(2 of 3) Personal Brands: Bring your unique self to your role
If you present a fake version of yourself, people will know. It’s just too difficult to put on a show consistently over the long term.
In Part 1 of this mini-series on branding, we established that you automatically project a personal brand based not only on what you say, but even more on who you are through your motions and speech patterns. Hopefully, you tried this exercise that illuminates how others see you. Did anything surprise you?
There may be things that you want to change about yourself to increase your chances of getting hired, promoted, being more influential, or becoming a more effective leader. I’m all for this. But don’t ever deny who you are deep down inside. You can change a lot about yourself and propel your career without altering your essence. If you present a fake version of yourself, people will know. It’s just too difficult to put on a show consistently over the long term.
That’s actually the job of an actor, but over the short term. When they play a character, they often transform how they look, move, and speak to fit the role. But they still utilize elements of their own selves. Jack Nicholson has played over 50 roles in his career, including a private detective, a retired astronaut, a murderous writer, and the Joker. As widely varied as those characters are, I guarantee all of them are undeniably Jack. The video below shows 10 of them.
Looking at it from the other direction, you may have seen different actors play the same character. You can find examples in the countless reboots and remakes (a topic for another day) of TV shows and movies: Peter Parker, Cruella De Vil, Captain Kirk, Colt Seavers (The Fall Guy), Hamlet, Dr. Who… Each actor plays the character, but brings themselves to the role in a way that nobody else can.
At work, you may have a title that is shared by a gazillion people in your industry or in your company. A simple Google search led me to this article that says there are 698,945 product managers (like me) on LinkedIn as of August 2023. You may share your title with just as many people, if not more. How do you stand out? Start by leaning into your unique self, which is determined by your personality, life experiences, and beliefs. You’ll be developing a brand that is by definition genuine and authentic.
In the next part, we’ll get more into making changes.
TL;DR
Embrace your true self. Being somebody that you’re not is unsustainable.
Because you are unique, you bring elements to your role that nobody else can.
Action
Try the “adjectives exercise.” Get it here.
Question
What is something about your true self that you wish your coworkers would recognize? Drop it in the comments!