Defining Your Brand: It's the Little Things

By Mitchell Stephenson

The Stepping Stone, July 2024

What do Others Say About You When You Are Not in the Room?

According to Jeff Bezos, the answer to this question is the definition of your personal brand. Sprout Social defines personal branding as “the process of defining and promoting what you stand for as an individual.” To me, a personal brand is all the little things you do that people identify with, recognize, and remember you by. Just like a company, you bolster your brand each time you reinforce the behavior —for better or worse—associated with it.

My daughter knew what the Starbucks mermaid logo was by the time she was four. Soon after, she recognized the Target logo and knew how to find the Amazon app on my phone by the “a” emblem. She recognized a Dunkin’ Donuts before she could read by the orange and brown colors on the sign. These companies have such well-entrenched brand names and logos that even young children easily recognize them.

Just like a company, your personal brand is how you “sell” things and influence others. This pertains to your partnerships with stakeholders, your ideas and your ability to successfully navigate situations. The more positive and relevant your brand in each situation, the easier it will be to drive towards an intended outcome. The more damaged or complicated your brand—even if you are not aware of it— the more likely you are to fail where you want to succeed.

I became aware of my personal brand years ago. I was frustrated with my career and feeling stuck. I wanted to develop and advance in my organization. I was having difficulty making meaningful progress towards my development goals. I blamed others around me for my lack of progress.

Then I took a one-day leadership course. The instructor started out by saying, “Do you feel stuck in your career, frustrated by your lack of progress, and frustrated either by your manager or colleagues?” I perked up immediately. It was like she was speaking directly to me. She went on to point out that we—the individuals in the class—were the only ones who could address those problems. To do this, we needed to acknowledge that we were the problem.

It was an epiphany for me. It made me realize how I needed to recalibrate my expectations for success. I needed to be less dependent on others to make the changes to grow, develop and advance the way I wanted in my career. I needed to re-boot my personal brand.

Since that class, I have focused on my personal brand. These areas of focus have helped me move past difficult barriers, find ways to be successful working for many different styles of managers—I’ve had 27 bosses in 23 years—and find positions that draw on my strengths and provide meaningful opportunities to grow.

Below are some of the key things I have learned, which helped me achieve success and establish a consistent personal brand over time:

It Starts by Being Self-Aware

This dates back to the class where the instructor made me realize I, not my colleagues or my boss, was the problem. In my personal growth and development journey, I have taken Emotional Intelligence (EQ) surveys. VeryWell Mind defines EQ as “the ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, control, evaluate, and use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively and constructively.” I took these surveys to identify my EQ strengths and development areas. Sometimes, these development areas were “blind spots” that I did not realize I needed to work on.

One key example for me is that I tend to get frustrated when I feel pressure. My response to the “fight, flight, or fright” emotion we all feel under duress is not always optimal. In a workplace setting, this can result in saying something that I would otherwise say more artfully, sending a hastily written communication, or becoming distracted from the topic of a meeting. Through taking an EQ survey, reading articles, and talking to colleagues, I have learned techniques to adjust for this. This includes simple actions like taking a drink of water instead of saying something in haste when frustrated, hitting draft on an email if I write it while frustrated, and putting myself on mute on a video call so as not to say something I might regret. While I know I still have blind spots, these activities have certainly helped me avoid reputational damage to my brand.

Consistency is Key

I worked for a boss who observed I was often late for meetings. This was happening because I was often in back-to-back meetings and had difficulty getting from one conference room to the next on time. This was especially true when colleagues stopped me in the hallway, or I needed to stop at the restroom or to get a drink of water. Nonetheless, she often pointed out that I was late.

To address this, I self-imposed a “three-minute rule.” Given that it was almost impossible to get to my meetings on time because of the factors above, I considered myself to be on time if I made it within three minutes. When I was late to a meeting with my boss, I would point out that I made it within three minutes. Soon she observed that I always made it within three minutes and started adapting this rule herself. It helped me to re-brand myself from tardy to consistently on-time within a reasonable margin.

Another example is something I use for written communications, especially email, that I call the scroll-down rule. My premise is that if your recipient must scroll down in an email you sent, they are less likely to read the whole email when they get it. In fact, they may never read it. Instead, if they open the email and can see all the content on one screen, they are more likely to read it and take the action you want. I make a habit to almost never violate the scroll-down rule. Recipients know my emails are not going to be long and are more likely to read and respond to them.

Lastly, it is important to maintain consistency in your professional relationships, interactions and communications with others. This is especially true in tense situations. It only takes one instance where others do not think you care about them to damage your relationships in the long term. Warren Buffet once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently.” It is helpful to value the relationship over the situation and, when the situation calls for it, handle tense or difficult interactions with care and professionalism. In doing this consistently over time, people will learn to trust you and your brand, and the positive impact you can have even in tricky situations.

Maintain a Strong and Consistent Presence

I remember in seventh grade feeling like I wanted to participate in class. It was a bigger class than my elementary school and I was having a tough time figuring out how to participate. I set a rule for myself. Every class, I would raise my hand at least twice. When I did this, I participated constructively in the class for that day.

Years later. I still attempt to speak during each meeting I am in. Excepting large group meetings where I am in listen-only mode, I make a habit of speaking at least once. If I know it will be a hard group in which to speak, I will try to offer comments as early as possible. Sometimes I will send comments to the meeting organizer before the meeting. This often results in that person calling on me for comments. I have noticed that by virtue of that strategy to speak at least once during every meeting I am in, it often means I end up being one of the most active contributors. People know that if they are in a meeting with me, I will tune in, be present and contribute.

I also make a habit to always match the other person or people whether they are on an audio or video call. If I am in a meeting and others are on video, I am too. If I am in a one-on-one or small group and the other participants do not go on video, that is okay; I do not either. There are times though, where I want to encourage video attendance and I will sometimes ask others to join me on video. This is especially true for more significant conversations, like performance reviews. Often in meetings with more senior members of the organization, attendees are on video. I do this, too. Having a video presence, especially when others are on video, lets people know you are ready to engage with them at their comfort level. Doing this, and participating constructively in all your meetings, helps maintain a strong and consistent brand over time.

Bringing it all Together

Have you ever watched a commercial and thought to yourself, “I don’t get it?” If so, you are unlikely to be in the company’s target market. Conversely, have you seen a commercial recently and laughed aloud, or it moved you in another way? You are likely to be in the demographic the ad campaign is targeting. For my family, Subaru ads with dogs and kids always draw us right in.

During your day, think about who you want to influence, build a strong relationship with or impress and how you want to sell your brand. If you remain self-aware, consistent, and have a strong presence, you can establish a strong brand. If you do these things, whether you are selling an idea, a work product, or attempting to influence someone else, your customers will buy from you.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Mitchell Stephenson, FSA, MAAA, is head of model governance at Fannie Mae. He can be reached at mbstep684@gmail.com or via LinkedIn.