If you are thinking of up-levelling your personal brand this year, here’s a checklist of key elements to consider for your plan. While this list is created with business leaders in mind, or those responsible for business development and sales, much of this checklist is easily applicable to those forging their professional career, whether in early career or in advanced stages such as applying for Non-Executive Director roles. How you approach each task on the checklist is what changes according to your goals.

Of course, many of these steps are more involved than simply checking off a task; clarifying your value proposition and perfecting your introduction are examples of where you will require some time and probably several drafts to get to the heart of your message in a way that achieves the desired results of your communication with others. If help is needed, there are plenty of resources to get you started, both on the NWC website and beyond. If you decide to work with an expert, be sure to check out our Personal Branding FAQs which will help you discern between providers!

Personal Brand Checklist to set up your business year:

We might roll our eyes at the concept ‘New Year, New You’… but doesn’t it still hold a spark of interest for us? The idea that we are given a chance to start afresh with the new year (even if it’s an arbitrary date in reality), and to re-invent ourselves to be more of who we want to be in work and in life… it can be an undeniable boost of inspiration and motivation.

So… if you also feel that little spark of energy and have been thinking about ways to reinvent yourself – or simply to enhance a few areas of your personal development and public image to help you achieve bigger goals this year… here are 3 New Year Personal Brand Goals to consider.

Personal Brand Goal #1: Own my strengths.

Most professionals I work with can say what they are good at in their job, and what they love about it. But few have taken time to clarify why these strengths matter – really matter – to the people they serve.

When you spend time reflecting on your core strengths, your approach, your values in work, and your sense of purpose or what you are trying to achieve… you begin to not only feel clear on your strengths, but you embody them… you OWN them.

Personal Brand Goal #2: Get clear on what to say for an impactful introduction.

If you know you need to introduce yourself with more confidence and impact in networking and business contexts, a great goal for you is to craft a short introduction that talks to the value of the work you do.

A thoughtful ‘positioning statement’ (not an elevator pitch!) is one of the most important elements to my clients in shaping how others see them and how they can build trust in their business communications right from the first impression. This is NOT a memorised, formal statement, and should include absolutely NO marketing speak. It should make use of natural language and short, simple statements that fit easily into one or two sentences when you are asked the question, ‘What do you do?’

The idea here is to state your role simply, but to extend it just enough make it tangible and meaningful to people. Practise writing some very short statements and then say them out loud to someone, to get a gauge on how natural it feels.

Personal Brand Goal #3: Build my visibility among the right people.

Whether it’s thought leadership through online content, or better networking tactics to get to real business conversations, getting in front of the right people is essential for your personal brand to have any impact in achieving your goals.

The right people might be the buyers, decision-makers, influencers, door-openers, or other stakeholders that are the key to your next career or business growth step. Strategic visibility planning means taking a focused and logical approach – and few people truly do this, so don’t underestimate the importance of taking time to create a clear plan.

“Strategic visibility planning means taking a focused and logical approach – and few people truly do this”

I personally love the ‘fresh page’ feel of early January – it’s a time when, in this part of the world, the sun is shining… and coming back from a short break, I feel a little more breathing space to help me think expansively and create a plan to up-level in areas that matter to me this year.

Happy New Year and all the best for your success!