What is Your Personal Brand Posture
Regardless of your profession or the level you are within your profession, or whether you are an entrepreneur, a stay-at-home mom, or a student, your brand posture is directly connected to your success.
Posture, as it relates to personal branding is about your response and your appearance – specifically, how competent and confident your personal brand and the solutions that you offer come across to your audience. While there are various elements to ensure that how your personal brand is received is aligned with how you want to be received, one of the foundational elements to align the impression that your brand makes is to take ownership of your brand’s P.O.W.E.R. To make a great impression requires you to own your brand power and stand confidently in your Power Posture.
What is your P.O.W.E.R. Posture?
This is not about your Pose – in other words, what is your best position to look good in your photos!
This is also not about being an imposter – imposing is posing!
Although the word posture in and of itself means to behave in a way that is intended to impress or mislead, the word I want to pull from this definition is the word impress.
Impress is the act of making an impression or mark,
Or
To make someone feel a connection, admiration or respect.
That is what your personal brand is supposed to do – to impress and make an impression and a connection with your ideal audience. Your ideal audience are the people with the problem that you were created to be the solution for. An impactful brand is built through relationships and relationships requires connection. You impress your audience when you are able to add value to their lives. Your audience trust you when you are confident and competent in the solutions that you offer.
Your POWER posture is your asset and is more about owning your personal brand and embracing your intrinsic value, a feat that may require you to redefine some experiences that may be creating blind spots as it relates to your personal brand. Your personal brand has power but you will need to give yourself permission to unleash its impact and create meaningful connections.
Let’s break down the elements of P.O.W.E.R.:
The P in power is for Perspectives. Understanding that there is value in your perspectives and therefore you should not be afraid or timid to use your voice (intelligently) regardless of the room you are in. If you are in the room or around the table, believe that you are meant to be there and accordingly, do not shy away from voicing your perspectives. Diversity unlocks innovation so no telling the exponential impact your perspectives may have. So, use your voice - your voice may just be the insight that someone else needs to solve or clarify a problem., and there is no telling where that breakthrough may lead you!
The O is for Optimism and Ownership. Operate from an abundance or what some refer to as a growth mindset. Be optimistic as you approach opportunities, including opportunities masked as catastrophic problems. Ownership relates to understanding and embracing your unique VALUE – this is the starting point of the confidence that you will need along the journey – it is essential that you believe that you are worthy! Others won’t believe in you if you don’t first believe in yourself.
The W is for wisdom. Over your lifetime you have garnered knowledge from curricula, from your experiences and from what you have been thought whether by your family culture or your mentors, etc. Trust in that knowledge and believe that you actually know what you are talking about, and if by chance you do not have the answer at a particular moment, trust that you are resourceful enough to find the answer.
The E is for empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and consider the feelings of another in your actions and your responses. You never know all that a person may be going through. There is a quote by Stephen Covey that goes:
“When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.” – Stephen Covey
The R is for respect. Are your actions and responses respectful or in alignment with your core values, and in alignment with the desired end result that you seek. Being in tune with your core values allows for an easier decision-making process and helps you to make clear decisions.
Also, are your actions and responses respectful of others. There is an old saying that goes “you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”, not that we are aiming to attract or impress flies.
So, my question to you is - What does your brand posture look like? Are you owning your intrinsic value and leveraging it to power up your personal brand posture? I would love to hear your feedback.
Here is to owning and embracing your power posture.
Georgia Wolfe Samuels is a Catalyst for Women, championing them in seeking a life of purpose and impact. She empowers women to Redefine their personal brand, ultimately creating space to amplify their impact, net-worth and legacy by teaching principles of self-belief - authentically and intentionally defining the stories they tell themselves about who they are, personal branding and divine connection. Sign up for resources to help you in amplifying your personal brand you at www.georgiawolfesamuels.com.