A Framework for Taking Your Career to the Next Level with Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself

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Welcome to today's episode.

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Today, we are talking about one more than 20 years with personal branding, executive coaching, management and leadership training, and she is going to share some of her great insights and what she's learned in doing this for the past couple of decades and helping executives and companies succeed.

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Rita, welcome to the show.

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Thank you so much, Eric.

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It's a pleasure to be here.

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We appreciate you making the time to talk about this topic that we frequently talk about on our show.

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I recently went on Amazon and got your book Personal Branding Marketing Yourself.

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I read it, I loved it, and that's why I reached out to have you on the show.

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I think this is a topic that, interestingly, everybody tells me that they're interested in doing it, but very few people actually take action or know how to dig in and do it.

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So I'd love to hear a little bit about the genesis for the book and how you've helped people do this over the years.

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Yeah, exactly, that is exactly why I felt the need to write the book, because my career has spanned in the world of human resources for many years and I started as a corporate HR person, then I was in executive search and then, as you said, I started my firm that's focused on coaching, executive coaching, career coaching, as well as leadership development, and what I have seen throughout all of these experiences is that people do struggle when it comes to really knowing themselves.

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And one of the things I talk about in the book is that there's three commonalities of successful professionals, and they are number one, they know what they have to offer.

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They know the value, their worth, what value they bring.

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Number two, they know what they want, they're goal-oriented and they have a vision for themselves and their careers.

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And number three, they know how to ask for it.

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And, as you said, people struggle with how do we do this, and it does not have to be difficult.

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However, it does take a lot of work, and you got to make yourself a priority and put in the time and the effort to do this hard work of stepping back, doing some self-exploration, and it's something we do continuously.

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So what I try to offer in my book is a framework to help people do it, so that it takes away that mystery or that overwhelming feeling that comes over us.

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And trust me, I do this for a living.

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I help others, but it's also something that I have to really be disciplined about, and sometimes I reach out to others for help when it comes to myself.

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It really is about first acknowledging that this is an important part of managing our careers.

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I like to say it's about empowering ourselves to take charge of our careers and really finding what we do best.

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Finding that, what is that magic formula for each of us that makes us our best, authentic self?

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So maybe we can start off by you sharing an example or two of how you helped some of your clients achieve success by marketing themselves through personal branding, because I think the first important question is what does success look like?

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Yeah, exactly, and that is so different for every one of us.

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Right, there is no one size fits all of what success is, and it's really important.

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I like to say that it starts with that personal due diligence that we have to do, because we do have to define what is success for ourselves, and not what others expect of us or what we think we're supposed to do, but truly what is leveraging, what you do best and what you're passionate about and what you'd like to achieve.

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For example, I had one client who is actually a CEO of an organization and she had a very successful career, yet she really had not fine-tuned what is my differentiator, what is my brand?

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And, after going through this process of doing her personal due diligence, as you know, in my book I talk about the three Ps of marketing the marketing technique, and it's about preparation, packaging and presentation.

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And that first P, the preparation, really is about defining and identifying our brand, and that's what I helped this client do.

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She really took the time to step back and identify what is her brand, what really has been that anchor for her throughout her career that has allowed her to be successful and be her best authentic self and success, meaning that she was really tapping into her talents and being fulfilled and achieving what goals that she had set for herself.

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And when we're able to do that, then it's about packaging ourselves.

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And so she defined what her brand was and then she really started to put herself out there, to build her brand, to reach out and also make the ass in ways that would allow her to shine, in ways that would allow her to share her thought leadership, to share her subject matter expertise, and she is in a field you don't see many female CEOs and one thing that she really wanted to do more of which she had done through her career is be that mentor, be that inspiration for other women in the field, because it was a very male dominated field.

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And that's what she did.

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And not only did she do some writing and blogging, but she did a lot more speaking and presenting.

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She's now sitting on boards, she's received some awards, she really has taken and elevated her career to that next level, which was what she really wanted, and her brand is very strong.

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Not only did she define it, but she really has built it and she's enhanced it and put it out there in a way that has been so meaningful, not just for herself, but for others that she works with throughout her industry.

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That's great, and it seems like personal branding can be different for a lot of people and there's a lot of aspects that go into personal branding but a lot of executives who want to take their career to the next level.

