Reduce the versions, improve your personal brand and grow your value
To be Successful, Reduce the Number of Versions of You in the World
Reduce the versions, improve your personal brand and grow your value
I was standing in front of a projector screen, and there were about 25 people scattered around tables and chairs at the end of the multipurpose lunchroom. They were there to listen to me speak about what I’d learnt through my successful 20-year military career and the things that helped me transition to a great job when I left the Air Force.
They were all in their blue, black and grey Air Force disruptive pattern uniforms, listening intently as I spoke about what I’d learnt. I spoke about the value of truly learning about yourself, growing high-performing teams, and fostering high-performing habits in individuals. I spoke about becoming clearer about how you show up in the workplace, and in doing so, I asked them the most important question:
“How many different versions of you are there in the world?”
There were mumbled responses from around the room, “One?”, “I don’t know”, “Thousands?”, “yeah, thousands!”.
What is the correct answer? Surely there can only ever be one version of you, right? There will only ever be one of you, and you are unique.
The thing is, while there might only be one of you. One unique ‘you’ in this universe. There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of versions of you. And here is why…
Personal Brand and Versions
After I asked this question, I started to talk about personal brand and how it was the thing that continually created opportunities for me. It provided me with lilypads to jump to as I navigated my career.
Your personal brand is the things people say about you when you are not around. Their perception of how you show up around them, how you treat them. How much they understand who you are.
So, why are there so many versions of you in the world? If the answer is more than one, how many is it?
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
The answer is, for every person you have interacted with, or every person they have spoken to about you, there is a version of you in their mind. A representation of you that exists only in their mind.
From a brief interaction in the street to a friendship nurtured from childhood, they each have a version of you in their mind. When someone mentions your name, that version of you appears in their mind. They have a reference point that you have established through your interactions with them or the way people speak about you to others.
Those versions of you exist, and it is your responsibility to align them with your version of you in your own head.
You create your personal brand through the consolidation of the versions of you in the world. The more versions of you that are consolidated, made true, the stronger your personal brand. The more often your name is mentioned, and the version you believe in yourself appears in the listener’s mind, the stronger your personal brand.
Consolidate, converge
The stronger your personal brand, the more clearly people know what to expect from you. Being known as a problem solver with a great attitude with one person, it is a good relationship, be known like that with lots of people, you have a personal brand.
Having a strong personal brand opens doors for you, creates opportunities. If a team, a project, or an organisation has a problem space, and you have a personal brand that can help, you get an opportunity.
It also creates opportunities for conversations. People will say, “I know someone you should speak to”, or, “my friend is good at that”. Having a strong personal brand is pivotal to a successful life. Providing it’s positive, and how you want the world to see you…
So, how do you create a strong personal brand? How do you consolidate those versions that exist?
Photo by Andrew Moca on Unsplash
You need to show up the same, every time. I believe in the adage that ‘how you do anything is how you do everything’. How you choose to show up at any point in time is the version you leave behind with those you interacted with.
To refine the imprint you leave, you need to refine the most important version of you that exists. The one that only exists in your own mind.
To create a personal brand, you have to be crystal clear about who you are and what you bring to the world.
There are a few strategies you can use to achieve this outcome. I regularly talk about my mental statue, the one I constructed that assembles all that I identify about myself and prioritises it. The statue is made of adjectives and nouns that I associate with, which describe me.
I talked to the room about the importance of defining and understanding your personal value, those things that guide you and give you energy. My values of Growth and Connection led me to give this presentation to them in the first place.
The thing is if you do not show up authentically, as the most you version of you. Then you will create different versions in their minds, and you will weaken your brand. If you show up consistently, aligned with who you know yourself to be, then you can drive convergence.
If most people identify the things about yourself that you also identify, and that version of you brings people value and achieves outcomes, you will have a strong positive personal brand. Establish a brand that is identifiable, reliable, and easily translates to the problems people face, and you will always have opportunities.
Using your Brand
A strong personal brand will provide diverse opportunities for you. It allows you to speak your future into existence, open doors to pursue interests, and give you power in negotiations.
Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash
Here are some areas that you will benefit from driving convergence in the versions of you that exist;
- Speak your future — if you are consistently known, you show up the same way, then people will listen when you talk about the type of things you really want to do. Be someone that consistently brings value, and they will support you in achieving those things you speak about. Your community, that understands who you are and how you bring value, will support you in finding the path to that next step. They will help you speak your future.
- Advocacy — Having a strong personal brand, convergence in those versions of you creates opportunities for people to speak for you. Your network will open doors for you that you didn’t even know existed through their advocacy of your strengths. Their advocacy is of the person that they know will show up because they trust in your identity. Their advocacy will create opportunities for you.
- Power — You are already known. You have a presence even when you are not present. That presence also exists when you are making decisions and agreeing on futures. That presence, founded in your consolidation of those versions, also gives you power. Who you are, what you stand for, what is important to you, and your value proposition is all known. That means you can focus on the details and the outcomes. You do not need to posture or position from a weak position, trying to gain power. You already have it.
Convergence
Converging those brands can only come from truly understanding yourself. IT is important to put the time in here. You may need to continually re-evaluate this based on the feedback you receive from those around you. You may need to reflect on the outcomes achieved and the version of you that moved to that resolution.
By driving convergence in what you know about yourself, you can show that in every interaction. You can drive convergence towards that version of you.
So, right now, there are thousands of versions of you in the world. Right now, there are a few people that see more of the real you. Your job is to start to drive those together so that you can stand in your own power and identity.
You can bring about your personal brand, but you need to start now.
How to be a great leader by balancing tension
Why it is hard, and why you should trymedium.com
Inspired by life. Leadership, Growth, Personal Development. Engineer and Sports Enthusiast. Top Writer in Leadership. Editor of Sparks Publication. leonpurton.com
By Leon Purton on October 26, 2021.
Exported from Medium on December 22, 2023.
