Interview with Paul Copcutt, Personal Brand Architect, Canada
Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam* Interview series
(Global Leaders who have Enlarged, Excelled and Evolved into Global Personal Brands)
Dr Amit Nagpal-I saw two unusual terms on your Linkedin
profile viz. new world of work and authentic networking. Please explain them in
brief.
Paul Copcutt-New world of work - Dan Pink wrote about
the new world of work in his book A Whole New Mind several years ago. The fact
that if your job can be done faster by a machine or software or cheaper
somewhere else in the world, you need to differentiate now or that job will not
exist. We saw a rush of this ‘outsourcing’ prior to the global economic crisis.
But now what we are seeing as companies come out the other side is the real
impact of this. Companies are not re-hiring at the same levels or positions as
they were pre-recession. They do not need to and have found other ways to get
the work handled, be it outsourcing or the remaining employees doing more with
less. This makes the need to personally brand even more critical as the job
market becomes even more competitive.
Authentic networking–technology has enabled
us to connect much more easily and readily. But with that comes responsibility.
Just because it’s easier does not mean we should lower standards or forgoe the
ultimate reason for networking – to give. You still have to approach networking
with an authentic mindset, not what’s in it for me but how can I best help?
Dr Amit-How can corporations use personal branding
with employees as an engagement and retention tool? How do you help them in
this area?
Paul-Almost every organization is acutely aware
of the challenges it faces over the next few years with regards to talent acquisition
and development – ensuring that their future leaders are being stimulated and
retained within the organization.
Very few however have made the connection
between the use of personal branding and employee engagement. This is in part
due to the mis-conception that personal branding is going to be used by the
employee to develop the necessary visibility and credibility to make a move
elsewhere.
In fact the use of personal branding inside
an organization is the perfect match for the direction that the market is
heading and with where the demographics of the future talent pool lies. Boomers
are retiring at increasing rates and those that are sticking around to work
longer in many cases seek many job variables that cannot be satisfied by
traditional approaches, for example even though telecommuting has been shown to
increase productivity and retention in North America it’s adoption is
stagnating in terms of percentage of the workforce being allowed even one day
of remote working.
The talent pool of future leaders lies in
the under 35 year old age group. The most technologically advanced,
non-conformist and individual generation (yet!). They shudder at the thought of
being the same as others, they want challenge and variety, whilst still finding
an employer that understands that their values and causes are important and
supported and that they can connect and communicate at all levels internally
and externally with openness (see the rise of corporate sponsored blogging as
an example). And they are not afraid to ask for what they want and move on if
they do not get heard.
Enter personal branding – built around
being authentic and from a strong foundation of building on unique strengths
and skills it is a natural fit for the employee that wants control over the
direction of their career, but still stays true to what they believe and stand
for and encourages them to be themselves.
In our work with many organizations this is
the first opportunity to design what their work should look like and employees
that go through the personal branding process recognize and appreciate the
investment in their future that their employer is making. It’s not just another
training session, but something that provides them with a concrete career plan
that can be followed and they were responsible for creating – the ownership and
accountability is the employees.
Corporations that have embraced the concept
fully, now take it to the next level and incorporate the personal branding
review as part of any other annual review process, and even drill down to
quarterly ‘check-ins’. Others have even
taken the branding approach to the team stage and looked at creating team
brands and messages that can be understood internally, helping everyone to
appreciate each others part in the company’s success.
Dr Amit-You believe, “Your leadership brand is what
others say it is” How do we ensure that others validate us the way we want?
Paul-By ensuring that in every interaction,
every touch point, every time someone comes across you in any form or medium
you deliver on what you say and want your leadership brand to be.
Dr Amit-What are the 8 pillars of Personal Brand
Leadership?
Paul-The 8 Pillars of Personal Branding
Leadership
Persona – identifying how you interact and
behave with others.
Emotional – being aware of your values and
passions. What is at your core.
Reason – defining why you do what you do.
Your vision and purpose, what drives you.
Strengths – leveraging what you do best.Your
unique skills and greatest strengths.
Others – listening to what others perceive
of you. Knowing who to reach, your target audience.
Network – managing your relationships.Building,
maintaining and saving.
Action – putting it all together and moving
forward.
Leadership – the sum total of all the
points. What others say is your leadership brand.
Dr Amit-Tell us about your current projects.
Paul-My work is split fairly evenly between
speaking on the latest developments and interpretations of personal branding at
conferences and events. I am also regularly delivering workshops and keynotes
inside organizations and then working with teams and individuals in a coaching
capacity to help them develop and build their personal brands.
Dr Amit-Tell us how is the field of personal
branding changing and evolving in the eastern and western parts of the world.
Paul-When I first got involved in personal
branding almost a decade ago it was very much viewed as a North American approach.
Even more so the Canadians and Europeans while open to the concept were more
reluctant to embrace it with the same vigor that Americans were.
As opportunities have become much more
global and the movement of people more common there has been more interest from
the East in the approach and how it can be used to manage careers. I am getting
more client interest from Asia and a slow realisation that the more traditional
ways of finding work do not apply as well and that an extra level of knowledge
and edge needs to be reached.
Social media has helped to amplify this.
However this is a double edged sword. There are far too many ‘experts’ running
around telling us that Social Media = Personal brand. It doesn’t. Just the same
as the fact that marketing via social media is not the complete answer for
products and services, it’s another medium, but not a replacement for
established brand foundation and development.
Thanks a lot Paul for sharing your wonderful insights and experiences.
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Brief profile
Paul Copcutt first aligned with personal
branding after reading Tom Peters 'Brand You 50’ in 1997. Described as The
Personal Brand Architect he is fiercely committed to helping people take
control and build their careers and businesses by design not chance. Now a
sought after speaker and media resource he has been featured by Forbes,
Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and Elle. He speaks, writes, coaches and
consults on the subject of personal branding with corporations, organizations,
conferences and individuals across the globe.
Facebook www.facebook.com/personalbrand
Web: www.paulcopcutt.com
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