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What I've noticed is they want to do things like they want to be a keynote speaker at events, they want to be on boards of directors, they want to be an advisor to other companies, they want to give back in those sort of ways.

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It's less about just like they want to get to 30,000 followers on LinkedIn, but a lot of people do want to have credibility things like writing a book or winning an award or getting certifications.

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Credibility things like writing a book or winning an award or getting certifications and packaging and highlighting those things in the right way is really what, in a lot of cases, helps executives get the next best job in their career.

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And unfortunately, the right time to do that is probably not when you're in between jobs, but to prepare for it when you're in a really good job and to take that to the next level Right.

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Absolutely, and that's the one thing, too, that I find is challenging for a lot of people.

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That is that the best time to do all this is all the time, so it's not just at one point of your career, whether you're in transition or you're deciding that, oh, it's time that I really do build a network.

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It's something you want to do throughout your career and it really doesn't have to be overwhelming, though I like to say it's similar to you want to think of it as planting a garden.

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When we think about marketing ourselves, think of it first of all as putting yourself out there, being of service to others.

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I think sometimes people have the opposite impression of what this is all about.

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It really is about how do you impact, how do you make a difference, how do people receive you, how are you of service to others?

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So, if you can think of it as building your thought, leadership and your subject matter expertise, being of service to others servant leadership, I think, is very relevant in this conversation.

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So it really is about how can I be helpful, how can I make a difference, how can I provide a resource to you.

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So that's really how we build our brands and that's how we can market ourselves, and then that's how people will start to seek us out to be a keynote speaker or to be on a panel or to be on a committee.

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And then you do all this like planting seeds.

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When you plant a garden, you can't expect immediate gratification.

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You plant seeds, you have to hope the sun comes out, you have to give it a lot of TLC, you have to weed the plants, you have to give it water and food, you nurture the garden and then eventually you see beautiful flowers or real vegetables, boom, and that's.

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We have to see it that way too, and not expect immediate gratification and not expect that you do something and automatically you get something in return.

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No, you have to see it as a long-term approach and you have to see it as giving, giving and then eventually you do get back.

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But it's also about being strategic around.

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What are the best situations to be in?

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Putting yourself in a position to meet people of influence, identifying strategic alliances which include mentors and advisors and champions and trusted advisors and sponsors and advocates, and bringing that to other people.

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So it really is about having a plan and then executing on it on a continuous, regular, ongoing basis, and if you do expect something in return.

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I remember once someone saying to me I don't have time to do that.

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And what should I belong to?

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How should I be involved?

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How should I engage?

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Who are some people and what are some environments that I need to have as a part of my network and as a part of the organizations I belong to?

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It takes a lot of thoughtful and deliberate planning and strategy, yet you always do it in a way that's very authentic and be yourself.

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You've got to be yourself because if you're not relatable and you won't be credible.

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As you said, it's about building that credibility.

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So there's forward investment right.

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People have to forward invest in this.

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And a lot of people would say my company might not like it if I'm building my personal brand and marketing myself instead of just marketing my company.

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But the reality is, if you take a servant leadership approach and here's who I serve and here's who I'm helping, and you're doing thought leadership, that's actually to the benefit of your company, that you're out there doing that.

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So I don't think that those two things are in conflict, right.

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Exactly no.

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If anything, it's.

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You are marketing a company as well, because you're talking about the impact that you're having, which is also benefiting the organization that you're with, and so it's a win for all.

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I'm glad you brought that up.

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Chances are, if you are working for a company, your values are aligned with their values and you really believe in the product or service that the company is marketing, and so you know what the company brand is and you are an ambassador for that company brand.

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And we also want to know the differentiator, though.

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What distinguishes our own personal brand as well, and because there's that overlap, but then there's definitely distinguishing factors that are our own brand.

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And just a very quick story to illustrate that when I was with a search firm before I started my coaching and training firm and I was with the firm for a long time was a very strong ambassador of the firm, really aligned with the values and helped the owner, the firm.

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I helped it grow because I was there for so long, and so I had a little bit of a panic moment when I was leaving because I thought, wow, if my name is no longer followed by that firm name, are people going to return my calls, my emails, but what I learned really quickly was that my personal brand was just as strong as that company brand, and that was really what helped me to launch my business.

