What is Your Personal Brand?

Do you make the people in your network look good by treating them with respect, rather than obligation and entitlement? Jason Jacobsohn, Director of Venture Development at Aegis Profession Service in Chicago, lists a variety of ways to “enhance your brand with class, ease & enjoyment.”

Accept hospitality from others
Smile when you enter a room
Give a firm handshake
Dress appropriately
Help others whenever you can

Recently I read an article that involved journalists discussing personal branding. Drew McClellan, Top Dog at McClellan Marketing Group, creates a great framework for sharing your brand with the world, using the analogy of a dandelion.

“Once you figure out what your personal brand is all about.... you hold it out to the world, like a dandelion. Sure...the wind will gently blow some of the seeds along, letting them land somewhere and take root. But...if you really want your personal brand to be spread far and near...you need other people. When someone holds a dandelion close to their mouth and gives a big blow.... those seeds go everywhere. What would make someone want to use some of his or her power and influence to help spread your personal brand? “

How do you determine the brand that suits you best, the one that fits like an Armani suit and FitFlop sandals? You follow the path that circles back to your mainframe – you embrace your purpose and passion. You are the brand from the moment you enter a conference, business after hours, breakfast, lunch, or tapas bar.

Drew gives 5 reasons why people might want to spread your personal brand:

Are you a Go-Giver? (Don’t miss this book that spells out the principles of “give to get”). If you share resources and information with others, they will deliver you to their network faster than a Domino’s pizza.

Are you Consistent and Reliable? People will never use one ounce of energy and space by introducing you to their world if you don’t honor your promises. No shows + appointment cancellations =bad karma.

Are you a Credible Resource? The current human currency is relevance and value. You must not only talk the talk, you must lay your tread on the runway and take ownership of the plane you pilot.

Are you Real? If you change your tune each time you find a new pulpit, you will NEVER have the opportunity for growth through relationships. People will consider you toxic exposure to their network.

Are you Grateful? I can’t say enough about this. Your attitude of gratitude goes a long way in work and in life. When you feel grateful and fail to express it, you are wrapping a present and not giving it. If you want others to introduce you and your brand to the world, make sure you are fully armed with a smile and meaningful thank you.

John F Kennedy captured its essence, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

Women of the World has a unique brand – we support and inspire women to achieve their full potential. We collaborate, share thought leadership, network and mentor with this vision: When women act locally and think globally, we can effect change. Women have the passion and purpose to make this world a safer place for children, family and communities, free from domestic violence locally & globally. We look forward to your involvement.

(This article by Donna Gutman- as seen in January's issue of Empower Women Publications)

Fifth Event of 2010 for Women of the World

What is personal branding? What makes a strong personal brand? How do I create one? Join us to learn about personal branding from an expert panel and put the wheels in motion!

“Your Personal Brand – It’s Who You Are”

This fascinating panel is moderated by Noeleen McGrath, McGrath Communications

Featuring:
Susan Fignar: President Pur*sue Inc
Ina Pickney: Chef & Owner “Ina’s”
Lennie Rose: CEO, Big Ooga

What is a Personal Brand? It is the essence of YOU. It is who you are, what you believe, what you put forth to others how you make other people feel. Gratitude, consistency, reliability & authenticity are key factors in conveying the real you. These experts will personally interact with you and help you discover your personal brand.

You can register for this event on the Women of the World website: http://womenwotw.org/events.php

Fostering Leadership at ATHENA

ATHENA International is a nonprofit organization with an important mission: supporting, developing and honoring women leaders. ATHENA hosted its Leadership Summit in Chicago earlier this month rolling out the Leadership Circle. Women of the World is a partner organization to ATHENA. The story begins with Martha Mertz (pictured right).

Martha Mertz founded ATHENA International in 1982 with the hope of providing women the opportunity to grow in leadership roles worldwide. As a prominent businesswoman, she found that women were often overlooked as influencers and rarely honored with awards in these positions. With passion and purpose, Martha shifted the landscape. She created panels of professionals, offering mentoring and training programs to women. Each year I am delighted to attend the Athena Leadership Summit in Chicago where women are not only awarded for their vision and skills, but I am inspired by the quality of passionate women both attendees and speakers who ignite creativity and foster collaboration. Martha eventually stepped aside from the Presidency in ATHENA, developing new Athena leadership and enabling her to promote ATHENA's message worldwide as the ATHENA ambassador. Martha remains a board member and active participant in the organization.

