So, you’ve got a well-established personal brand and yet you feel like you are under-valued at work, and possibly overlooked. Perhaps you have not been considered for positions which you are well suited for, or you have struggled to convince management to enable you to participate in new areas where you know you could offer great value. Maybe, you have been on the job search and experienced the pain of your application for your ‘dream-job’ being bypassed. It may well be time to consider a focused strategy to raise your profile and enhance your credibility so that you stand out and are taken seriously.
Develop as a Thought Leader
Establishing yourself as an expert in your field may take a lot of effort, but it is sure to reap rewards. By actively growing your expertise in a particular area that is of great, genuine interest to you and reflects your existing strengths, you will also gain much fulfilment from your efforts. Aim to become a master on your topic by reading and researching avidly, attending training and conferences, joining and participating in reputable discussion groups.
Share Your Expertise – Use a variety of professional channels to share the expertise you are continually gaining, including:
- Presenting at conferences and meetings
- Publishing expert articles on and offline
- Writing an e-book or book
- Authoring a blog or guest blog posts
- Developing your own website
- Sharing the latest news in your area on social media sites
- Contributing stories to your company newsletters and website
- Becoming a mentor
- Volunteering your expertise to a reputable, effective social development organisation
Nurture Your Network – Maintaining contact with your circle of influence on a regular basis is a vital part of managing your career development. It is important to pay attention to your connections and to keep abreast of their activities. It’s okay, if you don’t have time for coffees and lunches. Writing recommendations and making endorsements on LinkedIn, emailing links to interesting articles, responding positively and encouragingly to status updates, thanking others and congratulating them on their achievements all helps to build and maintain the relationships that have the power to impact on your success.
Maintain Your Status – Thought Leader status is not forever, and once you have built a credible reputation as an expert it remains as vital to keep up with what is happening in your field. Make sure you carry on tapping into the information that is at the forefront of your industry, continue to develop your professional qualifications and find new and innovative ways to share your expertise.