People and Management February 2019 | Page 11

www.peopleandmanagement.com “What I liked about the event was that it had a good mix of people from diff erent industries and the fact that everyone was forthcoming in sharing their success and challenges with respect to marketing and branding initiatives within the organization.” - Founder and Managing Director, Tangible Learning Solutions LLP an audience every day. Use multiple forms of outreach, such as newsletters, press releases, on-air interviews, postcards and brand paraphernalia. Personal branding is a leadership requirement, not a self-promotion campaign Those who want to have a social media presence need to think carefully about their intentions and objectives before opening an account. Because the moment one starts, it cannot be stopped. Personal branding, much like social media, is about making a full-time commitment to the journey of defi ning yourself as a leader and how this will shape the manner in which you will serve others. continuously molding and shaping it. Your personal brand is an asset that must be managed with the intention of helping others benefi t from having a relationship with you and/or by being associated with your work and the industry you serve. 70% of professionals believe they have defi ned their personal brand, and 50% believe they are living it. But when they “peel-back-the-onion,” they realize that their focus was centered on self-promotion rather than a commitment to advance themselves by serving others. A personal brand is the total experience of someone having a relationship with who you are and what you represent as an individual, and as a leader. Every time you are in a meeting, at a conference, networking reception or event, you should be mindful of what others are experiencing about you and what you want others to experience about you. Each of these engagements is similar to a job interview, expect in these cases you are being evaluated by your peers. Those who know how to live and manage their personal brand will earn respect in any situation. “The session was unlikely many mainly because not only did we discuss the challenges of the MARCOM professionals, we also got inside into limitations of the Management/Entrepreneur. Smaller groups and crisp dialogues (instead of monologues) are always better for leanings (that can be implemented) vs large commercialized events.” The personal brand should represent the value you are able to consistently deliver to those whom you are serving. This doesn’t mean self-promotion, that you should only be creating awareness for your brand by showcasing your achievements and success stories. Managing your personal brand requires you to be a great role model, mentor, and/ or a voice that others can depend upon. For example, when I write a blog or an article – I am extremely mindful that my community of readers expects a specifi c “experience of thought” from me. More than that, People and Management aims to attract new readers by offering something of value that will engage them enough to continue reading. We view your personal brand as a trademark; an asset that you must protect while “It was a great initiative by People and Management to organise a roundtable for Marcom Professionals. This was an intensive learning session, full of discussion.” - Vikas Jain, Founder Adhyan Group, Author, Global Speaker - Kamna Arora, Consultant At fi rst, this is a bit of a challenge. However, when you start to see yourself living through the “lens of a brand,” your perspective will change and you will become more mindful about how you approach the personal brand you are trying to defi ne and aiming to live. We are more likely to be accountable to others and what they want us to be rather than being true to ourselves. MARCOM Roundtable concluded the following: Having a personal brand is a leadership requirement. It enables you to be a better leader, a more authentic leader that can create a greater overall impact. In fact, those who have defi ned and live their personal brand will more naturally demonstrate the executive presence and as such may fi nd themselves advancing more quickly at work. Personal branding is no longer an option; it’s a powerful leadership enabler. Conceptualized & Managed by Sunanda Rao of People and Management P & M Vol. 10 Issue 2 • FEBRUARY 2019, Delhi NCR | 11