·        Persistent, results-oriented problem solver

·        Forward thinking

·        Passionate

·        Community orientation

·        Authenticity: You get what you get

To begin beginning your brand, start with an understanding of who you are what you are good at and passionate about. Recognize your weaknesses as a part of who you are and develop a plan to compensate for them, to make them a ‘win’ or a ‘feature’, provided that the weakness does not interfere with your ability to deliver results. Listen to yourself and make your priorities based on what’s important to you. Always make choices that will keep you authentic, make you happy to be who you are.

Focus on what you would like to accomplish both personally and professionally and then strategize on how to accomplish your goals, both in terms of the actions you need to take and the networks you need to connect with. Ensure that what you say and what you do, or don’t say and do, are in congruence with what you want to do, how you want to present yourself now, and in the future, in your personal and in your professional life.

Continue to refine your executive brand through your communications online, in person, in writing and ensure that your thoughts and actions are in alignment with your intended brand. Continue to align your decisions and actions and review and update the brand you’d like to communicate.

If someone says or does something which may threaten the integrity of your brand, first figure out who is doing it and whether he/she is important to you, and even why they are doing it. If he/she is important to you, or could influence how important others can perceive you, work quickly to make an authentic stand for your brand, your reputation, with strategic actions and communications. It is your job to not just communicate your brand, but also to defend it from being misinterpreted. Know when to stand up to misperceptions, to subtly prove them wrong by your words and actions and to ignore them altogether.

Whereas previously only the most important people had handlers and publicists and others to ensure brand integrity for them, in today’s world of technology proliferation and constant communications, EVERYONE must build and protect their brand real-time. The wide range of social media offerings from FaceBook to LinkedIn to Twitter offer so many different channels for communicating your brand, but they also demand a proactive defense of the integrity of the brand, and thorough consideration prior to communicating online, where anyone could Google your communications, even ones you’d prefer not to be known by. It’s hard to compartmentalize your personal and professional life, and it takes judgment and discipline to ensure that sensitive or frivolous or private information does not negatively impact your brand.

One example of the consequence of not doing so is that it is now common practice for hiring managers to Google a potential job candidate online. Prospects are eliminated who don’t have the judgment to proactively manage their brand. With that said, candidates who show their authenticity by backing their brands as a thought leader through blogs, or get involved in associations that could benefit from your expertise and keep apprised of and even help shape industry trends through your involvement.

Your executive brand can take you far – even farther than you originally envision, and more likely so if you proactively build and manage it, and associate with others and support each other in building and extending your brands. Be true to who you are at all times, but also be open to and even fearless about opportunities to stretch the definition of yourself if the opportunities or circumstances arise.