''We already have a personal brand, whether we have consciously developed it or not,'' says Europe's leading authority on personal branding, Lesley Everett. ''Your personal brand is what people say about you, behind your back,'' she explains succinctly.
A personal brand, according to Everett, is a collection of powerful and clear ideas people have about us, when they think of us, though most of the time we're not clear about what people are actually saying about us behind our back.
Often, the creation and management of the personal brand is left to chance, because we as individuals are unaware of what perceptions other people have of us. Personal branding is about taking control of your personal brand, managing those perceptions, in a way that reflects who you are as an authentic person, and making sure people ''get you'' when they mean you, rather than judge you to be someone you are not.
A personal brand evolves over time, with a layer being added by everything you do everyday. Everett says that simple things, like a chat at the coffee machine, the email you sent, the message you left on the voice mail, every meeting and presentation contribute to building your brand. These interactions work as the counterpart of ''brand touchpoints'' for product and corporate brands.
Just as the old maxim ''your reputation precedes you'' goes, your personal brand too travels far and wide, and its reach is almost limitless, says Everett. ''Like ripples, you know they travel outwards, though you don't know how far they will go,'' she explains. This makes it all the more important for you to take proactive control of your personal brand.
Is it all about the image?
''Image is part of the personal brand,'' says Everett, ''but on its own, image can be perceived as being very superficial.'' Personal branding, as taught by Everett and her Walking Tall methodology, starts developing the personal brand from inside out.
Motivators, drivers, beliefs, values, standards, and strengths are those parts of the personal brand that are not visually apparent to people. What people do see, is the stuff that is ''the tip of the iceberg'' as Everett chooses to call it – the myths that they judge you on – which comprise voice, body language, dress and appearance, attitude and behaviour.
Personal branding is about creating a congruence between the apparent, and the inside. ''The starting point,'' according to Everett, ''is to think about what you really stand for, and then think about how you are going to package yourself and how you are going to project yourself so that people judge you in the way that you want to be judged.''
The personal brand and corporate brand
''People are becoming the strongest element of the corporate brand,'' explains Everett, irrespective of the fact whether you are an entrepreneur, or whether you work for a large, global organisation. So, how do you personify the brand attributes of the corporate brand? In situations where you fail to deliver more than once, people tend to see you and inefficient and unreliable, which if different to how you see yourself at that point of time, as you may not have been able to get that report delivered, or do that promised call back on account of other interruptions that life threw in your path. Everett shares the example of working with a company that had responsiveness as one of their values, but each time she telephoned them, their voice mail would kick in, and it would take three days or more for the call to be returned. This made an absolute mockery of their brand value of responsiveness," says Everett.
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