While many might have assumed that personal branding is only for influencers or celebrities, it is not like that. Business leaders can significantly benefit by developing a personal brand that sets them apart from others in the industry. A personal brand is what you project to the world. It is how you are viewed in and outside the organisation by your stakeholders, investors, or clients.
Once you have developed your personal brand, you will have a major influence on whether someone decides to do business with you. The days when people wanted to do business with high revenue-generating faceless companies are long gone. Nowadays, the company’s value is judged by how big of a brand its business leader is.
Imagine if regular employees can have that type of impact by sharing the brand content; how much reach can a business leader have when they share their original insights? Therefore, it comes as no surprise that big organisations are persuading their CEOs to become bigger brands. If business leaders are not known for something or are forgettable, they will not add value to the company they own or work in.
Are you wondering how business leaders can make themselves a brand? Through executive coaching. Executive coaching has not only helped business leaders improve their leadership and management skills but also establish their personal brands to become the face of their companies.
Scroll down to find an answer to “How can I establish my personal brand through executive coaching”.
Tips for Establishing a Personal Brand By an Expert Executive Coach
Establishing a personal brand does not mean creating a self-congratulatory monologue about your skills or abilities. Instead, it is about finding a clear but subtle way to ensure others are getting the right message about you. However, it is easier said than done.
Executive coaching will help business leaders establish their personal brands and make their organisations succeed. However, if you don’t have time and finances for executive coaching, we are here to help you. Simon Ellson, expert executive business coach at ActionCoach, shared the best ways how business leaders can establish their personal brand to advance in their careers, which are listed below:
Create Captivating Profiles on Social Media Platforms
In today’s digital world, no one can deny the importance of social media. To increase your reach, you must ensure that all your social media profiles stand out and look professional. Many business leaders ignore this step and then question why they are failing miserably to establish a personal brand.
Once you get an executive business coach onboard to establish your brand, they will first work with you to improve your online presence. They will help you write a captivating bio, upload a professional profile photo and optimise your profiles to reach a larger target audience. However, if you don’t have the resources to take help from a professional leadership coach, you can optimise your social media profiles yourself by doing the following:
- Complete your profile
- Add a captivating bio
- Add the relevant high-ranked keywords
- Add your location
- Be specific about the products and services your company provides
Take a look at our latest blog: How can I foster innovation and creativity through executive coaching?
Figure Out Your Current Brand
Once you optimise your social media platforms, you must evaluate your current leadership brand. Executive coaching will help you determine your current brand by observing you closely. However, if you don’t have an executive business coach, you can do it yourself by paying close attention to people’s perceptions of you.
Once you have figured out your current brand, you will know what values are attached to you, what kind of expectations your employees have from you and what your future goals are presumed to be. Later, you can start working towards the brand that you wish to create.
Identify Your Core Values
Once you know your current leadership brand, you need to identify your core values. A business leader’s core values define you and what you stand for professionally and personally. Without core values, your personal brand will look shallow and less authentic. The core values will act as a foundation for your personal brand. Leadership coaches often help business leaders identify their core values. The stronger the core values, the stronger will be the foundation of your personal brand.
Later, business leaders also have to communicate these core values verbally and nonverbally through their actions and decisions to their workforce. Slowly and gradually, you will be known for your core values, and the foundation for your personal brand will be established.
Identify Areas of Improvement
The most common mistake business leaders make while building their personal brand is not taking feedback. Therefore, they end up with a personal brand with many areas to improve. Executive coaching makes business leaders understand the importance of taking feedback at all stages of life. When business leaders take feedback, they are more self-aware about their strengths and weaknesses. They have time to work on their weaknesses before they become a major hindrance to their business growth.
When you work with an executive business coach, they will be your biggest critic. Your job will be to stay open to criticism and make amendments where required. However, if you don’t have an executive business coach, you can take feedback from your colleagues or employees. By doing so, you will be able to establish your brand as a self-aware and efficient leader.
Create an Impact With Your Work
While communicating their core values and taking feedback, business leaders must keep making an impact with their work. Optimised social media profiles, strong core values or taking feedback will matter nothing if your work is not speaking volumes of you. Executive coaching encourages business leaders to constantly develop skills and knowledge in areas where they are too weak to add value or make an impact. Business leaders will never be left behind when they are willing to learn and practice new things.
However, sticking to old business strategies and practices will make you less relevant in this modern era. If you cannot acquire leadership coaching, you can develop different skills to keep making headlines in the business world.
Conclusion:
Do you still need help establishing your personal brand even after following all the tips mentioned above? You must consider taking executive coaching. An executive coach will help identify your mistakes and set you on the right track.
