5 Questions to Unearth your Personal Brand

I’ve spent my career helping companies articulate and harness what makes them special. 

More recently, I’ve been adapting this brand strategy expertise to help individual leaders grapple with some of the same challenges typically faced by product and corporate brand strategy teams: what makes me unique? Who am I ‘selling’ that to? Why should the world care? 

In practice, whether you are branding a business, a product, or a person, many of the same principals and strategies apply. Any powerful brand should be built upon a compelling and relevant value proposition – one that goes beyond the features and attributes to break through and make a personal or emotional connection with the target audience. 

And, also like corporate branding, building a personal brand for yourself can be nearly impossible to do well on your own. It is challenging to see your value accurately with the clarity that others can offer. This is why companies turn to market research and external partners when building a brand strategy.

But for individuals looking to better define their own personal brand, not all of us have the luxury of bringing in a full-service brand agency to help unearth our unique value proposition. That’s why I like turning to these five questions to jar loose new thinking and help leaders begin to understand their own value in a fresh new way.

So without further ado, here they are:

The 5 best questions to help you unearth your personal brand 

1. What is your BEST day? 

This is a great way to jog your brain and drive self-awareness. Sit down and sketch out what a really great day looks like for you – both in the workplace and at home. What’s typically happening, what are you doing? What does it look, taste, smell and – most importantly – feel like?  

It may seem like a simple question but the answer may surprise you. On your best day, are you with people, on your own, running a workshop or doing data analysis? Why does it make you feel good? And, what does that say about where you should be spending your time? If you get your best energy from mentoring people, that’s a key part of your brand. If your best days are spent knee-deep in thought and writing, then own that. It’s a big part of who you are and what makes for your best self.

2. How do you make people feel?

Think about the feedback you receive most frequently at work. Especially in the informal commentary, when someone reaches out to say thanks for something, what are they thankful for? Perhaps they are grateful because you made them feel seen, validated or supported at a particularly difficult time – or maybe you frequently get recognized for giving tough feedback in a really impactful and empathic way. 

Try to think beyond the actions to the signals your colleagues and clients send to you in the gestures and feedback they provide. 

3. What first impression do you make?

 A friend asked me this recently when I was preparing to launch my own firm. She asked, “what impression do you think you typically leave when someone meets you for the first time?” At first I balked, not sure how to answer, but she gently reminded me that I am probably far more aware of the impressions I leave than I might give myself credit for.

Do you come across as confident? Thoughtful? Approachable, inspiring, energetic, funny? You’ve spent your whole life making first impressions, take a moment to challenge yourself and write down the traits people tend to notice first about you.

4. What excites you? 

Much like understanding what makes for a good day, it’s important to be able to quickly identify the topics, opportunities or activities that make us excited. For me, it’s usually about learning something new that changes the way I see the world.  It’s that “I never thought of it that way!” moment. I’m a curious person, and I’m driven by new ideas and information. I like to internalize them and then evangelize – sharing my new discovery with anyone in my path. 

As I thought through this, I also began to realize that I connect with people through ideas, and I love explaining why I find something interesting. This is a fundamental element of who I am as a leader and a consultant, and a big part of how I do my work.

5. What is your superpower?

This is a perennial favorite of mine. After you’ve spent some time reflecting on the first four questions, challenge yourself to answer this question: what is something you do phenomenally well, better than almost anyone you know? 

If you can’t quite get there, start by thinking about a favorite colleague of yours – past or present. How would you describe the moment you most rely on them? It usually will not be about a specific process or action – but about how they make you feel. I had a colleague for years who I could always rely on to take whatever I’d written and just take it up a level. He could improve anything, and it made me feel so supported to know he was there, always willing to help me succeed.

This is a fun question to ask your colleagues. Search for not just the ability but the deeper psychological benefit it provides. Are you known for making people feel energized? Understood? Supported? The answers can be illuminating.

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We are learning a lot about brands these days – the role they play, the expectations people have for them, and what inspires loyalty and attraction to certain brands in an increasingly noisy world that is vying for our attention left and right.

To create impact, your personal brand should exist at the intersection of your values and what you care about, your strengths and what you do notoriously well, and the emotional value that your work and your presence can provide to others. 

The best brands should be grounded in facts and data but designed to create human connections and to inspire. As leaders, what could possibly matter more?