Life Is Too Short To Focus on Weaknesses

The world is obsessed with 'fixing weakness'. Children get their school reports back and instead of focusing on the 3 'As', the parent might focus on 'fixing' the 'F' instead (which would have been in maths no doubt)... :) Then, as adults, we go to work and performance reviews are structured exactly the same way: let's fix the weaknesses. Marcus Buckingham, in his best selling book, "Now, discover your strengths" talks about the idea of 'well roundedness'. Why do we try to be excellent 'all rounders' when we each have natural strengths we should be capitalising on. He says investing time developing your weaknesses is merely offering 'damage control' - but you'll never truly excel if that's all you're ever able to do. So how about celebrating your strengths instead? Here's a challenge: think about a talent you have that you do so well, you don't even consider it to be a talent. Maybe you're really organised. Maybe you're brilliant socially. Maybe you're highly analytical. Spend 5 minutes, right now, working out how you should use that strength more every single day... and then do it. - Rebecca

4 Steps To Building a Stronger Personal Brand

It actually only takes 1 step to get clearer about what your personal brand can do for you (and for others). So pick your favourite idea from the list below or set yourself a two week challenge and tackle all 4 - go on, why not?! 1. Get clarity about yourself and what matters to you. What do you believe in? What is important to you? What is absolutely non-negotiable? Think about work situations. Personal situations. Consider how you want to be treated by those around you. 2. Know what you are really, really good at. We all have specialties. We all have strengths and innate talents. What are yours? 3. Become proud of your contribution! We all add value both at home and professionally; what value do you add? If you are dissatisfied with your outputs, what needs to change for the fruits of your labour to bring you joy? 4. When you’re ready, it’s important to let others know about you. Life’s crowded and it’s easy to pale into anonymity. Share your opinions with others. And most importantly perhaps: demonstrate your skills, your talents and your value by taking action. What are your thoughts on personal branding? - Rebecca

New Neon Zebra facebook page too!

And if you're into facebook, like our Neon Zebra Personal Branding page! I am posting all sorts of resources - blogposts from other coaches and consultants; interesting stats about getting ahead in your career; interviews; photos and more... Click here to get to facebook and LIKE us! - Rebecca

New Neon Zebra Linkedin Group

If you want to join our discussion on Linkedin, our new group Neon Zebra Group Personal Branding is up and running! Search for us and join in! - Rebecca

Personal Branding Quick Tip 1: Your Personal Brand Depends On Your Happiness

When we look at personal branding strategy for a client, who wishes to raise his or her profile at work, one of the most important factors to understand is whether or not they like what they do for a living. Imagine standing infront of an audience of 500 people - their eyes fixed on you, waiting for you to speak. I am sure you'd agree that task would be a whole lot easier if you were about to speak on a topic you were passionate about. All too often people are looking for quick fixes: ways to bring fulfilment to their work without addressing the biggest question of all: "Am I happy in my job?" Effective personal branding starts when you feel aligned with the goals you are setting; enjoy the environments you find yourself in; get energy from the people you work with; and love the outputs of your day. So before embarking on a personal branding journey ask yourself how happy and fulfilled you are at work. And if you're struggling to find anything positive to say, your first step should be to understand your personal and professional values to see what really matters most to you. - Rebecca

Why Superior Leaders Make The Worst Leaders

Watch this tip on VIDEO! I want to talk to you about shadows. More on that in a bit... To make sense of this, we must first recap on 'values'. Values are factors, issues, objects and outcomes that are important to you. Good examples are 'success', 'happiness', 'family', 'wealth', 'health' and 'achievement'. Values are often aspirational. Counter to this you will also have, as we all do, what I call 'shadow values'. These are factors, issues and outcomes that you still value but would be less likely to admit to! Excellent examples are 'superiority', or 'always needing to be right'. Leaders who prioritise 'superiority' highly often make poor leaders. This shadow value is a greedy show boater, always wanting airtime. When it is in full flow, it has a profound negative effect on your behaviour: you will cut people off; hijack their ideas; and always try to trump their suggestions so that you can showcase your own expertise. Allowing these behaviours to repeat can quickly lead to you having a disengaged team - so it's time to decide: can you truly nurture and develop your team members if you need to feel superior all the time? - Rebecca

VIDEO: Feeling Stuck? A Big Picture Goal Is What You Need!

All too often we get too focused on our immediate goals, forgetting the bigger picture... or even if our immediate goals fit into that bigger picture. The result? Going round in circles and never really seeming to get anywhere. Watch my 1 minute video to help you get unstuck! - Rebecca