How do YOU stand out in a crowd? What makes you different from everyone else in this world? In high school there was that guy who had a blue mohawk. In college there was the girl who was the president of her sorority. For me, in a company of hundreds of thousands of people, I stand out because of my personal brand; my reputation precedes me. Why? I'm famous because of my (internal) blog. I write compelling, value-add content on (what I think is) an interesting subject (collaboration across the enterprise) that didn't exist elsewhere. Posting my content on a blog made it easy for others to learn from me, and ultimately it created the job that I have today. My blog highlighted a gap that I filled. It gave me a voice and led to my dream job.
"Personal brand is what people say when you leave the room" -Jeff Bezos
Stop and think about this for a minute...
What do people say about you when you leave the room?
What do you WANT people to say about you when you leave the room?
Each of us has an idea in our head of how we want to be perceived by others. The question is: Do these two match?
Don't take your word for it! Have a conversation with a trusted colleague or two, a mentor, a boss. Decide what you're going to do with this information. Social media provides an opportunity to make a name for yourself. You don't need to wait for an introduction or limit yourself to your immediate network. My blog started as a side gig. It wasn't part of my job. I didn't have a grand plan. My first post wasn't perfect and it didn't matter. I just wrote it and let it go its own direction. I became an expert by being myself, and have the followers to prove it.
So what is my expertise? I evangelize social collaboration within the enterprise. I especially enjoy (upwardly) mentoring executives on social because even though the goals are similar, every conversation is different. Ultimately, leadership wants to connect with the people in their organizations and leveraging social channels is a change in mindset for many. That's where I come in...
So I ask YOU... what do you want to be known for and how can you make that happen?