Let’s talk about branding. This concept is particularly repugnant to lawyers because we are typically analytical and cerebral and not naturally inclined towards the sales and marketing aspects of legal practice. But just because we pretend it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean it’s not important. In fact, brand is critical to your career. Like it or not, when you are at work, you are selling something. You are selling yourself in a marketplace where competing services are exchanged. You are the product. This begs the question: What is your brand?
Brand is the image of a product in the marketplace. From the perspective of the consumer, brand is the sum of all the valuable qualities that you, the product, embody. The consumers of your brand are your supervisor, the partner you are writing the memo for, your co-workers, peers, HR and, of course, external clients. The stronger your brand at work, the more power and leverage you have and the higher your value in the marketplace. How then, will you distinguish your brand from that of competitors who are just as bright and qualified as you are? These days, intelligence and subject matter expertise — though a good start — are not enough.
People often have a distorted or inaccurate picture of how others perceive them at work; the person you are at home among friends and family is not the same as who you are at work. In fact, there should be a difference. Let’s not pretend that we can be ourselves in the workplace. Branding is your personality on steroids; it is how you position yourself in the marketplace to stand out. You should be able to test your brand based on barometers like your performance evaluations, informal feedback, whether people converge towards you during social gatherings, how you are introduced, how people react to you in the hallway and how often your phone rings. If you are unable to define your brand, ask a trusted peer, mentor, supervisor or assistant for objective feedback. Do not assume that the opinion of an underling is not relevant. No matter who is looking, brand is amazingly consistent.
It is critical to your professional success to be strategic and purposeful about how you deliver your services to internal and external clients at work. In all of your interactions at the office, you must be mindful of the opportunities to exude the qualities that make up your ideal brand, which will combine hard skills (like subject matter expertise, business acumen and client development) and soft skills (like being able to work a room, responsiveness, charm, the ability to inspire confidence, attentiveness to the needs of others and professional appearance).
If you determine that you have a weak brand, you need to figure out whether there is anything you can do to rehabilitate that brand (rebrand) or if it is irredeemably damaged. It requires some time and effort to build a good brand and no time at all to damage it irreparably. Remember Pee-wee Herman? Impossible to think of his brand without conjuring up the image of a dark theatre. You can press the reset button and start fresh somewhere else with a neutral brand, or remain in the dark theatre with Pee-wee and hold his free hand. Take advantage of your tabula rasa and build your brand.
Sandra Rosier is a former Supreme Court of Canada clerk who has worked at large firms in Toronto and Boston. Having come to her senses, Sandra currently works as a tax advisor at a Toronto-based organization. Her etiquette column for lawyers appears every other Monday at lawandstyle.ca. Got a question for Sandra? Email us.