5 Mistakes people make when thinking about personal brand

When I introduce the topic of personal branding I often get blank looks, resistance or people start talking about social media.

As the conversation progresses the following objections are often revealed:

1.    Branding is only for products.

Whether you like it or not you have a brand. It’s the reputation you have. The question for you to think about is, is that reputation aligned to how I want to be known? If it’s not then there is some work to do.

So, you can choose to own your brand and maximize it to achieve your aspirations; or let it manage you and wonder why the same things seem to happen to you!

If branding were only for products it wouldn’t be something recruiters are interested in understanding about possible candidates...

2.    Branding is inauthentic, you can’t possibly pigeon hole people!

That is correct you can’t pigeon hole people. What you can do is discover what your real assets are and how to best utilise these so you get to do the work you love. It’s more about how you stand out.

When you take the approach I do, which is to discover you from the inside out, it can only be authentic. It is being authentic to who you are that stands the test of time. This is how great brands last!

 

3.    It’s all about your online presence.

True. There is an element of this that will link to any online presence you have. The trick is to be consistent in how you come across both online and off line.

If you appear one way online and when people meet you you’re different they will be confused and potentially suspicious.

4.    I’m too busy and it’s not important now.

Well you may be busy and it may not seem important right now, AND you are communicating a brand already! You could be doing this inconsistently so people don’t really understand the value you bring to the work place.

Spending time on your brand will help you focus your efforts more effectively and be noticed for what you want to be known for.

This IS important.

5.    This is far too difficult and I don’t have the time or money to invest in hiring a Marketing consultant.

This doesn’t require an awful lot of investment and in the process you’ll get some really great and valuable feedback that reinforces all the good that you do.

It doesn’t require a Marketing consultant either.

I have a process that will allow you to get to the heart of your brand within 3 to 4 hours. Having achieved that you’ll be motivated to do more and find it VERY easy.

So… if you are ready to own your brand and stand out send me an email. We can set up a complimentary discovery call to assess how best you can move forward and be the leader you were born to be.

"Be yourself - not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be."  

Henry David Thoreau 

How balanced are you?

Does your life feel out of balance right now?

Are you spending long hours at the office, or working from home and unhappy about it?

Do you feel overwhelmed by how much there is to do?

Do you often feel, no matter what you’re doing at the time, that you should be doing something else?

Do you feel guilty taking time out for yourself?

If you do, you are probably not alone.

I recently read this years Global Human CapitalTrends report from Deloitte and one of the opening paragraphs read ‘In this new world of work, the barriers between work and life have been all but eliminated. Employees are “always on” – hyper-connected to their jobs through pervasive technology.’

Whilst there are organisational challenges in this we also all have choices to make. After all the only person who really controls what you do and where you spend your time is you.

Too much, too little or just enough?

If you think you’re spending too much or too little time on certain areas of your life take some time out to consider how you will redress the balance.

Develop a list of where you do spend chunks of your time and decide whether you are spending too much, too little or just the right amount of time in each area.

Here are some ideas of what could be on the list:

Work

Family

Friends

Health and Fitness

Holidays

Hobbies

Personal Development

Home

Now, consider if there is anything missing from that list; an area of your life that is currently neglected, where you’d really love to allocate some time. Add this to the list.

Next, identify which is the most important area for you to address.

Now, identify one thing you can start to do to redress this balance. I’m suggesting one thing as it’s the first step and you want to succeed. If it’s relatively simple great! You can now move on to the next thing…

Don’t be surprised if you run up against some limiting beliefs you might have too. This could be the very thing that’s causing the imbalance and may take a little longer to resolve and adjust to.

Take one step at a time and review your progress regularly. Your needs may change over time so it’s always good to revisit this exercise and check you are spending your time and energy where you want too.

If you find you are struggling to create the future you want email me to set up a discovery call and we’ll explore together what action you can take.

‘A balanced work-life is primarily a mater of deciding when to hold on and when to let go.’

Jacques Limoges

Change your Mind

Have you ever wondered what is going on inside your head?

Do you ever stop and listen to what’s going on inside your head?

Have you ever wondered who those voices are inside your head?

If you have then I’m hoping this article will help, even if it’s only in a small way.

How we think affects the way we feel, which in turn affects the way we behave. 

Consider a time when you were excited or happy and notice how you felt and how you behaved. Do you remember what you were actually thinking at the time?

