We are used to hearing business strategists and PR experts talk about how they are successfully establishing and promoting a company's brand. Branding is a recognised way to market a business, build a reputation, and imprint it on the public consciousness.
But can the same ideas work equally well for an individual, in the context of their career? Do the same principles apply if an architect wants to progress further or faster at a practice, or achieve their career goals?
The answer is yes, according to Jennifer Holloway, leading personal brand expert and bestselling author. Architects should invest in their own personal brand, Holloway urges, if they want to steer their careers more purposefully.
This is an effective strategy whether you are part of a large practice or are a sole practitioner. She pithily sums up the concept of personal branding using a quote often cited in branding and business circles: “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Holloway has delivered workshops and one-to-one coaching to architects and engineers such as Fosters + Partners and Atkins. On 16 March, she will be speaking at this year's RIBA Future Leaders: Learning to Lead event, explaining how to assess your personal brand: see yourself as others see you and use it to transform your career.
She maintains that it does not matter what sector you work in or where you sit on the company hierarchy: the more people ‘buy into’ you – respect your judgement, trust you and rely upon you – the easier your job becomes.
With the buy‐in of others, you can:
- work more effectively in a team
- solve problems more quickly
- have a greater profile and influence around the practice
- and be at the forefront of management's attention when career opportunities arise.
“Using your personal brand to get on, and stay on people’s radars, whether they are internal colleagues or external clients, is an important part of being effective,” Holloway advises.
Holloway argues that, as with any company and its brand, it’s important that you have a clear idea of what you want your personal brand to achieve. Have a plan for advocating your brand, or USP, to others.
The first step is working out what exactly you want to achieve. This might be a promotion within the company, a new job in a new company, better buy‐in from your team or increased influence in meetings.
Once that’s done, identify who are the most important people that should be buying into your brand: your ‘A list audience’, as Holloway describes it. With these two things in place, it is easy to work out where to focus your efforts.
“Many people think personal branding is all about promoting yourself. While that is a part of it, that can only be successful if you invest time in working out what your brand is in the first place,” Holloway advises.
While at a top level a brand comprises 'what' and 'who' you bring to the table, she explains, you need to analyse your personal qualities deeper still, extrapolating those initial areas into six key elements:
- Values
- Drivers
- Reputation
- Behaviours
- Skills/strengths
- Image
“Spend time thinking about who you are and what makes you tick, collecting together the basic ingredients of your brand. Then consider which of those ingredients resonate most strongly with you,” she advises.
“Once you know that, dig deeper into those ingredients to clarify exactly what it is that they mean. Then formulate your findings into a black and white statement of your personal brand, to use as your blueprint for whenever you need to convey something about yourself.”
Jennifer Holloway will be speaking at this year's RIBA Future Leaders 2022: Learning to Lead event on 16 March 2022, the first of the three part Future Leaders conference. Tickets are now available.
Thanks to Jennifer Holloway, personal brand expert and author.
Text by Neal Morris. This is a Professional Feature edited by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
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