Yesterday I talked about the need for me to decide how I want others to perceive me. I think inside and out, we all are many people, I am a:
- dad to my daughter,
- a friend to a select few,
- a complete asshole to my ex-wife
… just to name three people simultaneously I am at this very moment. But what face do I really want to show the world?
It is said we are all three different people: the person we think we are (the one we have invented), the person other people think we are (the impression we make), and the person we think other people think we are (the one we fret about).
– Stephen Bayley
A good way to figure that out, is first to determine how the world already sees me, the impression I have made. To do this non scientifically, I asked my Facebook friends via my status line to answer a simple question, “give me three adjectives that you would use to describe me”.
Six people responded:
- Jason Orme: abstract, friend, confident
- Robert Whitford: eggish, obsequious, absorbent
- Ken LePage: driven, thoughtful, technical
- Dawn Henderson: insightful, keen, reliable
- Carmen Bottaro: hilarious, dirty, witty
- Victoria Lynn Sodora: ubiquitous, generous, verbous
The people who responded were an interesting cross section of my life:
- Victoria: We went to high school together.
- Carmen: I have known Carmen for just over a year now.
- Dawn: Dawn and I were inseparable for a few months a few years back, but still keep in touch now.
- Ken: I have known Ken for about four years, we used to work together.
- Robert: Robert and I only really know each other on Facebook.
- Jason: Jason I have known for just over ten years now and is one of my closest friends.
I wasn’t surprised by the answers, and it’s great to see what was said. I maybe rationalizing, but I see a consistency within the group of words used. I personally would have gone with (the person I have invented): driven, thoughtful, and generous, which to me seems in alignment with each other, so I guess I have nothing to fret about.
I think personal branding is unavoidable, it just may not be a deliberate act for many. As others interact with you, they’ll automatically form mental associations that connect you with certain labels (or adjectives), often within the first few seconds. You can’t avoid being labeled, and other people can’t avoid labeling you. It happens automatically because our brains are wired to recognize patterns and form associations. The labels people attach to you become part of your personal brand whether you want to recognize you have one or not.
I have now concluded I know how people naturally perceive me, and I am OK with it. So I have no real damage control to take care of with how my personal brand as it is perceived today. The next step in the process is to determine where I want to take me… What are my goals?
More on that in the coming days.
This exercise is intriguing because it helps you determine if people are perceiving you the way you want to be perceived. You might try this exercise yourself with your family, friends, and co-workers. Often people’s responses are more a reflection of themselves than you; it’s interesting to see what lens people are seeing you through.
photo credit: bogenfreund
No related posts.