Now consider a time when you were frustrated or irritated and notice how you felt and acted.  How were you talking to yourself at this point?

My guess is the way you looked, the way you sat and the tone of the voices in your head were different in both cases.

• What if it was possible to begin to make sense of these voices?
• What if it was possible to even quieten these voices?

You can!

All that is required is an investment of your time and a commitment to change.

I work with two models that allow you to do just this.

The first is a Creating your Future™ process which allows you to change limiting thought patterns and beliefs and set compelling goals to achieve.

The second is using the PMAI archetypal model to understand the essence of who you are, your identity, and what motivates you. This model will also allow you to put an archetypal name to those voices in your head and allow you to make sense of them.

Each of these help you get greater clarity about what may be holding you back and what you can do to move forward quickly and effortlessly.

If you’d like to know more simply email me and I’ll set up a call to discuss the opportunities and possibilities available you.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." 

Confucius

Winning Mindsets

We are in the second week of the Wimbledon tennis championships here in the UK and I was lucky enough to see two fabulous matches were the result required an absolute focus on winning. The game was as much a mental one as it was a physical one.

For those of you who are wondering which matches I’m thinking of, they were Serena Williams vs. Heather Watson match which went to 3 sets and Novak Djokovic vs. Kevin Anderson that went to 5 sets.

As a tennis fan, and observer, both of these matches were hard to call and for all 4 players I’m imagining the mental game was what saw them through.

I then read the following article by Patrick Cohn: http://www.sportspsychologytennis.com/?p=4349

Which looks at the mindset of champion players and talks about the choices you have, an excerpt is as follows:

Threat vs. Challenge

There are two mindsets a tennis player can choose heading into each match:

• You see matches as a threat: “If I lose, what will that loss say about me?”
• You view matches as challenges to overcome: “What can I do now to win this point?”

By viewing matches as challenges:

•   You will be motivated to go for it in tennis matches.

•   You feel psyched to compete, yet relaxed while playing.

•   You will be willing to put it all on the line and go for shots.

•   You will not become distraught by mistakes.

•   You will feel confident in your abilities to overcome obstacles.

•   You will be better equipped to focus on what you need to do in the moment.

•   You will have fun playing the game of tennis.

What mindset do you have?

Leadership is a 24/7 business and you are ‘on court’ all of the time. There are always people watching you. Some willing you on, some ambivalent and maybe some watching to see you ‘trip up’. 

How do you approach each day? As a professional tennis player focussed on this day and what needs to be achieved and how you need to play, or worried about what others may think, not wanting to make a mistake, playing it safe by keeping your head down?

We attract what we think about so if you are not getting the results you want maybe the first place to look is your own thoughts.

• What assumptions are you making?
• Are these assumptions enabling or limiting?
• Do you believe you can achieve what you have set out to do?
• If not what needs to shift, is it the outcome or your thinking?

We are programmed at an early age with some of our inherent beliefs and they are often outside of our consciousness. One way to uncover them is to take time to review your actions and your thoughts, particularly if you are not getting the results you want.

• What do you believe about the situation?
• What would you have to believe to get the result you want? 

I believe you can have everything you want out of life as long as you are prepared to do the work and have a positive mindset.

What can you do to have more of what you want? 

Where might you be limiting yourself with your thinking?

If you are struggling with this and know that you need to make some changes email me to set up a coaching clarity call and we can explore what action you can take.

“If you have the same damn thoughts, you’re gonna have the same damn day.”

Meadow Devor

3 signs that you are in a group not a team

Think about the last time you were part of a group, where someone proposed an idea that you thought was quite poor. However, everyone else in the group agreed with the person who suggested the idea and the group seemed set on pursuing that course of action.

When you see this happening it’s a pretty good indicator that groupthink is occurring and preventing creative thinking, effective decision making, efficient problem solving and goals being met.

What is Groupthink?

It is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group.

People who are opposed to the decisions or overriding opinion of the group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep the peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of the crowd.

Why does groupthink occur?

In many cases, people end up engaging in groupthink when they fear that their objections might disrupt the harmony of the group or suspect that their ideas might cause other members to reject them. Members place emphasis on everyone agreeing and want to be on good terms with the group no matter what the cost.

Situations where the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink, as does a strong persuasive charismatic leader.

