There’s been a lot of chatter in recent years about “your personal brand.” Even though the idea can be sometimes used in a rather cynical fashion, I’ve found it to be pretty valuable for myself.

Here’s the idea:  People will formulate ideas about who you are and why you might be valuable to know (or employ).  What happens if you drive that intentionally, rather than just have it happen at random?

I’ve been focusing on this idea myself for about five years now.  Actually, now that I think about it, there’s been three distinct contexts that I was working on:

• As a highly experienced strategic planner in the corporate environment;
• As a leader of coaching inside and outside my previous employer; and
• As a spiritual leader at my church.

No, I didn’t develop a fancy logo or great marketing brochure, I didn’t take out ads on TV.  Instead, I became extremely clear on who I wanted to be in each of these contexts, and developed strategies for building up an image consistent with the perception I wanted to give.  For example, I volunteered for a number of roles in leading coaching in the community and within my employer, and made sure that people knew my name in connection with that.

This blog, actually, is an outgrowth of that brand-building exercise, but reaching out to a much broader audience.

This “brand” had huge value for me in that company, and gives me great value for building my new business.  I have a whole bunch of people who know me and their image tends to be positive.  A lot of people are very generous with their help.

Do you have continuing strategies that you use for building your “brand image” to certain people, driven by a particular goal?

You might also find this interesting:

• How to build a personal brand inside a company
• The momentum is building!
• Why bother with a résumé or CV?
• Giving to get
• You never know the impact you have on others