Written by: Susan Barbee, CPC, CCSP, PHR, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Ever been asked, “Tell me about yourself,” and wonder if you should tell your life story, or just give the highlights? Maybe you struggle to explain why someone should hire you over other candidates and buy your services over the competition.
Or, perhaps you’re searching for a way to tell a compelling story about how you impact the world in a way only you can do.
If you see yourself in these scenarios, you are far from alone. Over my years of coaching, one thing stands out: people who are at the top of their career with a solid list of accomplishments often struggle to explain what makes them successful. How do their strengths and skills benefit others? Solve people’s problems? Distinguish them? These are tricky questions for most of us.
Getting to the root of these answers can transform your self-presentation when so much is on the line. Not only that: the process of discovery can produce the clarity you need to show who you are and the value you bring. I will walk you through the steps of self-discovery to help you confidently share your full potential with the people you want to serve.
What we’re really talking about is branding, and why defining your brand matters in your professional journey. Whether you’re satisfied with your work or looking for a change, be clear on what you want, what you offer to sharpen your clarity and expand your influence. Reaching that next-level role, getting buy-in, or just finding your voice at work can be in reach when you give yourself the space to explore your unique gifts and talents.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding is the effort to consistently communicate and present our self as an authority, and elevate our credibility, to differentiate you from others. It is built on our core defining skills, qualities, experience and achievements.
Why do professionals need a personal brand?
Imagine how poised you’ll feel once you can succinctly show the “secret sauce” of your success and how you use it to benefit others. When you master the art of branding, you’ll:
Show the marketplace how you bring value
Distinguish yourself from the competition
Boost career security
Get more clarity and confidence
How to create your brand’s building blocks
A personal brand is built on four core pillars that define who you are and what you offer:
Strengths & Talents
Competencies & Hard Skills
Qualities & Soft Skills
Experience & Achievements
Let’s look at the steps and simple tools that will help you to craft your story:
Step No.1. Connect the dots by surveying your personal and professional self through the lens of a lifetime. This broad perspective helps you see that in many ways, you probably have always been the person you are today. That is, your passions, talents, and personality traits likely manifested from childhood.
ACTIVITY No.1: Identify lifetime patterns and personal highlights.
1. First brainstorm to create lists – don’t hold back, just allow your ideas to flow.
Reflect on patterns back to when you were a kid.
What were your biggest passions? Pastimes?
How did your creativity or imagination manifest itself?
What skills always come easiest for you?
Consider compliments you often receive.
What are your most valued personal qualities and soft skills?
Think about how co-workers and supervisors have described you.
2. Next, prioritize what’s most important based on motivations, values, or strengths.
3. Step away, and then come back and ask, what stands out?
What are the key elements that tie the past together with the present?
Step No.2: Consider your proudest achievements. Gaining clarity about the strengths and skills that drove your most important successes provides a rich storehouse for self-understanding.
ACTIVITY No.2: Identify your Core Success Factors through your accomplishments.
1. Write down your top 6-12 achievements in your life and career. Using the STAR format, capture the Situation, Actions, and Results.
Be sure to quantify or specify the outcome and, if possible, a larger impact.
2. Name the key skills and qualities behind each contribution or outcomes.
3. Identify your Core Success Factors by listing the functions at the root of your achievements. Do this by combining various elements of the Skills and Qualities to capture what makes you successful.
Examples of Core Success Factors:
Strategic planning and implementing an action plan
Developing systems and tools based on needs assessments
Coaching teams while nurturing the individual
Our Core Success Factors help shine a light on the value we offer and to whom we offer it, especially when we see our contributions within the context of the marketplace we serve.
Step No.3: Put the cherry on top with your pitch. Showing how you can solve a company’s, customer’s or client’s problems is one of the key ways you can gain influence and compel others to hire or promote you, or look to you for leadership.
ACTIVITY No.3: Pull it all together by writing your Branding Statement
Convey how you how you bring value to your audience using these four prompts:
Your Role (What you do)
How you add value (How you solve problems, or get results)
How you do it (Your “Secret sauce”, or top skills behind your successes)
Who you do it for (Your Target audience)
EXAMPLE: “I’m an HR leader who makes improvements that help organizations operate at high levels of productivity by building structures so people can give their best and like what they do.”
I hope you come away with actionable ideas to show how your unique gifts and talents can impact the world in a way only you can do.
Reach out if you want more guidance or advice on developing “brand you.”
Susan Barbee, CPC, CCSP, PHR, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Susan Barbee is a certified leadership development and career coach – and former HR pro. After a long run in publishing, she found herself needing to jump-start a new career in a field with a brighter outlook. Hiring a career coach empowered her transformation into a completely new role as an HR consultant while igniting her dedication to guide professionals to unlock their potential and fuel sustainable growth. She is founder of GrowForward Coaching + Consulting, a boutique practice that builds capacity and support through transformative coaching, facilitation, career management, and leadership development services. Her clients include emerging- to mid-career professionals in transition, new and mid-career managers, and senior executives. Susan is also a frequent workshop presenter, group facilitator, panel participant and podcast guest. Her mission: To open pathways to growth for professionals at every stage in their career.
