Building a strong personal brand by managing expectations

Very few people you meet have a short "to do" list in today's busy world of work.

Most often than not, we are under pressure to finish a client project, draft a proposal or spend time directing the next steps we need our team to take to grow our business.

The reality is that our personal brand is nurtured or under mined with every action we take.

One of the key learnings for us all is how we manage expectations - be those expectations of our clients or our colleagues - as this can impact our reputation and therefore our personal brand.

I recall many years ago when involved in a key project that the director of the division I was working in advised the project team that they realised we had a challenging deadline and wanted to keep the project on track with regular progress meetings.

The project was very expansive and far reaching into the organisation and many things could impact the ability to complete the project within the agreed timeframe.

We had to deliver the project on time, within budget and to the specific key performance indicators. But to do that successfully we also needed to clear and unambiguous where we were going to be off track so that action could be taken.

As an example, if one element of the project was running behind the project plan, we had the responsibility to communicate this as soon as we were aware so that we could manage the expectations of all the other members of the team who were interdependent to our project stream.

Managing the expectations of those around us will support us building a strong personal brand that is respected by our colleagues.

If you are not sure if you are managing expectations here are three actions you can put into place today:

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING ACTION STEPS

1. Get clear - be unambiguous about your expectations and establish clear outcomes and deliverables
2. Check for understanding - ensure that the people who need to know about your expectations understand what is required of them.
3. Manage expectations - if you find yourself off track in terms of what you have promised to deliver to a client, colleague or business partner, let them know as soon as possible. Do not wait for the deadline to come and go as that is a sure way of damaging your reputation.

Managing expectations is a key strategy in bilding your reputation and building a personal brand with a positive reputation. It's also something often overlooked and not managed well. So with a little attention you will stand out from the crowd.

Comments

[Dan Schawbel]

Your goal should be to manage expectations so you can meet or beat expectations.