They are overwhelmed. Your teams are getting bigger. You are taking on new responsibilities. You are experiencing a time of change, whether desired or suffered. Your wish: to protect yourself. You are right and you have understood correctly: Your image is a strategic support to achieve your goals. Welcome, it’s time to act! So find out who you are, know how to proceed and finally the reasons to go down this path together.
Why is it important to work on your personal brand image?
When you are on stage, are you either paralysed or do you feel more alive than ever before?
Is talking to your teams exciting or deeply boring for you?
Do you like to see how projects are progressing and would like to see more commitment from your employees or would you like to do it yourself, because yes, it would be faster and better done?
Are you effective under pressure or do you need your weekly yoga session to keep a cool head?
One thing is certain: your diary is full and you don’t have time to think, especially not about what others will think.
You are who you are and you make the best of it!
But if you think about it, you want to control the message you send.
This makes reception clearer and the progress of projects more efficient. You want to hit the ground running every morning when you come into the office. You want to feel good, be loved, be the strongest and so on and so forth.
You have everything to yourself. You are a master of your profession. You are even a recognised expert. You just haven’t tried looking after yourself yet. It has to be effective, fast and sustainable.
Surely you are wearing a well-ironed garment. You know that your arrival at the office is eagerly awaited. To get to the stage, let’s not even talk about it. They will have all eyes on you.
So think about what your message should be at the beginning. What do you want to send? Are you powerful, hospitable, human, demanding?
First exercise:
Take a sheet of paper and write down 10 words that represent you. What do they have in common? You. If you know your strengths and weaknesses, you know where to start: strengthen your strengths to distract from your weaknesses. Don’t worry, nobody is perfect!
Who are you? That’s what I’m asking you and you should think carefully about your answer.
To be effective, embody your role and put it into practice, follow the guidelines.
How can I take action?
You know what you want to convey. You define these ten words. Together we will define your message and your values and get down to business. You will discover yourself and reveal who you really are.
Two pillars come together: appearance and body language.
Firstly, what are you going to wear?
Which outfit suits you?
When choosing the ideal outfit, three parameters complement each other: Style, body type and colour.
Your style is your story. The reflection of your past, the trials, the successes you have experienced, your culture – these are all evidence of who you really are. When people look at you, they can surmise certain basic traits.
Knowing your style requires you to know yourself.
What is important to you?
What are your priorities?
What are your values?
Together we determine these priorities in order to match the illustration with the clothing. Age, in turn, is a question of state of mind. So you are young and dynamic? Then we choose sporty pieces, naturally in line with the codes of your environment. You take care of yourself. We add accessories.
Morphology is a gift of nature.
To know the shape of your body, measure yourself horizontally and vertically. Firstly, check the proportions between your shoulders and hips horizontally. Are your shoulders wider? Then you probably have a V-shape. Are your shoulders the same width? Then you are probably H. These two body shapes are the most common. Your silhouette differs from your physique due to the effects of your lifestyle on your body.
Sport and chocolate play an important role here. You should also know the proportions in the vertical direction. How many heads do you have in your body? At first glance, between 3 and 5 heads above your hips and just as many below.
Depending on your goals, we will work on the balance between your upper and lower body.
We will not change your physique unless you have surgery. However, we will change the perspective and perception of your figure, both in relation to yourself and to the people you are talking to.
There is no ideal, only you.
Next up is colour. This topic is plebiscitary and feared.
You’d like to add something, but how do you do that? To begin, you should identify your palette. Depending on your hair, eye and skin colour, your palette will be warm or cool, light or dull and bright or dark.
Start by looking at the contrasts of your skin in comparison to your eyes and hair. Are you instinctively more likely to wear silver – platinum or gold – or yellow gold? Is there a contrast between your eyes, your skin and your hair? Are your eyes dark or light? Colour should not gain the upper hand, but rather enhance you.
Colours have their own language.
We are exposed to it every day, through advertising and marketing. What interests me is how each colour makes you feel. After identifying the colours given by Madame Nature and your personality, we choose five colours as the main colours for your wardrobe.
The colour illuminates your personality and guides your interviewer to the message you want them to send. Dare to integrate them into your everyday life!
Your body is finally speaking.
It tells the truth. Even before you consciously think about it, your body is expressing itself. Your facial expressions, your grimaces, your posture and your gestures tell what is hidden inside you. You don’t feel like being here. On stage, your hands are unsteady, your face turns red, your lips stutter. Stress is spreading. Every emotion has its reason. You are expected. You are putting yourself under pressure.
Revealing your stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It shows your commitment. But of course it shouldn’t take up too much space. On the other hand, you are happy to be here. Your body relaxes. Your hands are free. You take your place.
If you work on your body language, you can realise your potential. You have so much to say, and that’s a good thing. So the first step is to become aware and recognise your strengths and possible weaknesses.
What does your communication profile look like?
How do you address others?
Then anchor yourself in the present moment. Enjoy the calm before the storm. Then move on to practice. Observe what you have learnt. Put yourself in a situation at the venue of your next presentation.
How do you appear 100% yourself, authentic? Under tension and in the heat of the moment, just be yourself. Your subconscious has been working. Your naturalness will return at a gallop. And it’s much better that way.
Your body is by nature a means of communication and tells your truth. Give it the space it deserves!
What do you gain from working on your personal brand image?
A manager becomes a leader when he inspires.
How you enter the office, how you speak, how you have a few words for everyone plays a role in how others perceive you. They read you according to their code, their grid. You can also give them every opportunity to lead them to who you really are. They will find your contributions in meetings all the more important.
You can pique their curiosity to take on a new project. You will be happy to commit to being the captain that you are. The company’s talent will want to join your team and stay there. Your customers will have confidence.
They will take care of themselves, you will be able to take care of their needs and your relationship.
To attract attention, retain talent and customers, your affordable, powerful or human image will make you indispensable.
Moreover, having attention means being able to pass it on to the right people.
When you have the best talent around you, you can be confident.
If you feel comfortable in your shoes and relationships and achieve the expected results, you will be a pillar that the company can lean on.
You will be legitimised to demand progression both in terms of salary and position. Your career advancement and professional future look bright.
After all, you not only act as a manager but also as a person. You feel comfortable in your shoes.
The positive things you bring home with you help you to recharge your batteries quickly. You are at peace with yourself. You go back to the office and are determined to successfully complete your next projects. You find your balance.
Your feet are firmly on the ground and your head is full of new ideas. You are satisfied, happy, in short: you are thriving!
This positive cycle has a positive effect on your direct team, your company and your private sphere. They will thank you for it.
Conclusion
Your diary is overloaded. You manage your day like a master.
If you work on your image in advance, you save time.
If you know what you’re going to wear every morning, you can use your appearance and body to make an impact at the crucial moment and keep your nerve to put your energy in the right place.
By taking a few hours now, you can be sure that you are combining efficiency and alignment for the long term.
You tell your story through your person. You become your best communication tool. You are best suited to talk about yourself, represent your interests and conquer a bright future. Utilise this potential to the full! You are powerful, young, ambitious and strategic. Say it loud and clear! You will stay your course naturally.
I will help you to keep your image under control and be convincing in every situation.
To find out more, I recommend that you read the article that the FAZ published about my work:
