A few weeks ago my manicurist said to me, “I can’t imagine you getting angry.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Anyone who knows me from days as a senior PR person would be incredulous. A cheerful, mellow Lisa Poulson? Impossible!
When I had my last day job, at a big multinational PR agency serving a big multinational client, there was almost never a moment when I was NOT angry. But now, I have my own business as a communications coach serving clients I love. The work is rewarding. I have a great team around me. What’s there to be mad about? These days, when something frustrating happens, my new zen-like self runs the show. I wrote a whole essay about the newer, nicer me: Leaving the Bitch Behind.
But did I change? Or did I, as so many spiritual teachers say, just extricate myself from the weight that was squashing my heart and my humanity to find the real me underneath? Dunno.
What I do know is that we all tell ourselves stories about who we are. When I was in my big job, it was easier to be scary, because then fewer people asked me for things. I didn’t have to spend that much time defending my perimeter. But maintaining a dark personal brand had consequences beyond work. I learned that the hard way.
Where is your personal brand in our (sort of) post-pandemic world? It’s worth giving it a thought. Because every choice you make builds your personal brand – whether you are zen-like or raging at the customer service agent at the airport, how you treat the overworked, underpaid person at the hotel restaurant, how you handle a team member resigning. Everything.
Everyone around you sees your brand, but you do too. Whatever brand you choose, do it on purpose.
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