What makes Martha so inspirational? Not only did she found a major organization, but she created a space for women leaders to share, mentor, connect and be honored. Martha saw a gap between male and female leaders, sought to elevate those under-recognized women and create equal acknowledgment and appreciation for men and women.

Today, one of the cornerstones of ATHENA is the Leadership Model. Martha Mertz interviewed hundreds of ATHENA Award recipients and compiled their prominent traits and driving beliefs. The point of the model, Martha explains, is “to distill these distinctive ways of leading into a blueprint that aspiring leaders could follow.”
The ATHENA Leadership Model follows these eight tenets of leadership:
• Live authentically
• Learn constantly
• Advocate fiercely
• Act courageously
• Foster collaboration
• Build relationships
• Give back
• Celebrate

Women of the World applauds Martha for her support of women locally and globally. Thank you for your promotion, mentorship, and inspiration to other women. We know Martha’s book Becoming ATHENA: Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership will serve as a stepping stone to implement your leadership skills. Go forth and inspire!

ATHENA Leadership Summit Inspires!

How do you get inspired? By spending two fabulous days at the ATHENA International Leadership Summit April 5/6, 2010! Women of the World attended & exhibited at this year’s summit which focused on the topic Advancing Women’s Leadership: Leading Authentically. The conference drew nationally recognized businesswomen, authors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. A myriad of prominent women from around the globe spoke on topics such as social media, networking, international business, social change and living an inspired, healthy life. Bottom line: Once again, ATHENA created an amazing program that provided cutting edge information from empowered women, creating new opportunities and strategic relationships for all.

So how can Women of the World cover the leadership summit in one blog post? We’re going deeper and wider, instead providing a 3 part series on the movers and shakers of the Leadership Summit. It’s like the Academy Awards, so much talent, not enough bandwidth to showcase them all. We begin with Catherine Lee (pictured right), the founder and president of CDL & Associates. She is an outstanding communicator and a thought leader in the world of international business. We follow with the divine Martha Mertz, founder of ATHENA International and the inspiration to corporate, become entrepreneurial and recognize emerging leaders worldwide. We will conclude the series with the powerful, passionate and purposeful Shawne Duperon, who ignites the room with her energy. She has taught thousands of the people the tools they need to network- it’s no wonder she has won five EMMY Awards and is a cornerstone in the television business. These empowered, focused, and influential women shared their knowledge with the hundreds of attendees. Women of the World would like to pay it forward with our eyes, ears and heart.

Our first shining star: Catherine Lee. She participated in the panel Fierce Advocacy at the International Level and Catherine was the first to speak. Although there were technical difficulties, Catherine laughed it off, knew her material and gave an outstanding talk on the strengths that women have in international business and the necessary awareness of other cultures when conducting business abroad. Catherine has conducted extensive amounts of business in Asia, particularly China. Her work abroad has given her insights into the differences in doing business with people domestically versus abroad. According to her calculations, in the next ten years 40-60% of business will be conducted with those offshore. With so much business being performed with those abroad, it is crucial to be fluent in the cultural etiquette: know and understand the values, ideas and tendencies of other cultures and be prepared to communicate effectively and politely with people from other nations.

When stressing cross-cultural competency, Catherine discussed how she finds women to be particularly well suited to do business with Asian cultures because so much of what is expected from American women coincides with their cultural norms. Feminine qualities that are stressed in US culture tend to include listening, empathy, intuition and humility. All of these qualities are key in having success in business relationships abroad. Catherine spoke of her struggles trying to navigate the US corporate system as a woman: be strong, but not aggressive, be kind, but never a doormat, be intelligent and accomplished, but don’t toot your own horn. Attempting to follow these cultural requirements for women often becomes both difficult and frustrating. However, when bringing her finely honed soft skills to the international business arena, Catherine found herself well suited (much more than her male counterparts!) to be a success. Those “feminine qualities” such as humility were well received and a necessity if successful business was to occur abroad. Catherine had found her niche.

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, women need to take the skills and qualities in which we excel and turn them to the world at large. Catherine is an example of how women are prepared and ready to move to the forefront of international business. As relationship builders and maintainers, Catherine believes that now more than ever is the time for women to step up and realize our potential in the global market.

Catherine Lee is both the founder and president of CDL & Associates, which focuses on international negotiations, communications and multi-national team building. Catherine has been the president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and has consulted with major multinational corporations. Catherine is an inspiration to women in business. If you want to know more about Catherine Lee and speak with her directly, she is offering her thought leadership as a panelist at Women of the World’s next event “International Engagement & Opportunity”! We hope you will be as excited and inspired as we are by Catherine.