What do people truly think and feel about you when you’re not present? This is the essence of your personal brand. But how do you ensure that others perceive you in the way you intend?

Understanding Personal Branding

Personal branding isn’t a logo, a marketing trick, or a passing trend. Its roots trace back to at least 1937, with principles discussed in self-improvement literature. Later, management thinkers popularized the idea of individuals managing themselves as brands. However, many mistakenly jump into tactics without first understanding their current brand perception.

The Three-Step Process of Personal Branding

Personal branding is best approached as a three-step journey: Perceive, Believe, and Achieve. Many people are eager to jump straight to achieving goals. However, without completing the first two steps, your results will be unclear.

Perceive: Awareness of Your Current Brand

Before crafting your ideal brand, you must first understand your current brand. Consider everyday interactions. How do people react to you? What impressions do you leave? These perceptions, formed consciously or unconsciously, are based on your character traits – both positive and negative. They shape how others view you, both in person and online.

Your online presence is just as crucial. Everything you post, like, or share contributes to the perception others form of you. A seemingly harmless photo or comment can significantly impact how people see you, potentially affecting opportunities like job prospects.

Understanding these perceptions is the first step. It’s about recognizing how others feel about you based on their observations, and realizing that this perception translates into what they say about you when you’re absent.

Believe: Accepting the Truth of Your Brand

Logos are visual representations, but personal branding is much more profound. A logo may remind you of a company, but that feeling comes from repeated interactions and experiences, which helps you associate specific feelings to brands.

You also harbor beliefs about yourself, both personally and professionally. Do others share these same beliefs? If not, there’s a misalignment that could be hindering your progress. This discrepancy is where many people feel stuck, unsure why opportunities seem to pass them by.

The key to resolving this misalignment is surprisingly simple: Ask. Seek feedback from those whose opinions matter to you. Ask them directly about their perceptions of you. Emailing a small group of trusted individuals and requesting their honest feedback can be incredibly enlightening.

Ask them to describe you in a few words, or list traits and skills they associate with you. Their responses may confirm your beliefs, surprise you, or reveal areas where your self-perception differs from how others see you. These insights are crucial because those perceived differences may represent the very obstacles holding you back.

Achieve: Reaching Your Goals Through Brand Alignment

Knowing your current standing is essential before setting future goals. Once you understand how others perceive you, you can consciously manage and modify those perceived traits.

Achieving your goals requires aligning your behavior with your desired brand. It takes effort and courage to build your brand intentionally. This involves harmonizing your online and offline presence to project a consistent and authentic image.

Your aspirations are within reach. As you pursue them, remember to seek continuous feedback. Only then can you direct your efforts effectively, aligning your actions with your goals and achieving your desired outcomes.

Putting it all together

Personal branding is an ongoing process of understanding, refining, and aligning your perceived self with your desired self. By actively managing your brand, you can unlock your full potential and achieve both personal and professional success.