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Women And Personal Branding: Oil And Water?

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I have conversations daily about personal branding – what it means, why it’s so challenging for many women, and how women can overcome their reluctance to communicate their brands powerfully. Personal branding is not a “nice to have” today – it’s an essential endeavor for all professionals who want to advance, thrive, and grow. They need to know exactly what they stand for in the world, and how they stand apart from others, and communicate that competitive difference with confidence and clarity. If you can't do this, you'll lack the visibility and recognition you need to reach the next level of success.

To learn more about personal branding, I’ve enjoyed following fellow Forbes contributor William Arruda and hearing his perspective as one who teaches, trains and empowers thousands of executive men and women to build their brands and expand their reach and impact.

I asked William to share his thoughts about women and personal branding, and how they can learn to embrace the process of building a compelling, engaging brand to their advantage (and why they must).

Here’s William's take:

“I have been working in the field of personal branding longer than pretty much anyone else. When I started in the field, all of my clients were men – senior executives in major corporations. Over the past several years, I find myself working more and more with women. In fact, currently, about half my work is exclusively with groups of women inside companies.

Why the trend toward more women involved in personal branding? Partly it has to do with the fact that companies realize the benefits of having a truly diverse senior leadership team and the importance and supporting women as they move into leadership positions.

I also think it is because women in general have been less inclined to do personal branding on their own. I am not trying to paint all women with the same brush – but pointing out trends I have experienced in working with thousands of career-minded women over the past several years.

When it comes to personal branding, here are a few common threads I have identified – regardless of company, industry, level or location:

Visibility:

Sometimes, women feel that doing a good job is enough to be recognized and promoted. Men are more likely to speak about their accomplishments publicly.

Women have higher standards for the level of achievement they feel warrants erecting a billboard or screaming from the rooftops.

Networking:

The ‘schmoozing’ aspect of networking can feel uncomfortable to many women. The misconception that networking is about creating self-centered connections in support of your career advancement clouds the fact that women are natural networkers.

Work Ethic:

Women seem to be more comfortable with ‘we’ statements than ‘me’ statements – preferring to tout the value of their team’s accomplishments as a whole to their own.

Women are generally less comfortable with self-promotion – preferring good work to do the speaking for them.

Although sometimes reticent, women typically become the biggest supporters of personal branding once they understand what effective personal branding is all about.”

Kathy Caprino: What traits of personal branding can make it more attractive for women?

William Arruda:  Once they learn that personal branding is not about self-promotion, chest-pounding, attention-seeking or me, me me, they start to embrace the concepts and truly excel at personal branding – achieving levels of visibility and credibility that often exceed those of their male colleagues.

I’ve found that a few elements of personal branding are particularly attractive to women, and they excel at them:

Authenticity

I find that in keynotes and workshops I deliver, at first some women seem tentative – equating personal branding with blatant self-promotion. But their fears are stripped away when we discuss the first tenet of personal branding – brands are based in authenticity. Personal branding is about being yourself – your best self – always. This message of being real resonates with many of the women I have had the privilege of working with. And we know from studies of EQ that women have greater self-awareness than men. The first step in the branding process is all about uncovering your brand – and that self- awareness comes in handy.

Generosity

The second big thing that helps women embrace personal branding is giving versus bragging. There is a misconception that personal branding requires a lot of taking when in fact, the most effective personal branding requires generosity. It’s about giving value, sharing knowledge, acknowledging others, nurturing relationships, showering praise, expressing gratitude.

Business is about relationships. In the industrial age, business was more focused on transactions. In the current experiential age, relationships hold the key to success. Building and nurturing relationships over time produces the results that define success. In general, women are naturally better at building and nurturing relationships. In numerous studies, it has been proven that women have higher EQ – a key ingredient in relationship building. In ‘Emotional Intelligence Is Our Key to Success' published in ASTD, John Keyser noted that  women, on average, have an overall EQ score that is four points higher than that of their male counterparts and that women generally score higher on self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

Multi-tasking

Research from a study on multi-tasking by Dr. Ragini Verma and her colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania shows that if women and men are given a task that involves both logical thinking and intuitive thinking, women will do it better. They’re better at connecting the left and the right sides of the brain. Effective personal branding involves both logic (defining your target audience, choosing your communications tools, etc.) and intuition (understanding decision-makers’ needs, knowing how to phrase communications so they can be received, building relationships through listening and compelling conversation, etc.).

Caprino: What is the challenge, then, around personal branding for women?

Arruda:  When it comes to personal branding, women still have a way to go.  With LinkedIn, for example, a 2013 Pew study revealed that 24 percent of Internet-using men employ the site compared to 19 percent of women. I have seen this data firsthand. One of my major corporate clients that is actively working to get all their employees using LinkedIn daily. We looked at the LinkedIn profiles of their senior leaders and found that men were more than twice as likely as the women to have a complete profile and to be using LinkedIn regularly.

This puts women at a disadvantage. They are less a part of the conversation and are less visible to decision-makers and influencers. Incomplete profiles might make them seem less serious about their career or less engaged in their work than their male counterparts.”

Caprino: What are you top personal branding tips for women leaders?

Arruda:

1. Do double duty.

Use your multi-tasking skills to turn your regular work into actions that will build your brand. For example, when you are reading articles or blogs related to your expertise, share them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ or Facebook or via email with your contacts you know will benefit from them.

2. Give to the group.

Build community and relationships on the web. LinkedIn groups provide the opportunity to have conversations and build relationships with like-minded leaders.

3. Brand your team.

Put personal branding on your team’s agenda. Get all members of your team thinking about and building their brand. You will increase their self-awareness and engagement. Together, your team will stand out. And you will have a reason to put personal branding actions on your do-list.

4. Don’t toot - let others tout.

If you are uncomfortable tooting your own horn, make it easy for others to sing your praise. Request recommendations for LinkedIn – and the best way to do that is to give LinkedIn recommendations.

For more on personal branding, visit William Arruda and his blog.

For help to build a more satisfying, successful career, visit kathycaprino.com.