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Personal Branding – How to Release your Inner Superhero

Personal Branding – Release Your Inner Superhero

Do people in your organisation know what your unique skills and abilities are? You could assume that the impact made by your hard work would show others who you are and what you can do.

However, unless you market yourself, people could see you in a way that limits your potential and your career.

Building your own personal internal PR will have a direct impact on your future career path.

Personal branding allows you to self-manage your life without having to depend on other people. When done with efficiency, personal branding will build your confidence whilst gaining others’ trust through authenticity and credibility.

Personal Branding – Release Your Inner Superhero
Personal Branding – Release Your Inner Superhero
Personal Branding reinforces who you are & what you stand for

As Stacey Cohen, CEO & President of Co-Communications, says:

“We all need to manufacture our own opportunities and take life by the reigns. Take on more risks, stretch yourself out of your comfort zone, and remove any self-limiting (I can’t) conversations. You need to invest in yourself to build any lacking skills and surround yourself with others that you can learn from. Take advantage of a mentor or coach who can help release your inner superhero.”

What can a Superhero teach us about personal branding?

Superheroes are the ultimate brands. They leave lasting impressions on us and we are attracted to their powers and unique personalities.
We can learn a lot from them! 

Every Superhero has a purpose – make sure you have one!


Superman’s purpose is maintaining world peace. Your purpose might not be as far-reaching as that, however, start by defining your purpose– it is who you are and what makes you stand out – your brand! It is how you do your job and why – not what you need to do.

Know your Personal USP

What is your USP? Spiderman can web-crawl, leap over buildings and sense danger better than a spider itself. Everyone knows what he can do and how he uses these powers. Know yours and make sure others know about them as well.

Be Consistent

Consistency will build your reputation and make you accountable. A brand tells you what you are going to get – what’s on the tin – just like Ironman! When he’s wearing his Ironman suit, he gains superhuman strength and has amazing flying skills. Be consistent and others will recognise your unique personal powers and more importantly, they will know what they can expect in terms of achievements, productivity and results.

Keep Getting Better!

With his strength, stamina and agility, Batman is at the peak of human perfection having spent his whole life in pursuit of physical excellence through intensive training and dedication. You might not need his strength to achieve your purpose, but you can certainly learn from his personal growth and determination to improve.

A brand that doesn’t grow is stagnant and can fall from people’s awareness. Keep growing your skills and knowledge, or someone else might take your place.

Make yourself known

Superheroes certainly make themselves known – just look at their outfits!!! Engage with industry experts, social influencers etc. through social media. Attend networking events to meet people and use online community discussions.

Network internally beyond your immediate team, ensuring that others know who you are and what you can do for them!

Conclusion

Jo Miller, CEO of Be Leaderly, explains that your personal brand needs to evolve over your career: “Actively seek out and volunteer for high-profile roles and assignments where you can demonstrate your new brand in action.”

Explore  14 Personal Branding Tips To Help You Grow Your Influence


Even superheroes can learn! Attend the STL one-day course on Personal Branding Awareness to taker a deeper look into how you can develop your own personal brand.

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5 tips to improve Listening Skills for better Leadership

If you read any book or article about what’s needed to be a great Leader, effective communication skills are key, particularly the ability to have great listening skills.

In these tips to improve listening skills for better leadership, we will explore how listening mastery is one of the five key essentials in communication that every Manager needs.

listening skills

Use open questions

When you want to uncover your customer’s needs, improve your negotiation techniques, or understand why there is conflict, open questions are an essential tool to understand the other person’s position.

Some people get into the habit of asking closed questions, searching for quick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses. They make assumptions to save time. Open questions are powerful initiators to the art of listening. These questions begin with who, where, what, how and why?

Adapt your listening style to the other person’s culture

When working with international clients and colleagues, it’s important to adapt your listening style. What’s normal for you might not be for them. so showing emapathy and an understanding of their context is important.

Be aware of who you are speaking to, and you might be surprised how they reflect this and show more awareness of your culture and style too.

Practise listening without interrupting

You may have heard about active listening – it’s an important technique to master and uses the powers of all our senses, not just our ears. Being able to listen without interrupting is a powerful skill. One of the world’s leading sound experts, Julian Treasure said in his viral TED talk – 5 ways to listen better “we are losing our listening.”

Next time you engage with colleagues, clients or family, listen with intent. You may discover more than you might imagine and build an even stronger relationship.

Don’t think about what you will say while the other person is speaking

In this interesting article in the Huffington Post, there is a unique definition of effective listening:

“Listening involves letting the person finish their sentence completely and orientating your response around them, not yourself.”

Listen without thinking about a response or question, and try to avoid the distractions of how you are going to reply. This will help you to see non-verbal cues and identify those things that are not being said.

Actively listen for what’s under the surface

Look for cues in tone and body language. Actively seek what’s not being said but being suggested. This can be led by the emphasis on how the person presents the conversation, their conviction and their attitude.

Take the next step

Whether you are a new or an experienced Manager, there is no doubt that effective listening skills are essential to optimise productivity, efficiency and performance. What will you change to improve your listening skills?