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My own practice was that strong personal brand that I had as well.

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But that's some of that due diligence.

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We want to get to know, yes, the company brand which you will be marketing just as much as your own brand when you do this, but make sure you know the distinguishing differences between both as well.

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That makes a lot of sense and I think that having a great personal brand allows you to be a great representative and spokesperson for your company, to represent their values, like you were saying.

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But let me ask you this Is personal branding for everybody, or is it just for top performers or certain types of executives?

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Absolutely not.

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It is for everybody.

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We all have a brand.

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We all have a brand.

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It's allowing yourself to get intimate enough with yourself to define what it is, because it really is what is unique about each one of us.

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It's what makes you and here's the thing it's not only for other people.

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You want to identify your brand.

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It's really about being your best, authentic self.

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It's that anchor that will always allow you to stay true to who you are.

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So sometimes, when we're in those situations where there's conflict or we're in a difficult scenario, there's a lot of noise or there's pressures that are pulling us in different directions and we can get caught up in that noise or the drama.

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And if, in those moments, we can say, all right, I need to stay grounded in that differentiator of what really allows me to be my best authentic self, that helps us to get right back on track and stay true to who we are, be our best self and also, along with that, what's the goal at hand, so that you can forget all that noise and really stay focused on what do I do best and what am I trying to achieve here, and then you will really be able to glide through that scenario, being your best, authentic self.

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So this is for everybody.

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Everyone has critical sets.

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Everyone has something unique that they bring.

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Sometimes it's, I think, what people get hung up on too at least I find with a lot of my clients.

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They think it has to be something so extraordinary that it's like a real sophisticated statement that when nobody possesses these skills not at all, a lot of times we have similar skills to our peers.

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We may have some differentiating experiences, however, sometimes our skill sets are very similar, but there is always something that's very unique to me, very unique to you.

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It might be a quality, a trait, a characteristic, something about our style or our approach, but that's what we want to uncover.

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But everybody has a brand.

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What I've noticed is that everybody has the potential to do it.

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They have that light inside of them that if they did the three Ps the preparation, packaging and presentation that they could really shine.

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But what I've noticed is it's really the most ambitious people, professionally ambitious people who spend the time and effort because it does take time and effort, as you said.

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They're the ones that spend the time and effort because they aspire to be remarkable.

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And just when I look at LinkedIn, for example, I noticed that something like 80, 90% of people it's like they're not even trying.

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They don't have a good profile for a lot of reasons.

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They don't have a photo, they don't have a good about section, they don't have a headline Very basic things.

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You can almost tell they haven't done any preparation or packaging to get a great presentation.

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So that's what I've noticed is that anybody can do it, but it's usually the top 10% of people who aspire to be remarkable and unfortunately, a lot of people aspire to be just mediocre or just do the minimum they need to skate by.

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But my assumption is that people who want to take their career to the next level that you've worked with are probably in that top 10% or so.

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Right, here's the thing I think often, when especially leaders that I'm coaching, when especially leaders that I'm coaching, one of the things that they find is an area that is maybe an obstacle for them to elevate is they put their heads down and they do their work, which is great.

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We've got to get the work done.

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Yet we also have to have our heads up too, and what I mean by that is we have to be good at building relationships, we have to be good at connecting with people, and so it's not that it's just the top 10% or whatever, whatever percent you want to put on it of people who are saying I need to do this as a way to elevate myself and my career, but they find that is an obstacle, that they don't have these relationships, or people don't know what they're doing, or people aren't aware of their capabilities and what they learn through the work that they do with me is two things Number one, that we have to be our own advocates.

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We have to be the ones to say this is what I bring, this is what I want, and being able to ask for it, and also having strong relationships and connecting with people, because once again, I'm going to go back to what I said originally all of this marketing and branding.

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It's about being of service to others.

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How do we help, how do we engage?

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How do people receive us?

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You want people to have your back when you're not in the room.

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You want people, when they think of your field, to think of you.

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So, yeah, sometimes there are people on social media that are really great about shooting their own horn but at some point, probably you and I and others kind of gloss over their posts because it's okay, I know you're great, I've heard a lot of that but when you can touch people by saying, oh, she's offering some interesting resource that I can incorporate into my career or there's something that you're gaining from reading that post, versus.

