I have evangelized about personal branding for a number of years, including here on A Storied Career.
Deep in my core, I believe in the concept of personal branding.
But I admit to some doubt and cynicism.
Finally someone else has expressed similar cynicism. Carlos Miceli wrote recently on the Brazen Careerist blog that he no longer cares about personal branding for these reasons:
- It makes you afraid. …
- It has made us so calculated, that I wonder how many people are able to live up to their online personas. …
I understand these concerns. Every time I post a status update, I have to think about all my various social-media contacts and whether any would be offended or whether my words are consistent with my “brand” or whether my various audiences will think I’m a moron.
But I have other concerns. Personal branding often seems like a Flavor of the Month kind of concept — a fad or trend that careerists are urged to devote time and energy to. I often have the sense that in a few years, no one will be talking about personal branding; they’ll be talking about the next thing we’re supposed to put time and energy into.
I’m also flummoxed by the fact that there’s no one consistent rubric for developing and communicating one’s brand. Everyone who touts personal branding has his or her own formula, approach, or process for determining one’s brand.
Your personal brand is supposed to be about your authenticity, but like Miceli, I often think that worrying about staying “on-brand” and saying the wrong thing makes us inauthentic. Miceli writes: “Once I started not worrying about the repercussion of every word I said online, I truly connected at an emotional level with others. Once I embraced my personality, I strengthened the connections that mattered and cut ties with those that didn’t.”
And what does all this have to do with storytelling? Personal brands are synonymous with — or at least spring from — our stories. In my book, Tell Me About Yourself, I write about developing a personal-branding statement backed by a story.
I have a feeling that personal storytelling that expresses our authentic selves may pass the test of time more than “personal branding” will.