Symptoms of groupthink

These fall into 3 broad categories:

Over confidence in the groups power
Limited thinking about a problem
Pressure to comply within the group

Over confidence in the groups power

You will see the group become overly optimistic and take big risks believing they are invincible. Alternatively you see members of the group rationalize thoughts or suggestions that challenge what the majority is thinking.  This causes them to ignore warning signs.

Limited thinking about a problem

There is a belief that whatever the group does it will be right as they all know the difference between right and wrong. This leads members to ignore possible moral problems and ignore consequences of individual and group actions.

You may also get members stereotyping. This leads members of the in-group to ignore or even demonize other group members who may oppose or challenge the group’s ideas.

Pressure to comply

The majority directly threaten the person who questions decisions by telling them that they can always leave the group if they don’t want to agree. Direct pressure to conform is often placed on members who pose questions, and those who question the group are often seen as disloyal or traitorous.

Alternatively, members of the group take it upon themselves to discourage different ideas from being expressed in the group. These "Mindguards" act as self-appointed censors to hide problematic information from the group.

This can result in people who have doubts to hiding their fears or misgivings.

How to Prevent or Minimise Groupthink

There are steps that you can take to minimize this problem when you see it occurring or prevent it from happening:

• Breaking up members into smaller independent teams can be helpful.
• As the leader of the group avoid stating your opinions or preferences when assigning tasks. Give people time to come up with their own ideas first.
• Discuss the group’s ideas with an outside member in order to get impartial opinions.
• Encourage group members to remain critical. Don't discourage dissent or challenges to the prevailing opinion. Encourage alternative views and challenging of ideas.
• As the leader be absent from many group meetings to avoid overly influencing decisions.
• Have a process in place for checking the fundamental assumptions behind important decisions, for validating the decision-making process.
• Utilise group techniques like brainstorming and six thinking hats when exploring a problem. 

It would be great to hear your stories on where you have overcome groupthink, so please share them. We can all learn from your success.

"The important thing about groupthink is that it works not so much by censoring dissent as by making dissent seem somehow improbable."

James Surowiecki

Ending your Day on a Positive Note

How do you end your day at work?

Do you rush out of the office to ensure you catch the train knowing there are still things to do and you’ll do them once you get home, feeling stressed?

Do you finish your task and then prepare for the next day carrying forward the things you didn’t get done today?

Do you finish what you are doing and then switch off to now focus on what needs to be done at home?

Or

Do you spend a few moments reviewing your day recognising what has been achieved and feeling good about it?

A lot has been written about positive emotions and how they enhance cognitive, affective, and physical resilience and broaden our repertoire of thoughts and behaviours.

Hundreds of studies have reported associations between positive emotion and tangible outcomes such as higher wages, customer satisfaction, and creativity, big picture thinking, physical health, quick cardiovascular recovery and work engagement.

So what can you do to begin to think in a more positive way?

As human beings we are all very good a identifying what is wrong, what hasn’t been done, what is unfinished, so you have to make a conscious effort to look at the positive and recognise it.

An end of day practice

To help you create a new habit, and to end the day on a positive note, here are some things you can do to establish an end of day practice:

1. Write down 3 things that went well about the day. This has been shown to increase happiness.
2. Write down everything that you have achieved today. We are all very good at thinking about all the things that didn’t get done rather than pat ourselves on the back for all the things that did get done.
3. Where did you perform at your best today? We often take these for granted and overlook them and yet they are the things that make our reputation – our brand.
4. If you are angry with someone and you feel the need to counterproductively chastise him or her – STOP! Identify things the employee has done to inspire you, that you are grateful for. Take a more balanced approach of the individual and then decide on the best course of action.
5. What did you really enjoy doing today? Savouring life’s pleasures both subtle and spectacular can enhance wellbeing.

You may choose to do all of these or just one and if every day is a step to far start with doing this at the end of the week and make it a regular practice.

Cultivate a ratio of positivity that will generate success.

“Don’t let people; places and things determine your moods. Take charge of how you feel each and every day.”

Michael Barbarulo

Four Simple Questions to Help you Build Resilience

How do you deal with setbacks?

Do you:

1. Roll over and think ‘that’s it  - it’s too hard, might as well give up now'.
2. Decide to roll your sleeves up, get stuck in and push through.
3. Throw a tantrum and create a drama out of it.

My guess is you may have done all of these at various stages of your life in differing circumstances depending on your level of emotional engagement and maturity. And, hopefully, you’ve learned to handle setbacks a little differently now.

I came across a great quote the other day which I think sums this up:

“ Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” Steve Maraboli

Of course there is a choice with this – you have to choose to grow stronger and be more resilient so that you thrive rather than survive from one crisis or setback to another.

It’s your capacity to respond constructively to adversity that builds your resilience. It’s not about coping or surviving but about harnessing the opportunities that lie within the situation and your own capability.

Are you reacting to what life throws at you or are you responding to what life throws at you? The latter is the one that will allow you to grow so I thought I’d also share Paul Stoltz CORE questions which are designed to help you build resilience:

Control – What facets of the situation can I/we/you potentially influence?

Ownership – How can I/we/you step up to make the most immediate, positive difference?

Reach – What can I/we/you do to minimise the potential downside? Maximise the potential upside?

Endurance – What can I/we/you do to get past this as quickly as possible? 

The next time you are faced with a setback take a step back and take time to respond rather than react and consider what is it trying to tell me? Which of the above questions can I apply to move forward?

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”

Gever Tulley

Truth or Fiction?

“ We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin

What does this phrase mean to you?

For me I interpret it as how we see the world is based on our own experiences and beliefs we've developed over our life time. It therefore means that our own view of a situation will not always be the same as someone else's.

When we come up against this it can cause conflict either with others or, within ourselves, and these can often be uncomfortable experiences.

Our perceptions, how we view the world, become our reality and we can make lots of assumptions which are often untrue. 

When working with coaching clients this will often arise as a difference of opinion. If unexplored it can become an obstacle to progress.

If you are faced with this scenario it's worth looking at what you actually know as fact. 

• What has actually happened? 
• What has actually been said? 

Ask yourself; 

• What assumptions are you making? This may be about the other person, the situation or yourself.
• What stories are you making up about the situation?
• Knowing this what if anything do you need to do to move things forward?

Leaving situations to fester can make a mountain out of a mole hill, so make a habit of asking yourself these questions whenever you begin to feel uncomfortable or think a misunderstanding in brewing. 

Time to Breathe

As we firmly enter into summer and the holiday season most of you will be looking forward to some time off and the opportunity to unwind and relax……… And some of you will have already done it!

More and more in business this is a time to de-stress and I hear many people talk about how long it takes them to unwind which got me wondering…………… Do you know how stressed you are? Are you stressed at all or simply tired? Are you taking responsibility for how you feel?

Stress is often caused by ‘feeling’ out of control and yet there is very little we are actually in control of other than ourselves. So, maybe the place to look is at ourselves to answer the question How can I be more comfortable at handling ambiguity?

Just asking this question of myself lands very differently to how do I stop getting stressed or how can I be more in control?

Taking Stock

It is our brains that create our very own stress response and is based on what we perceive as a threat. When we feel under threat the brain releases cortisol and adrenalin that floods the prefrontal cortex and stops us ‘thinking clearly’. The cortisol goes straight into our nervous system and affects our breathing. When we ‘feel’ stressed this is what is happening and there will almost certainly be other physiological reactions in each of us.

If we are under stress for a prolonged period of time higher levels of cortisol is produced which can cause the immune system to shut down and an increase in blood pressure and your heart rate.

So you can see how prolonged periods of stress can affect our health.

Doing something Different

So, the first step is to decide to take responsibility and choose to do something about it. The second step is deciding where to start. Where would be the best place for you to begin to be more comfortable with ambiguity? I would suggest you start with a situation that creates mild stress. This way you are creating a higher probability of success.

Here are some things to practice:

1. Become aware of your physical response. Where do you tense up? What sensations do you feel in your body? What happens to your breathing?
2. Breathe. Take a deep breath and breathe into your diaphragm – you may even need to take several! This actually affects your parasympathetic nervous system and begins to calm you down.
3. Determine what you can actually do about the situation. Do you need to walk away? Do you delay the conversation? Do you have to approach things differently?
4. What stories do you have about this? Are they true or is your imagination running away with you?
5. What’s the reality of the situation?

We are hardwired to react a certain way, so any change will require a focus on something different, which is why the question you ask is key, such has how can I better cope with ambiguity. You may well come up with a better question for yourself.

The brain likes things to stay the same so tackling one thing at a time and being focussed to create a new neural pathway is important. As a great friend of mine says ‘practice makes permanence’.

Take one step at a time and focus on what you want not what you don’t want.

"I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go." 

Sheng Yen