Why Product Leaders & Managers Should Care About Personal Branding

Product management and product leadership is an increasingly crowded field. Every week I have the chance to meet great PMs and leaders who know their craft and have built those products that people love. Yet when I ask them or they ask themselves “What are you known for?” the anwer is delayed, unclear or doesn’t come at all.

That’s where personal branding comes in. A personal brand isn’t about logos or marketing fluff. It has more to do with clarity: if and in what way others perceive your strengths, your style and your unique way of working and being.

• • it’s about knowing which of your strengths and quirks are visible (and which only live in your head)
  • it’s about clarity of identity – so colleagues, stakeholders, executives and even strangers immediately know what to expect from you.
  • it’s about differentiation – standing out in a sea of resumes, Linkedin profiles, and team leaders.

And here’s the kicker: personal branding isn’t just for the world and people outside of your role and company.
It’s equally important inside your company.

Think about it. What do people know you as or for?

• • The one who brings clarity in messy discussions?
  • The leader who creates psychological safety so everyone contributes?
  • The leader you call in to clean up any mess and fix team issues in record time?
  • The PM who can zoom out and nail the real outcome we should chase?
  • The PM that always finds the right meme to get that message through?

All that is a result of branding, intentional and deliberate or not. And it pays dividends every day, not just in your next career move.

I’ll give you a personal example. Some people know me as Mr. Bow Tie – the guy who makes and wears LEGO bow ties and also the guy who wishes everyone a crazy day. Others know me as the colleague who leads with openness, coaches for clarity and those aha moments, and gets people and teams focused on the outcomes, not the task list completion. All are true. All are me. Together they form my unique personal brand and identity in the eyes of others.

That brand has and is still opening doors – within teams, across companies and to opportunities I didn’t even see coming or imagined.

So here’s my invitation: don’t leave your brand to chance. Be intentional about how you show up and what should be top of mind for others when they think about you. Take the time to find the overlap between what you love doing, what you are great at and what others notice and see.

If you’re curious how to take steps to uncover and shape your own personal brand, I am planning to host a webinar on the topic if there is enough interest.

Just sign up using the form below.

We’ll go into reflective exercises, practical steps and how to surface and make your unique brand visible in the eyes of others.  I will send out all the details when we over 30 people signed up.

See you soon and until then, have a crazy day!

Note: This is a double opt-in form so you need to check your inbox and confirm the sign up.