Balancing Your Personal and Professional Brand as a Young Professional by Tamica Smith Jones
With the surge of social media, we have a greater need to
manage our own brand and reputation – both online and in real life. In today’s workforce, the sensitivity of
personal and professional time within boundary varies. I believe as individuals and as leaders, we
have to make a full-time commitment to the journey of defining ourselves and
observing the core values that our organizations signify. This thought will shape the manner in which
we will lead and serve others modeling what they see as successful
professionals in industry. My goal in
this blog is to inspire you to identify your personal and professional brand,
assess any variance between the two and consider blending and balancing your
brand to support your level of commitment to your best life and work as a
business professional.
Brand awareness is essential to any business and assessing
your own personal brand is necessary to support respective visions and
missions, development as a leader and advance your career. Simply stated a brand is a mark of
distinction or how others notice, recognize or distinguish you. Your personal brand should represent the
value you are able to consistently deliver to those your lead and serve – in my
case collegiate athletes, investors in young professionals at the University of
California, Riverside, the Inland Empire and diverse communities across the
globe. I have learned that managing your personal brand as a public figure involves
being a role model, mentor and/or voice that others can depend upon. Essentially your personal brand should be a
natural and instinctual part of who you are as “a person not a position.”
Whether in a professional setting with co-workers and
colleagues or a personal social with friends and family, I am mindful of what
others are experiencing with me and how the message will be managed without me
around. Incongruously, some folks seem to
be accountable to others and what/who they want them to be rather than being
true to themselves. So many people are
working harder to “act the part.”
As an educator and business woman in sports, I have enjoyed owning
my authenticity, building my brand, sharing the journey as one of only three
African American female directors of athletics at the division one level in the
country. It’s black girl magic! I take pride in sharing the complex story in
my memoir “A Ball and a Dream”
available for purchase where books are sold. It’s an honor to be an
illustration of hope for other underrepresented minorities striving to shatter
glass ceilings professionally.
In closing, be 100 percent authentically you! Trust that living and managing your brand confidently
and consistently will accelerate advancement opportunities, afford you the
ability to earn and maintain unconditional respect and ultimately position you to
best serve, lead and prepare others for successfully navigating the game of
life.
Learn more about Tamica Smith Jones by visiting www.gohighlanders.com or her website www.tjsportscomplete.com and follow on Twitter: tjsports23
Learn more about Tamica Smith Jones by visiting www.gohighlanders.com or her website www.tjsportscomplete.com and follow on Twitter: tjsports23
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