Dear Management-Issues...
I have been constantly overlooked for promotion to senior level in my company for the last two years and it's now getting me down. I feel I have all the skills I need to get me ahead so I'm really not sure why it's not happening. Sometimes I feel however that people don't really understand me and that I don't fit in? I recently heard about personal branding – is it something that could help me?
Lesley Everett's Answer:
I'm sure personal branding could help you. It is really about getting to the core of who you are as an authentic individual, what motivates you, drives you and what your strengths and values are. When you have clarity on this then you can work on how you project this brand consistently via your image.
By getting these elements (the core brand and the external image) in sync, you begin to project a powerful impression and others come to 'know' you better.
I suggest in the first instance you get some time alone with some inspirational music playing, and write down as many words as you can that describe your authentic brand – your values, strengths and drivers. Keep these positive.
If you're a visual person, you can then create a Values Board – by this I mean getting pictures out of magazines that represent these values for you. Getting some clarity on what you really stand for will be time well spent and will form a foundation to you projecting a consistent brand.
Then you need to test out the perceptions of others – your personal brand is in fact what people say about you behind your back. It's a collection of the perceptions that others have of you, so you need to check out how close those perceptions are to the real brand you. The simplest way to do this is to ask them to give you 3 words that describe your brand image, words that they would use to describe you others. And they need to be candid.
How 'off message' are the responses?
This will give you some ideas on what you need to work on. I bet there will some elements of either image, attitude or behaviour that come out of this that are causing people to see you in a way that may might be getting in the way of your true qualities and abilities.
