Personal Branding Weekly –Firm, Fair and Consistent

  • 3 min read

Business Talk photo from ShutterstockSpecial favors are always tough. They either erode your personal brand or put a finer point to it.

At the age of 21 years old, I became a manager leading a team of 50+ people with four mid-level managers who reported directly to me. I was gifted some sage advice from a senior manager who was 40 years my senior. He told me, whatever you do – be firm, fair and consistent.

Advice from someone who once had your position is priceless. [tweet this]

While you may not do things in the same way they did, their experience is golden and can help you navigate future ‘adventures’ in your position.

His advice served me well. It helped me develop a reputation that I was fair – across the board. I didn’t “play favorites”. I didn’t owe a debt to someone for special privileges and I wasn’t forced to compromise my integrity.

That’s not the same journey I saw many of my peers take. I believe his advice, even though it was unsolicited, that is why now I put such high value in other people’s experience. I didn’t know or truly understand the value of his advice until much later in my career. He saved me hours of grief and many burned bridges.

He also shared:

1. People know when they’re asking you to diverge from being firm, fair and consistent because after they ask you and experience a road block or an answer they don’t want, they will go to someone else with the same question hoping to get the answer they want from someone.
2. That someone they go to will often be someone higher up the food chain in the organization than you are.
3. And, while this happens even in the case of people with no malicious intention, always question it when the first you hear that someone’s gone to someone higher up is when your higher up if the first to mention it to you. Those with good intentions will keep you copied (or informed) and in the loop as they progress up the organizational ladder or include others in the communication.

For you, have you eroded or focused your brand with your actions in a situation like this?

I look forward to hearing your experience or comments below about being firm, fair and consistent?

This week with a focus on successfully managing your personal brand we focused on:

Below are tweetables from this past week that you can share with your connections:

Picture of Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.  Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat- a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

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