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Reinvent Your Professional Image for Career Success
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Written by Ray Vellest in Career on March 25, 2014
Your professional reputation, or personal brand, precedes you in the workplace. Often, this brand develops organically, shaped by colleagues’ perceptions rather than conscious effort. Taking control of this narrative is crucial for career growth.
Understanding Your Current Perception
Have you let others define you professionally? It’s important to assess how you’re currently perceived and, if needed, initiate a re-branding process. This proactive approach can significantly impact your career trajectory.
Consider a scenario involving a quality assurance professional. After receiving feedback that she was considered both high-performing and “high maintenance,” she realized her attention to detail and willingness to voice concerns, while valuable, were being misconstrued. This perception was hindering her advancement opportunities.
The core issue was not her dedication to quality, but how she communicated it. She recognized a need to shift her brand towards being a “champion for excellence,” a positive and valuable team contributor.
Defining Your Desired Brand
The first step in re-branding is understanding your existing reputation. Seek honest feedback from trusted colleagues, mentors, or managers. This provides a baseline against which to measure your progress.
Once You Have This Clarity, Define Your Desired Brand. Craft a Concise Statement Capturing What You Want To Be Known For. Examples Include
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- A reliable problem-solver.
- A connector between different departments.
- A team motivator.
- An expert in reviving struggling initiatives.
It is essential that the brand that you are striving for is going to provide value to your team and overall organization.
Aligning Actions and Communication
Once your desired brand is defined, align your actions and communication accordingly. Every interaction is an opportunity to reinforce this new perception. Seek out projects or roles that allow you to showcase your desired attributes. For example, if you aim to be seen as a project accelerator, volunteer to assist with initiatives that have fallen behind schedule.
In the case of the quality assurance professional, the key was to modify her communication style. Instead of solely focusing on criticism, she began acknowledging and praising good work within her team. This shift in approach helped position her as a supporter of excellence, rather than simply a critic.
When your efforts yield positive results, make sure to subtly highlight these accomplishments. Share successes with relevant team members and stakeholders, emphasizing the value you brought to the project. This reinforces your new brand in a tangible way.
Feedback and Mentorship
It may also be of great benefit to seek a mentor. Mentors and others that you trust to give honest, productive feedback can make sure that your desired brand and your actions remain aligned.
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Strategic Communication
Carefully choose when and how you provide feedback. Make sure that you are giving feedback at the right time, and in the right tone so that it will not come off the wrong way. Be encouraging and supportive when giving feedback, to foster collaboration within your team.
Patience and Persistence
Re-branding isn’t an overnight process, but significant change can occur within a few months. Consistent effort and a genuine commitment to embodying your desired brand are key. By consciously shaping your professional image, you can overcome past perceptions and unlock new career opportunities. It takes dedication, but the rewards of a strong, positive personal brand are substantial.
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