6 Qualities of a Strong Personal Brand

I’m often asked this question–What are the qualities of a strong personal brand?  So this week  I decided to revisit and publish one of my earlier blog posts on the subject.
 There are six qualities of a strong personal brand.  They are:

1.  Leadership—Whether you manage employees or not, leadership is a state of mind.  Leadership is a take charge attitude that when given any assignment, you make people feel confident that you can get it done.  If there’s a problem, you’ll come up with a solution.  That’s what companies hire people to do—solve problems. You don’t have to have direct reports to be a leader; you just need to have a leadership presence that gives your manager the confidence in your abilities.

1. Creativity—I often said to my staff “that’s just average” as it related to some proposed ideas.  I wanted them to stretch themselves and bring their most creative solutions to solving our communications challenges.  Going beyond the ordinary is an excellent quality and one that has taken companies to the next level.

1. Expert—It goes without saying that you should be an expert in what you do.  Or you need to build from a foundation of knowledge and be curious enough to learn as much as you can about your field.  For example, writing is an essential skill that all communications professionals should master.

1. Energetic—Passion about what you do is critical to energizing individuals to follow your vision.  It’s up to you to paint a realistic picture of the direction you want to go in.  Otherwise, people will feel that you don’t believe in it, so why should they.

1. Change Agent—This goes hand-in-hand with creativity.  People with strong brands embrace change.  They are not afraid to buck the status quo and do something different.

1. Innovator—Thank goodness Henry Ford didn’t listen to his customers when he asked what they wanted, and they responded faster horses for their carriages.  We would have never had the first automobile, the Ford Model-T.    Innovation has taken companies to new heights, and it is the primary driver of competitive advantage.  So we should constantly think outside the box no matter how ridiculous it may be.

Do these traits describe your personal brand? I’d love to hear from you.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

– Dr. Seuss