Embrace your story. And make sure you’re the primary force in telling that story to the rest of the world.
Some people go too far in trying to keep their privacy and their reputation from being damaged in cyberspace. They may shrink their digital presence by minimizing their social-media use or by using aliases, so that a digital search of their real name yields nothing.
Granted, an invisible target is the hardest one for outsiders to attack. But the point of career-building today isn’t exactly to be invisible. So when it comes to building a personal brand, the challenge is to compellingly express who we are, what we do and what we stand for…negative consequences be damned.
You have a story. In fact, you are a story that’s unfolding. And if you drop a bushel over that story because of a fearful desire to avoid negative judgments, you’re generally only hurting yourself.
About a year and a half ago, I argued that you should either have a top-notch LinkedIn profile--or none at all. I’ve since changed my mind: Better to have a weak one than none at all. That’s how important that network has become for personal branding and establishing credibility. For many professionals, LinkedIn is the first result that pops up for them on the Internet. The profile and picture leave a first impression; and if you don’t have an account, that leaves a negative impression—that you haven’t even yet left a footprint in the sands of time.
If the concept of “personal branding” seems contrived or unpleasant, take a word of advice from Elisa Schreiber, Marketing Partner at Greylock Partners in Silicon Valley. Schreiber, a longtime colleague with an impeccable sense of storytelling for persons and organizations alike, says, “I don’t think you should be overly conscious of building your own personal brand. I think doing so can pretty quickly can come across as inauthentic. I think if you live as your authentic self--both online and off--then you don’t need to worry so much about instrumenting a personal brand. It will naturally emerge.”
Schreiber says it’s important to enthusiastically use social platforms, “to share and publish ideas that can help other people get a better understanding about who you are and what you’re passionate about.”
In other words, it begins with coming out of hiding in order to connect with like-minded people, who can later become allies and audiences.
As for being uber-cautious about squelching the Internet’s ability to disclose embarrassing information, Schreiber helpfully reminds us, “The internet never forgets--no matter how clever your alias is … Just remember to use some basic common sense and good judgment when sharing thoughts online, regardless of the platform.”
Crowd Out Bad Truths With Good Truths
A few years ago a prominent leadership guru complained that his Wikipedia entry had been “hijacked” by some old colleagues from EST. His entry now made it sound like he was the most devout supporter of EST and its controversial founder, Werner Erhard, when he in fact was only briefly allied with Erhard decades earlier.
I looked at his entry and attempted deleting much of the text about EST and Erhard, suggesting that it overrepresented the relationship that had actually existed. Wikipedia editors restored the text, saying—wisely, actually—that they had no interest in taking out information that was technically true. They suggested, instead, “If you think the balance is wrong, it’s up to you to add other info that helps bring everything into the right balance.” And so, I and others who cared about my management guru friend finally took initiative in adding that balance. And that meant adding a great deal of heft to a Wikipedia entry that had up to that point been neglected by everyone but the aggressive folks at Landmark (EST’s new home).
It’s a helpful reminder that your personal brand is a story that’s either being told by you—or by a host of other forces who aren’t going to emphasize what’s most important to you.
Also on Forbes:
