Branding? We frequently hear people in the coporate world talk about branding their company/product but less is heard of executives/employees talk about branding themselves. When we hear about a product being a brand, we understand pretty well what that means and most consumers always want to associate with such products…meaning that such product is good, demand is high and it can sell fast without much stress/struggle in the competitive market. The best part is that, products on the same line of service tend to struggle to meet up with the standard of the company and product level.
Sadly along the line, most brands tend to fall by the way side after a short time because, the company neglected branding their employees/executives who are supposed to enusre that their products maintain its high standard and continue being in high demand in the market.
Today am going to look at employees branding themselves and how it boost their work level and coporate image. There is one thing i keep noticing among delegates, no matter their job position, gender, each time i deliver my paper on– PERSONAL BRANDING. I aways notice high level of zeal from most delegates to stand out and make fantastic contributions to their employers but they are totally clueless on how to go about this. Those who made a little effort to be on top of their work, came up with the excuse of not being supported by their company /employers. Some people think that once you are given the name –executive, it authomatically means you are a brand. Anyone could take this name in the job market and still be dormant . The worst word to associate with personal branding is –DORMANT!
Let me start by tackling those who have talents/skills and extra energy to excel but keep giving the excuse about their employer not giving them the chance or empowering them. Listen, most employers know what to do, but they will be silent about this. I said this sometime ago here in on of my topics concerning employers attitude to their employees progress. You do not have to get the permisssion of your company or employer or wait for them to train you to be a brand. Being a brand is entirely a personal decision but if you are lucky to have an employer that enjoys making the staff the best through training and study courses, grab the opportunity and shine. The reason why you should not wait for your company to encourage you be a brand is that, most companies are interested in hiring and keeping workers who have branded themselves already , on their own.
Personal branding is not for everyone because it comes with its own challenges and hard work and not everyone has the courage/strenght to go all out to be a brand. If you discover you have so much to offer and that you want to go extra mile to stand out among your collegues, it means you desire to be a brand. When you feel you are not putting in more efforts and not making enough profitable contributions to your company, it means you are looking for ways to brand yourself to make your self and company proud. Always on the look out for improvement at your work place and not afraid of challenges.
Identifying these attributes and desires in you is the first step to being a brand. There are workers who hardly think about how to improve themselves at their work place. All they think about is end of the month salary. Such workers have nothing to do with being a brand because their intellectual abilities are not active but dormant. Infact if you are an employer and you decides to train such workers, you are simply wasting your money and resources. Such people are untrainable. No matter which part of the world you take them, exposure you give them, they will still come to work doing their snail stuff in the area of being creative and proactive. Yes, two work attributes workers who crave being a brand always possess— being CREATIVE &PROACTIVE . Once you notice such traits in you, you will continue being restless till you make yourself a brand. Being a brand is what will give you the work fulfilment you desire and enables you to unveil and make use of your creative abilities and solve problems for your company. Tell me dear reader– Which company/employer would not appreaciate a creative staff that can add new innovation to the company image, create new and profitable ideas to sell products and services and a staff that can prevent them being bankrupt, detecting/preventing future problems and solving them before they occur?
Making your self a brand entails you observing areas of improvement in your place of work, solving work problems before being asked to do so, initiating new innovations to make your company sparkle, and making things to happen with your own personal resources without waiting for your establishment to help you. For instance, there are innovations that might require you own a laptop but your company did not provide for you, make efforts to get one so you can unveil your innovations for the company rather than asking your company to buy one for you. They will not but, by the time they start seeing your input, good employers will give you more than a laptop. Do not expect any pat at the back from fellow collegues or else you will be discouraged.
What else can an employer want from an employee? All employers are looking out for employees who can add value to grow their business and maintain high patronage and the only staff that can add such value are branded employees. Bear in mind that you must not wear a badge screaming-‘’i am a brand —i have branded myself..’’
I have listed some desires which keeps burning in the inside of you. Once you feel that way and find yourself being delegated with some top official assignments, you have arrived. Smart employers will always trust you with their most challenging task because they have seen your abilities and what you are capable of doing. Why is it that they do not assign other staff as regualrly as they do to you? There is something they have noticed in you and that thing has made you stand out before other staff and smart employers hardly miss this.
If you find yourself in an establishment with lots of intellectuals, business that is not growing, products and services that are not in high demand, these areas are fertile ground for you to expose your abilities as a BRAND and stand out!!
When you desire to be a brand, do not make the mistake of asking others to decide for you…it is entirely your proffessional runs and decison to brand yourself!
JACLYN IWU
