Virginia WaltonIf you prefer the video version, click here https://youtu.be/wVrT6aLLOTQ
We get so focused on completing the tasks that we do not see the price we are paying along the way. This talk will help you learn how to see the price you are paying.
What is your brand?
We often forget that just because we are not celebrities or professional athletes that we have a personal brand. What is yours? What are you known for? How are you perceived?
What do people say about you when you are not there?
Do any of the following sound familiar?
- She gets things done but there is carnage along the way.
- She helps everyone else, but not herself.
- She’s a task master.
- She gets so in the weeds she can’t get ahead.
How about this one? She’s a bitch but she gets it done so we tolerate it. That one hurts a little.
In my corporate career my brand was definitely she gets things done and meets deadlines. While that is great and helped me advance up the proverbial ladder, it did not always serve me well, because there was a flip side to that.
I was part of a club I knew nothing about.
I was one of the mean girls! I found this out when a new peer joined the organization. I introduced myself and tried to help him acclimate. As a result, we became buddies and one day he said something about having been warned by our boss that I was one of the mean girls and he was surprised as he did not have that experience based on our interactions.
I was working so hard to get everything done, not saying no to any ask or demand, that I was becoming the classic “bitch on wheels.”
No one will tell you that to your face! As I just shared my boss used the term behind my back to brand new employees!!
Unlike corporate reputations which can be measured in the headlines and stock market results, your reputation is measured in the conversations behind your back. Much harder to measure when you do not have visibility to it. I am so grateful for my friend telling me this. Do you have a friend like this at work?
If you do not know your brand it is time to slow down and find out!
Whether you are a sales and marketing professional or a risk manager you know the importance of the brand and reputation of your company. You also know how hard it is to overcome damage to these and the long-term impact it can have on the financial results of the company.
The same is true for your brand. The how you do things is as important as getting them done.
You can work hard and have fabulous results, but what also gets remembered is style along the way. When the project is complete, the crisis resolved, the event over, the new system or process implemented, what gets said?
Is it something like, she got it done but she pissed everyone off along the way or is it, she put her heart and soul into it and it shows? Which one of these “brands” will get the financial results at bonus time?
If you do not know your brand, let’s schedule a call to help you find! I promise it is time well spent!