As a businesswoman, I am passionate about personal branding for women. As a passionate businesswoman, I understand the desire for greater career success, the need to prove oneself and the constant quest for progress, and I get excited when I meet other women who are looking to make a difference in the world of business.
Yet I’ve also noted how many of these women struggle to find ways to differentiate themselves and demonstrate their value in the workplace, not because they lack talent or opportunity, but because we tend to fall prey to a few misconceptions about ourselves as women.
Here are three pitfalls terms of personal branding (and marketing) for women, and how to avoid them:
Yet I’ve also noted how many of these women struggle to find ways to differentiate themselves and demonstrate their value in the workplace, not because they lack talent or opportunity, but because we tend to fall prey to a few misconceptions about ourselves as women.
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| Personal Branding for Women – pitfalls to avoid |
- Thinking that being a good listener means we should never speak up. As women we tend to pride ourselves on being great listeners. But being a good listener doesn’t mean you give up the right to have an opinion. The most effective personal brands are built by people who know both how to listen well and to express themselves in a real way so that they are heard too.
- Undervaluing personal relationships. Women are sometimes criticised for being too relational in the workplace, and yet many women are gifted at making emotional connections very quickly. Learn to see this as a strength and use it to build deep, mutually-beneficial networks.
- Suffering from the superwoman syndrome. Many women believe that building and marketing a personal brand means they either have to be superwoman or pretend to be her. Nothing is further from the truth. People are drawn to genuine brands, but can spot a fake quickly. By being yourself, vulnerabilities and all, you create emotional connections – the key to a successful brand.
