likely you are to leave your job for greener pastures. You can allay that concern by making it clear to your colleagues and boss that your goal is to help shine a light on the entire organization, not just yourself – so when you’re asked to write an article for the local business journal, make sure (once you’ve obtained the proper permissions) that they identify you as an employee of your company, and perhaps cite a positive case study your organization worked on. Show them examples, whenever possible, of how your strong personal brand has been able to help attract clients or media attention, and they’ll begin to understand it’s a benefit for them, as well.
Are there different approaches to consider when someone is at a nonprofit organization or association vs. at a for-profit enterprise or corporation?
Because many nonprofits and associations are mission-driven, employees of those organizations may feel more pressure than normal to keep themselves and their accomplishments in the background – after all, “it’s not about you – it’s about the cause.” But if you want your career to be sustainable over the long term, it has to be about both. If you’re cause-driven, you presumably hope to keep making an even bigger impact over time, and the best way to do that is to have your abilities recognized and be able to rise in your organization. Some people avoid personal branding because they’re worried they’ll appear too self-interested or self-aggrandizing, but to be successful, you have to reframe it: it’s about ensuring you’re able to make the biggest contribution possible.
What are the most common mistakes people make when approaching a career change?
Probably the most common mistake when people are changing careers is failing to communicate their “reinvention story” to others. We often assume others will intuitively grasp our transition (“Of course she’ll make a wonderful X, because she can apply her skills in Y and Z!”). But usually, they’re not paying very close attention to our career arc, and may not be up to date on what our skills or experiences are. In many cases, they may find our reinvention mystifying or inexplicable – unless we take the time to explain it to them. So we need to have a clear, brief, compelling narrative that explains where we’re going, and how our past adds value to the present (“I realized that my time as a legal scholar prepared me for a career in the wine industry because I had learned several new languages and developed strong oral presentation skills, which are essential in selling wine.”).
When someone is making a big change, especially if that change was imposed externally, how can the individual create a brand that helps them aspire if they feel a little lost?
It can be hard to view your reinvention positively when it’s been forced on you. I can relate: my own first “reinvention experience” was when I was laid off from my first job as a political journalist in 2001. It can take a while to figure out what you want to do, and what really excites you. What’s most important here is being honest about where you are in the process. It’s fine, and desirable, for you to reach out to friends and colleagues for informational interviews or meetings. But don’t move too fast and have them expend political capital on you when you’re not yet sure what you want. Do your homework first, determine the path you’d most like to explore, and then enlist the help of your connections.
Dorie Clark's book Reinventing YouWhat do you hope readers do or consider as a result of reading your book?
I hope readers will feel empowered to take action after reading Reinventing You. In this economy, we can’t just wait for life to happen to us. We have to take charge of our brands and our reputation, and make things happen. If you want to try something new, explore new opportunities, and grow professionally, this is the best time possible to take action. Understanding how you’re currently viewed by others, proactively determining how you’d like to be viewed, and then living out that brand every day is an affirmation that we can make a difference, and we can choose to make our lives an exciting adventure.