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So this isn't just about tooting our own horn, it's about giving back, it's about providing resources and information, thought, leadership, subject matter, expertise, and I think that's the difference.

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So, if you think about it, it doesn't have to take long at all, and this is something I help people do in terms of not just helping build up their profiles, but also you can have a routine of 10 minutes every morning, five minutes every morning, maybe 15 minutes once a week of putting yourself out there virtually, but that's just one piece.

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That is not the end all of how we market ourselves.

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It's more about how you show up.

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How do you connect with people in your organization?

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Do you belong to professional associations?

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Do you write articles?

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I could tell you endless stories of when I started writing how that would create business for me.

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People would read an article I've written and then reach out to me and say, oh, I liked your article about leadership or this or that, whatever I've written, and then reach out to me and say, oh, I liked your article about leadership or this or that.

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Whatever I've written about, can you come in and do this for my organization?

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And that's a great way to market yourself.

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When I wrote my book, that was my main purpose is as a marketing tool, so that I could put something out there that hopefully is valuable to people as they manage their careers and also helps to build my brand as someone who does what I do for a living.

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So I think it's shifting our mindset and embracing this as a real, important key part of managing our careers.

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Whoever you are, whatever your discipline is, whatever level of your career, I work with very senior level executives that didn't know what their brand was and have really worked on defining it and building those relationships and really having a strategy and being very deliberate about how they do it, as well as new college grads, mid-level every phase of your career.

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This is such a critical part of managing it.

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A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.

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It's something people should do ongoing, but the most important thing you said is get started.

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Set aside at least some time to invest in a regular basis.

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I think that's great advice and I think the beauty of your book and I again say people should go out and get it on Amazon, because it is really a complete playbook in the steps of how to do preparation, packaging and presentation to get people excited about it.

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What are the things you would say that your book conveys on how to do it?

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That are the most important.

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And, first of all, thank you so much for saying that.

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It really just tickles my heart when I hear anyone say that they have really found value in the book.

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So thank you and yes, so what I try to do is provide this framework, that you take it step by step and if you start with that first step of preparation and it is cumulative when we think about the prep, that is about doing that personal due diligence that I talked about.

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So it's everything from really getting intimate with what are my values, what are my strengths, what do I like, what do I not like, what am I good at, what am I not good at, what are my goals, short term, long term, that vision that I have and also getting feedback from others.

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Yes, we know ourselves well.

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However, sometimes we can be our toughest critics, sometimes we can have blind spots.

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So it's really about asking for feedback from other people as well, so that when we do all this personal due diligence, as I said, that helps us to then really see what are our differentiators, and I provide some tools in the book to help do that.

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Some activities.

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However, I'm so excited to say that this has been in the works and I'm getting to the last phase of finalizing my companion workbook that I hope to have published either the end of this year or the beginning of next year, which will be a 2.0.

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It'll be a companion workbook that will give even more exercises and worksheets and activities that will help with each of these three Ps.

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So stay tuned for more to come on that.

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However, that is the first P, and if you cut corners and don't do the hard work, then you really won't be that prepared to move on to the packaging, which is then about creating and building your branch, and this is everything from keeping a current resume at all times.

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Don't wait till you need a resume to write a resume.

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That's the worst time to write one.

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You want to have a running list of all your accomplishments.

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Keep your resume updated, have a bio, keep your portfolio, your track record, have a scrapbook of all and get your performance reviews, any testimonials, quotes you get from people.

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In addition to that, it's staying well-read in your field, continuing your education and your training, your credentials, making sure that you belong to professional associations.

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If you have an opportunity to write or blog or sit on panels, present, speak.

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All of that is really critical, that virtual presence I talked about, and building it up at the very least on linkedin.

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That's another key part of our packaging.

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It's about really building that thought leadership.

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I talked about that subject matter expertise, so people think of you when they think of your field, as well as those strategic alliances and building your network is part of all the three p.

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Every step of the way, you want to think about your network and nurturing relationship and being a mentor.

00:25:23.041 --> 00:25:32.616
And then, lastly, when you work on your prep and your packaging, then you're ready to move on to presentation, which is about enhancing your brand, and this is about being a good storyteller.

