3 Cs of Personal Branding

When was the last time you thought of yourself as a brand? Not recently? Too long ago? Never? You are not alone. It's understandable that thinking of people as brands is not exactly mainstream thinking. Well, let me tell you, personal branding is not as uncommon as you might think. In fact, over my nearly three decades in the workplace, I have been fortunate to have met and collaborated with some quite talented, experienced, and brilliant people from all walks of life. And each time, I found myself asking, "What made them so extraordinary in respective careers?"

After much deliberation and self-reflection, I identified a concept that needed more refinement, so I started talking to many of my friends and colleagues, and asked them one question - "If you could be any brand in the world, what brand would you be?" At first, many paused and wondered “what kind of a question is that?” But, eventually, those friends came back to me and shared their thoughts with me. Here is what a few of them said.

John chose Tesla - one with impeccable quality and luxury, while Alan preferred BMW for those same attributes plus performance and style. Finally, Julia, a colleague of mine selected Apple. When I asked for her reasoning, I was intrigued with her response. She chose Apple, because that brand best described her professional character...innovative, resilient, and quality driven.

So, how can personal branding apply to you? This is where I introduce the concept I call the “3 C's of personal branding." The 3 C's are character, competency, and credibility. What does character mean? It represents the core of who you are and what you stand for, your values and beliefs, and how you present yourself and relate to others in your life. For example, honest, considerate, ethical, and respectful, are just a few words, or attributes, that describe the essence of character. Do these words describe your character? If not, what words describe your character?

The second C of personal branding is competency, which refers to those attributes that make you knowledgeable and effective in what you do. Competency refers to the education, skills, experience, and expertise you have learned and developed over the course of your professional journey. In other words, competency refers to how effective you are at applying and demonstrating your education, skills, experience, and expertise in everything you do on a daily basis.

The third C of personal branding is credibility. Do you remember the well-known and often studied Greek philosopher named Aristotle? His wisdom is timeless and continues shape my personal brand every day. One of Aristotle's most studied concepts is the power of persuasion, which he presented as pathos (appeal to emotion), logos (appeal to logic), and ethos (appeal to character and credibility).

While pathos, logos, and ethos all apply to your personal brand, ethos can have a profound impact on your lifelong professional journey, because character, competency, and credibility start and end with you. In other words, ethos illuminates your sense of self and confidence in your knowledge, skills, and abilities. After all, you must believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you.

So, as you navigate through your professional journey, take time to identify, and reflect upon, the attributes that best represent your character, competency, and credibility. These 3 Cs will shape and define your personal brand, or reputation, which will be a catalyst for achieving personal and professional fulfillment.