Personal branding is an ongoing process. So you will need to regularly assess how your value proposition and narratives fit into your current professional and personal context and how they’re being received, and then tweak them accordingly.
If you’re being considered for a managerial position but learn that not everyone perceives you to be a strong leader, you might take a leadership training course, volunteer to head up a new project or task force, or take on relevant roles in your personal life, such as joining a nonprofit board.
A recent client, a seasoned chief marketing officer, was interested in obtaining a seat on a corporate board. However, without existing board experience, she was finding it difficult.
So she joined a nonprofit board and served on the audit committee, working with external auditors and leading the creation of an enterprise-risk-management dashboard.
That helped her strengthen her personal value proposition: “Among all other prospective directors, I have the strategic experience and financial acumen to provide governance oversight and be a creative partner for the executive team, because I have worked for 20 years as a CMO and have managed the audit and enterprise risk activities of a nonprofit board.”
She could now tell specific stories about her work that communicated her analytical abilities, strategic perspective, and facility with business financial statements.