I have received a 360 degree peer review – a very interesting process of understand the good, bad and ugly about myself. Illuminating. Personal branding is not 360 feedback. It is 180 degree feedback – it looks forward into the marketplace; it does not (generally) look behind the curtains at the malignancy and maleficence within us all. Save that for the psychologist’s couch, please.

No, we want input from your cohort about how great you are, to drive your brand to new heights and to either agree or challenge your own thinking about how you show up.

Seeing Eye To Eye.

Generally, I suppose, congruence between what others see in you and what you see in the mirror is the easier route to take.

“OK! We agree! Now, can I see some interesting subtleties in the data that I can leverage to create my strongest personal brand?”

My brand is highly congruent (above left: my version; above right: others’ version). People see me as I see myself. The subtle differences are items like the tiger – where I feel more creative and curious (the monkey), others experience a more unpredictable outcome. Good to know. I can take advantage of that (or change my behavior if I sas so minded).

Differences Everywhere.

Incongruence – eg where I see creativity and caring and others see execution and vision– is fine too. It means you have to reflect a bit harder about what the data shows and what your narrative is. Perhaps you are one of the rare people who has a chameleon brand and you are a bit of everything to everyone. OK, great. We can make that work really well.

Or, perhaps there is a disconnect between who you are and how you show up. No problem, but there is new work to do to better explain your value and better share your brilliance. This is branding at its most elemental – explaining the real you.

Mostly, we like data from many place, in many ways because, as Hans Rosling says –

“Let the dataset change your mindset.”

Few of us have muscle in selling ourselves to others. We flip flop through jobs and industries based on luck and circumstance. Why not reveal yourself, perhaps for the first time? Wow! What a change! And, what an opportunity.

←This Much We Know.→