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October 2010
Dear
Colleague,
October is always one of my favorite times of
the year! Watching the leaves fall and enjoying the beautiful autumn landscapes
are one of New England's treasures. There is also much excitement in the air as
students start back at school and settle into new routines. The same can be
said of the workforce - everyone returns from some fun and sun with new found
energy and optimism. The uptick in the economy and marketplace within the first
nine months of this year has provided some relief yet cautious planning for
what's ahead. It has been a very interesting year as I have heard and seen a
lot of positive trends and signs. My experience has included tremendous demand
for executive coaching, team building, change management, strategic planning
and leadership development. The need has been ongoing and I'm very excited
to say there has been a rapid increase in business within these areas in
particular. It is inspiring and empowering to see a renewed demand in these
areas!
As the market rebounds, have we empowered
ourselves in a way to enhance and articulate our personal brand that
which we have to offer, our value-add, our message, the differentiating factors
that set us apart from our peers and colleagues? In all of the coaching work I
do, I find this is the area that most professionals struggle with and can be at
the core of what holds people back from progressing in their careers and
becoming leaders. Leadership talent can be uncovered at all levels within our
organizations and leadership begins with inner strength. Developing inner
strength and identifying our personal brand includes:
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Understanding ourselves first -
Self-awareness is the key to unlocking potential.
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Conducting on-going assessment of our
strengths, skills, competencies, interests, values, motivations, goals as well
as limitations.
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Keeping a history of
accomplishments and achievements and being able to distinguish our
differentiating factors from our peers and colleagues.
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Just as important is identifying our
aspirations and goals what do we aspire to achieve, what are our
needs and desires?
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Once we have defined our brand,
articulating it with ease and actively working at enhancing
our brand within our organizations as well as externally in the
marketplace.
We must ultimately be positioned in a manner
that allows us to identify, articulate and enhance our personal brand
throughout our career on an on-going basis. I have conducted several workshops
based on an article I wrote and published a few years ago on this concept of
"Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself". Yet I find developing
the ability to do so remains a relevant need during both difficult and
prosperous times. Effective leaders in all disciplines, background and levels
have three things in common: 1) they know what they have to offer; 2) they know
what they want; and 3) they know how to ask for it!
Consider the following question and how readily
you would have the answer, "If I was to hand you your ideal job on a
silver platter tomorrow, what would that look like?" In my experience
in all my travels, 90% of the time, people are not prepared to answer this
question
..and I have asked this question several hundred times to
senior level professionals as well as those that are mid level in their
careers. The truth is many people do not take the time for due diligence when
it comes to their own careers and are not comfortable talking about themselves
in this manner. As leaders and human resource professionals, it is essential
that we provide the tools and resources for employees to empower themselves to
do so! In my article, I suggest:
The 3 P's Marketing
Technique:
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Preparation - on-going self
assessment; identifying value-add, goals, and differentiators; establishing,
building and nurturing network with long lasting relationships
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Packaging - creating
portfolio; building track record; earning credentials; establishing alliances
and partnerships; being well-read; staying current and relevant
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Presentation - crafting and
articulating message; proactive and strategic visibility; being own advocate;
articulating niche; exhibiting confidence; staying positive
Marketing yourself is an essential ingredient to
successfully manage one's career. It may sound too deliberate and insincere but
the reality is it can be our most natural and sincere skill. Developing ease,
confidence and comfort with a task that is considered so difficult by so many
requires a shift in mindset to start. It requires us to not view it as a task
but as a required competency for taking charge of our career and executing a
successful career management strategy - or in other words, "empowering
ourselves to take charge of our career and allowing our leadership capabilities
to be unleashed".
Due to the ongoing demand for this topic, I am offering a
Half Day "Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself" Workshop the morning
of December 1, 2010 at my offices in Waltham. If you would like to
attend or send someone from your organization, please contact me for all of the
details involved. It will be an interactive session that will include tools and
resources to help with this process. Creating our brand and being able to
market ourselves are the most critical competencies we can develop. This will
convey how we wish to be portrayed in the marketplace - our reputation, our
credibility. We will create a niche for ourselves and it will be the message we
deliver - the mark we leave with the utmost confidence! I like to refer to it
as our journey
..and it continues to evolve as we travel through
many peaks and valleys. The key is to empower ourselves to be in the front seat
as the driver on this journey rather than sitting in the back seat! Please feel
free to email or contact me if you have some interest in attending or sending
someone in your organization to begin this journey! I saw this powerful quote
that represents this journey very effectively:
"Success in
any endeavor does not happen by accident. Rather, it's the result of deliberate
decisions, conscious effort, and immense persistence - all directed at specific
goals."
Gary Ryan Blair
In addition, I would like to suggest the following
recommended books and articles as resources:
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Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn
Without Blowing It, by Peggy Klaus
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Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow -
Discovering Your Right Livelihood, by Marsha Sinetar
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Marketing Yourself is a Core Competency
and Creating a Plan for Your Career, Articles, by
Rita B. Allen Associates
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Use What You've Got & Other Business
Lessons I Learned from My Mom, by Barbara Corcoran
On-going demand exists for leadership development programs
and workshops as well as management training within a variety of industries. A
lot of my work this year has focused on the design, development and delivery of
these programs in addition to one-one-one executive coaching. There is a
renewed interest and investment in these initiatives where there had been a
hold on some of these initiatives in 2009 due to the uncertainty of the
marketplace and economy. Here are a sampling of topics for which I offer
programs and development sessions:
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Team Building
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Conflict Management
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Emotional Intelligence
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Building High Performance Work
Teams
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Change Management
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Communication Skills
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Goal Setting and Strategic
Planning
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Assessing and Developing Leadership
Capabilities
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Mentor Programs
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Human Resources as a Strategic Business
Partner
I remain very optimistic and enthusiastic at the potential
that exists in the marketplace today! This is what keeps me highly engaged in
the offering of talent management solutions to my clients. As always, I feel
very grateful and fortunate to be presented with opportunities that allow me to
do work I love and continue to grow my business in my specialty areas of
executive coaching, leadership development, management training and career
development. The mix of corporate clients as well as individual clients
across a range of industries and disciplines has continued to flourish. Please
visit my website to see some of my upcoming programs, new articles and events
at www.ritaballenassociates.com.
Many thanks to you for your continued support, your business
and your referrals. I welcome the opportunity to be of assistance and
continuing to provide a variety of talent management/career management
consulting and coaching services. Please reach out and share some of your
updates, observations and challenges with me. I look forward to hearing from
you!
Best Regards,
Rita B. Allen
Rita B. Allen Associates
| 460 Totten Pond Road, Suite 110
| Waltham, MA 02451 781-890-6803
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rita@ritaballenassociates.com
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www.ritaballenassociates.com
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