Building and Managing Career Branding

What happens when you look at and hear about names like: Tata, Nike, Sony, IBM, Wipro, Infosys, Microsoft, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Lux, Dove, P&G?

A mental image of something well-known conjures up, an image of a company or a product that can be trusted. Also usually positive feelings one has experienced while interacting with that brand come up. 

In contrast, what image is invoked when you think of Satyam, Lehmann or Arthur Andersen – a negative image.

Brands and their brand power or brand equity decide how well their products or services would sell in the market place. In a competitive market, different brand equities are what set apart almost generic offerings. 

Sameways, just think, what image is excited by your name in your company: a superlative performer like Sachin Tendulkar, or an off-and-on performer like Virender Sehwag or a non-performer like any of the faceless cricketers. Your seniors, colleagues and subordinates: how do they perceive you. In short, what is your own person brand power in your organization and in your career.

You would agree, this is a very vital facet of career. And just like companies spend lots of money to build brands, you too need to invest extra efforts to build you-as-a-brand.

Branding is your reputation. Branding is about building a name for yourself, showcasing what sets you apart from others, and describing the added value you bring to a situation. 

You as a brand can be constructed and nurtured on the following principles:
1. The Core Promise: It is a good idea to introspect and determine your Enneagram (there are 9 types) after taking a RHETI test (available freely on internet). You must determine what is your personality type and then work on knowing it more.

2. Co-Labels: A good brand has multiple constituent labels, which are brands by themselves. For example, a refrigerator may say it excellent because it is ISO certified, uses PUF, uses some XYZ latest technology etc. Sameways, your CV should speak of multiple reliable labels, for example:
a) Educational institutions are well-known kind b) the marks in various courses are above average c) the companies you have worked at are well-known ones d) the certifications you have earned are famous ones

3. Span: From work perspective, a very important brand element is your span of work. This implies:
a) how large a revenue contribution are you making to the company, the more the merrier.
b) how large a team are you handling, and if possible, is this team distributed, or is it all under your visible sight
c) how large a geography are you managing, a smaller one means you aren’t that potent a force in your role 
All these span elements decide cumulatively whether you are a strong band ore a weak one.

4. Linkages: This implies how good and deep are your relationships:

a) with your seniors, are you reporting to a Manager, to a Senior Manager or to the Executive Director
b) with media people, with suppliers-vendors, with customers; can you get things done on force of relationships alone
c) with colleagues, they sweet talk about you or indulge in back-biting
d) with subordinates, are you seen as a mean boss or as a mentoring father figure or a friend-guide-philosopher

5. Situations Stretch: Herein it is assessed whether you can manage only repeat situations in your work, or even new situations too; how well do you cope up with ad hoc stuff, with exigencies.

6. Visibility: A powerful brand is talked about, so are you taking lots of mindshare of people around you, your senior management, or they see through you. Now modesty or loud splashing of yourself should be as much as your organizational culture allows. Some organizations hate too dominant people, and some snub the too modest ones, so take a call on what your environment indicates is the better policy.

Finally, a leading brand has to be actively managed, otherwise trailing brands would overtake. So just like USA is a powerful brand, and is so a natural target for terrorists, you too must have defensive measures to protect your brand equity.

Happy career brand building!