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When personal branding was introduced to the world by Tom Peters in Fast Company magazine’s July 1997 cover story, we were all living in the real world (that’s as opposed to the virtual world, not the make-believe world!). Most personal branding activities were focused on things that took place in person—in conference rooms, at in-person networking events and at industry tradeshows. Presenting, leading meetings and connecting with people in person is powerful. The virtual world was not very popular … or very populated. Only 19% of US homes had access to the internet at the time.
Just six years later, in 2003, LinkedIn launched. It was the first big milestone in moving our personal brands and professional relationships online. The virtual elements of personal branding took hold, and for most people the emergence of LinkedIn sparked their understanding of the need to build their brand to expand career success. The concept of personal branding exploded.
Although the virtual-world addition of LinkedIn sparked a huge interest in personal branding, work stayed firmly rooted in the real world—even though we had all the technology needed to work from home, or from anywhere. Inertia kept work primarily planted in the real world. It would take another 17 years for things to go virtual, and not by choice, thanks to Covid. Many of us refer to that quaint time of working together in the same place as BC (Before Covid).
Now, on the 25th anniversary of the birth of personal branding, we’re experiencing the next major shift in the world of personal branding—mastering the hybrid work world and building our brands in these two very different worlds simultaneously. According to a recent McKinsey survey, 90% of organizations will adopt a hybrid work model that includes a combination of in-person and remote work as Covid restrictions wane.
This new period, AD (After Disruption) is marked by much more flexibility. Employees have more power and more say. In this new, hybrid world, some professionals will always work from home (or a “third place”), while others will always work from the office. Others—maybe the majority of employees—will be doing some of both. This flexibility presents benefits and challenges for both employers and employees. One of the biggest challenges for people—the one I’m most interested in—is growing your personal brand and expanding your success in the hybrid environment.
Enter Personal Branding 3.0.
Personal Branding 3.0 is not something to be afraid of or stressed out by. It’s an opportunity to stand out and shine. Many of your colleagues haven’t even mastered the last major shift (the all-virtual world of work) despite having had two years to do so. When you think about this change as a way to grow your visibility, expand your presence and provide value to those you’re eager to support (and impress), you can take actions that will have a big impact on the brand called YOU.
To succeed in this new phase of personal branding, you must focus on the human side of business because that’s what’s diminished in the tech-centric environment we’re living in. You need to master hybrid communications and most importantly bring your authentic human self to work every day regardless of whether that work takes place in a cubicle, at the local coffee house or in the office next to your living room.
In the words of the man who coined the term personal branding, Tom Peters, Personal Branding 3.0 is all about “Relationships. Relationships. Relationships.”
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and co-creator of the Personal Brand Power Audit - a complimentary quiz that helps you measure the strength of personal brand.
