Know Your Audience, Know Yourself
Recently, I have been working with some new leaders who are in transition who have been refining (and in some cases, redefining) their personal leader brands. One of the primary questions we discuss is “how do I know if my brand is relevant to the people who are most important for me to influence?”
When building a personal leader brand (one in which your actions and behaviors are aligned to your value proposition), I recommend treating it like a change management plan. In change management, we always name and analyze our target audiences to understand (1) who they are, (2) what they think and (3) what is going to influence their thinking so that a change can be successful.
Same thing with a brand-related change plan. We want to know the specific people or groups that are most important to influence so that we can achieve our goals. Imagine a chart with four columns with each of these steps being input into a column:
1. First step: Start with naming no more than 5 individuals or groups. Rather than saying “prospective employers or customers,” get niche and specific. Example: Prospective employers or customers in the Northeast U.S. who have spent $5M on digital marketing over the past year.
2. Second questions: “What are my stakeholders’ current perceptions of me?” What do they know of me from the office (participation in meetings, timely communication turnaround, behavior in the cafeteria)?
What do they know about me socially (social media, softball team, gossip)? And just as important, do they even know I exist? They may not have a perception of you today because you are unknown. If this is the case, state, “I’m not on their radar and they don’t have a perception of me because …” and indicate the “because”.
3. Third question: How do you want to be viewed by my stakeholders? Complete the statement, “I want to be known as someone who…”
4. Fourth questions: “What are the gaps between how I am viewed today and how I want to be viewed, and how do I address them?”
Identifying your stakeholders and assessing their perceptions helps us to better know ourselves and position ourselves for success. Focus on the next steps and ask:
· What immediate actions can I take?
· How do I get on their radar? By adding value? Making requests? Showing up? Managing my time differently? Being introduced by a colleague?
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Perri Richman is a brand and reputation advisor for individuals and companies of all shapes and sizes. She a principal at The Brand Promise, a firm that builds the brands through the behavior of leaders, and the creator of “Brand You,” a leader branding methodology shared with hundreds of professionals in industries ranging from consumer products to professional services to technology. She is a certified executive coach, reputation manager and image consultant, speaker and writer.