“Starting today you are a brand.”

That’s how Tom Peters, the renowned author and speaker on business management, described employees in his famous 1997 Fast Company article, “The Brand Called You.”  Peter’s premise being that you’re more than just a job title and description.

Instead, you’re a personal brand as Nike, Apple, and Starbucks are brands.  And it’s up to you to differentiate yourself from other “personal brands.” 

Then, how do you boost your personal brand profile?  Peters suggests becoming “relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value” and considering the things you do “that you’re proud of.”  Then, it comes down to enhancing your skill set, being willing to tackle new projects, and boosting your influential leadership ability.

For Ken Coleman, host of The Ken Coleman Show and author of The Proximity Principle, promoting your own personal brand starts with maximizing your current role.  “You’ll just need to look above and beyond your basic job responsibilities – to think beyond just what’s best for you to what’s best for the people around you,” says Coleman in the book.  “This could look like actively pursuing opportunities to help people in other areas of the organization or simply going the extra mile to help a teammate finish a project that’s traditionally out of your lane.”

So, how can we at the OIG start implementing this?  Well, by simply just looking around or asking your fellow employees what they need help with.  Start with engaging others and coming from a place of service.  That goes a long way right there.

Then, you could also explore other opportunities from sources like the OIG Career Development Guide or the OIG Training Page to begin brainstorming ideas to advance your career.  Plus, joining organizations like Toastmasters mentioned in the February 24, 2020 edition of the Weekly Wrap or getting a certificate in a certain concentration at a local college or online will go a long way toward boosting your personal brand profile as well. 

Armed with this new knowledge, how will Brand You show up?  It’s time to consider the impact your brand will have on the OIG, your fellow employees, and yourself.