EMC

As Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room.” It's the amalgamation of the associations, beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and expectations that people collectively hold about you.

I wrote my coaching thesis on Personal Brand and am a huge believer in the concept and its potential for individuals. (The concept of Personal Branding was originally formulated by Tom Peters in 1997.)

 

The essence of Peters’ view can be summed up by, “A personal brand is your promise to the marketplace and the world. Since everyone makes a promise to the world, one does not have a choice of having or not having a personal brand. Everyone has one. The real question is whether someone’s personal brand is powerful enough to be meaningful to the person and the marketplace.”

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I hugely enjoy turning a narrative into a Personal Brand with a unique way of identifying skills, values and characteristics to define one’s brand.

I regularly ask clients to submit their CVs and biographies and share their career aspirations to mutually scope coaching goals. I question and probe, then listen and create space. I often ask them to dream about ideal jobs and describe to me where and what that would look like. A next step often involves a drilling down of skills and competencies which
clients possess or those characterised by jobs they seek. It is often only after this rather mechanical step that clients begin to be more introspective and search for more. Following this self-searching and understanding of their unique values and skills, individuals can begin to work towards defining and creating a Personal Brand.

I believe that through coaching, individuals can gain a deeper
understanding of their inner selves and align their professional goals and interests with their strengths and core beliefs. This powerful combination of self-awareness and professional direction can be enhanced by the creation of a Personal Brand.

 

Given the challenges of contemporary careers, with their extended duration and inevitable gaps and breaks, it is even more important to maintain a personal brand and an understanding of what one stands for and can bring to the table, than ever before. Peter Drucker may have been a sage or early pioneer in sensing that “successful careers are not
planned in advance. They develop when people are prepared to ask themselves tough questions and have rigorously assessed their unique characteristics.” “Individuals must be their own CEOs....it’s up to you to...cultivate a deep understanding of yourself, not only strengths and weaknesses, but values and where you can make the greatest contribution.”

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“Ellen’s coaching has been a transformative experience. Not only has it brought clarity and direction to my professional path and my narrative, it has also instilled a sense of confidence.”

C-suite executive, Germany

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“Working with Ellen has been one of the best decisions I've made in my career. As a former athlete, I've always valued being coached intensively and being held accountable to achieve my goals. It wasn't until I met Ellen that I realized the value a top-tier executive coach could bring to my career. The result of the past several years of working with Ellen is
that I've become a more complete professional and am approaching my next professional endeavour arguably as the best version of myself.”
Partner, Management Consulting

 

“Coaching has allowed me to think through my career roles and be strategic in terms of how I spend my time. It's also allowed me to better define my role so I can articulate the value I bring to an organisation and how I spend my time. The perspective has given me the ability to see the common thread of my professional experience which I struggled to do before I worked with Ellen. I’ve really enjoyed having a sounding board to think through important decisions.”

Managing Director, Investment Banking