by Carolyn Leighton-Tal (carolyn@witi.com)
Founder and Chairwoman of WITI
This column is intended to help you manage your staggering array of professional, business and career issues.
Every time I attend a WITI conference, I realize how much we need a place where we can engage in frank dialogue about pressing issues without fear of being attacked, criticized or undermined.
This realization is continually reinforced by women who express the empowerment they experience because the environment WITI creates is positive, supportive and genuinely committed to helping each person realize their fullest potential. This is the gift my mother gave me and the contribution she continues to make through me long after her death.
My appreciation for our common struggle continues to grow as I meet the women and men who attend WITI conferences; people clearly committed to helping others succeed by sharing their impressive range of experiences and capabilities. I miss these discussions between conferences and would like this column to be an ongoing forum where we can continue to share experiences and perspectives, with the objective of helping each other reach higher levels of personal and professional satisfaction.
I would like to use this first column to discuss a topic important to your career and business development: the value of building yourself as a brand.
One of the things WITI and its corporate partners continue to do very successfully is build high visibility and recognition for women whose talents, capabilities and contributions often go unrecognized. This is especially satisfying when I hear about promotions and new opportunities for women who were often unknown outside of their organization until WITI provided them with visibility.
One of the most underutilized tools among the many professionals I meet is brand building. I know some of my purist friends may scoff at this concept, saying that it sounds cold and artificial, but hear me out.
Let's take a look at some of the more high-profile individuals who are familiar to all of us:
Carol Bartz
Esther Dyson
Judy Estrin
Kim Polese
Heidi Roisen
Pat Seybold
Ann Winblad
This very short list of high-profile women in technology represents just a tiny percentage of women working in technology. Are they smarter, more accomplished? Have they reached a mountaintop? Yes, yes and yes. They deserve our admiration, praise and support, but their name recognition does not occur accidently.
Having met so many of you, I know that there are countless numbers of women who are smart, talented and accomplished. But what are you doing to build your name, your brand? What will happen when someone has the next project, the next opportunity? Will your name be included in the list of possibilities? How does your name get on that list if no one outside of your personal network even knows that you exist? If they know your name, do they also know your strengths and capabilities?
The following steps will help you create your personal brand:
- External packaging - This is the easy part. If you want to be a CEO, start dressing like one now. Conversely, if you want to achieve status as an innovative techie, you'll want a different external package
- Internal packaging - We all know people who have admirable capabilities but sabotage themselves in a variety of ways. We need to invite friends and mentors to give us brutally honest feedback since it's tough to improve without full awareness of our impact. This process should be ongoing at every level we reach since our impact directly affects our ability to achieve our goals.
After you have completed steps 1 and 2, it's time, to start building some serious visibility.
- Network, network, network - Another totally underrated tool. Attend every conference you can, get actively involved in a number of professional associations and follow up on lunch meetings when you meet someone. This is the single most important step you can take in accelerating your career.
- Listen, listen, listen - I am always amazed at how many people are "me focussed," rather than listening first, and then discussing how they can contribute to solving a problem or addressing a need.
- Be prepared - Develop a very brief description of your expertise and your objectives. But remember, this can only turn into an opportunity when your description can solve a problem or fill a need.
- Develop professional presentations - When the opportunity arises to present at your company, conferences, or wherever you can, you'll be prepared.
- Develop visibility - Respond to columns, develop columns and articles for Web sites (send in proposals) and professional publications. Be sure to include your name, title, organization and a two-sentence bio.
- Be active - Actively participate in discussions at seminars, meetings and everywhere else you go. Forget about being self-conscious. Instead, focus on yourself and your message. Be sure to start with an introduction of yourself by name, title, and one sentence about how the aspect of your work will contribute to the discussion.
I invite each of you to respond with your ideas, solutions, topics and questions that are often unique to your experience. We can utilize them within the column to expand our knowledge, our possibilities and our partnerships.