00:25:32.616 --> 00:25:41.909
So all those accomplishments, you want to turn them into stories and people are much more comfortable telling a story about an accomplishment versus talking about themselves.

00:25:41.909 --> 00:25:47.176
Right, and usually our stories include other people and your organization as well.

00:25:47.176 --> 00:25:48.770
But we also have to practice.

00:25:48.770 --> 00:25:49.212
Practice.

00:25:49.212 --> 00:25:59.176
You have to get comfortable sharing your stories, get comfortable putting yourself in a position to seize opportunities to tell those stories and to advocate for yourselves.

00:25:59.176 --> 00:26:15.259
And when you do the prep and your packaging, what happens is it all comes together with the presentation so that it is authentic and genuine, and you've got the confidence and the ease to really advocate for yourself and sprinkle those stories when the opportunity presents itself.

00:26:16.224 --> 00:26:17.369
I think that makes a lot of sense.

00:26:17.369 --> 00:26:20.102
Sprinkle those stories when the opportunity presents itself.

00:26:20.102 --> 00:26:20.845
I think that makes a lot of sense.

00:26:20.845 --> 00:26:28.501
The thing that I really like about it is people get excited about the presentation destination because you want to be out there and telling those stories.

00:26:28.501 --> 00:26:50.076
But you have to do the work in the preparation and the packaging, such as doing the self-assessment and knowing what you stand for and who you serve and being thoughtful about all those things so that you can have the best presentations, and I think your book does a great job of walking people through how to do that work.

00:26:50.076 --> 00:26:52.493
And, like you said, you can't skip those steps.

00:26:52.644 --> 00:26:55.911
So I'm gonna link to the book in the show notes so everyone can check it out.

00:26:55.911 --> 00:26:56.132
I loved it.

00:26:56.132 --> 00:26:57.722
And looking forward to the book in the show notes so everyone can check it out.

00:26:57.722 --> 00:26:57.944
I loved it.

00:26:57.944 --> 00:27:02.836
And looking forward to the companion workbook later this year, early next year.

00:27:02.836 --> 00:27:15.636
Is there anything that you'd like to share advice for professionals who want to go on this journey of marketing themselves and doing personal branding that you'd like to share?

00:27:16.944 --> 00:27:22.169
I guess the last thing I would just say is just be and stay true to yourself.

00:27:22.169 --> 00:27:29.130
Don't be afraid to go on this journey because, yes, it is hard work, yet you feel so empowered.

00:27:29.130 --> 00:27:33.266
I get so passionate talking about it because it makes such a difference.

00:27:33.266 --> 00:27:40.807
It is, yes, it's a hard journey, yet it's so exhilarating and rewarding and it puts you in the driver's seat.

00:27:40.807 --> 00:27:43.757
And when it comes to your career, you want to be in the driver's seat.

00:27:43.757 --> 00:27:52.653
You don't want to be in the back going along for the ride and I find so many people do that through their careers and you want to be empowered to take charge.

00:27:52.653 --> 00:28:03.432
So make yourself a priority, don't be afraid of it, Embrace it, engage in it and really enjoy the journey, because it is a journey and you keep going.

00:28:03.432 --> 00:28:04.855
There's no beginning and end.

00:28:04.855 --> 00:28:10.258
It's an ongoing process and make yourself a priority and stay true to yourself.

00:28:12.041 --> 00:28:12.442
I love it.

00:28:12.442 --> 00:28:14.147
I encourage people to go on the journey.

00:28:14.147 --> 00:28:18.238
I encourage people to aspire to be remarkable, to stand out.

00:28:18.238 --> 00:28:33.130
It's a competitive world out there and I think building a great personal brand and marketing yourself in a way that you're helping other people with serving leadership is a great way to take your career to the next level.

00:28:33.130 --> 00:28:39.105
So thank you very much for being with us today, Rita, and sharing these insights and your stories.

00:28:39.105 --> 00:28:40.330
We really appreciate it.

00:28:41.193 --> 00:28:43.039
Thank you so much for having me, Eric.

00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:47.376
I love talking about this topic and appreciate the opportunity.

00:28:47.376 --> 00:28:47.818
Thank you.