Are your employees engaged like Johnny Depp?

Credit: A Templeton Photo

The internet is swarming with excitement about the engagement of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. However, Depp himself seems the most excited about the situation and he is smitten for Heard. Depp has said She's a wonderful girl. She's sharp as a tack. A southern belle and sweet as can be, and very good for me." (CBS News). What does all this have to do with employee engagement? A lot, actually. Every company should be striving to find and retain employees that are excited about the organization and invested in future goals. How does one engage employees? Embedding emotional intelligence into company culture is a good way to start...


Below are ways to show emotional intelligence toward employees and improve company culture through increased employee engagement.

The Five Languages for Engagement:

1. Verbal Recognition – A great way to show appreciation is through verbal communication. This type of communication specifically looks to praise and verbal cues which indicate they are on the right track and have done well. You may not need this, but for them the lack of it, could mean disregard, and disapproval.  Verbalize your gratitude and explain why that action was valuable to them, you and the business.
2. Sharing the load – This individual appreciates actual affirmation.  We are talking about show not tell.  Nothing weighs heavier than the willingness of a leader or a coworker to lend a helping hand, or to express acts of comradery in some way. While it is important to walk a fine line in the interest of your own work-life balance and job success, it is an absolute must to not be self-focused.  Don’t wait for someone to ask, offer to lighten the load and show your concern for their needs and development in the organization.
3. Quality Time – For this type of employee, days off and flex-time are very important. Occasionally offering days off, can really communicate your respect for work-life balance as well as your appreciation of the employee. Establishing a flex-time work schedule is a similar method. In fact, research has shown that many employees with family obligations work more effectively out of work.  Furthermore, as the number of highly-educated women entering the workforce increases, there will be more demand for them to have flexibility in their hours (Wall Street Journal and WhiteHouse.gov).
4. Giving Gifts – This type of individual enjoys gift receiving more than all others in feeling appreciated and valued.   Taking the time to know whether your employee is interested in joining the gym and offering them a free gym membership, or getting a gift card to their favorite restaurant will speak to their needs.
5. Inviting Input – For some individuals recognition takes the form of achievement.  A seat at the leadership table is no small thing. As a stake-holder in the company, this individual would like to know they are talented. Your willingness to both ask for their input and utilize their advice truly communicates their importance. In the same way, additional leadership responsibilities show trust in their capabilities, which walks hand in hand with their drive for achievement.

Gwyneth Paltrow Boiling or Not?

Ever heard of a bloody divorce? One of the most disturbing portrayals of the concept might be the 1989 black comedy The War of the Roses. In this film, a divorce lawyer tells the tale of a horrific divorce in which the conflict escalated to violence and eventually death. Unfortunately, violent disputes in married relationships, friendships and working relationships are not unheard of. These scenarios are examples of the highest degree of conflict temperature, which is boiling. Many times, both sides in the dispute are angry and willing to go to any length to “win.” Or sometimes, the conflict is instigated by an attacking side with malicious intent, which was likely the case in the recent attack on Zac Efron in Skid Row. Often both sides are in need of stronger emotional intelligence and guidance to help reduce tensions.  

At the other end of the conflict thermometer is a warm conflict. Based on her interviews, it would seem Gwyneth Paltrow’s break up would fall into this category. She says she and her husband, Coldplay front man, Chris Martin, are uncoupling. She says uncoupling “seeks to be very undramatic.” As opposed to a loud, name-calling break up, she described her split with Chris with terms of compassion and mutual understanding. Paltrow’s celebrity friend, Cameron Diaz explained to E! News “People want them to blow up and it to be ugly, but they're kind, generous, loving people who really care about one another… They are really good friends” (Huffington Post). This situation shows the signs of warm conflict in that both sides are still open to discussion and finger pointing is not an issue.  

Gwyneth Paltrow Photo
By: Jared Purdy Photography

In the midst of a dispute, pausing to determine conflict temperature, evaluate the cause of the conflict and learn about conflict resolution tools such as persuasion can lead to much better outcomes.  

Check out this video for more details on conflict temperature:

Related Reads: 
Mclachlan ConflictEI & Conflict Resolution: George Washington StyleMad Employee WildfireEI & Conflict Resolution: Leadership Negotiation Skills

Deal or No Deal?

Social norms, the customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies, have been extensively studied in the social sciences. Anthropologists have described how social norms function in different cultures (Geertz 1973), sociologists have focused on their social functions and how they motivate people to act (Durkheim 1950; Parsons 1937, Parsons and Shils 1951; Coleman 1990; Hechter and Opp 2001), and economists have explored how adherence to norms influences market behavior (Akerlof 1976; Young 1998). 

However, somewhere between social norms and taboos is a gray line called expectations.  These are scenarios based solely on individual “preferences.”  There are the “picky, hard to please” types which aim for perfection.  The types that always can and do add to the status quo because that’s what they expect of themselves.  However, to those around them, they come across as too critical and demanding.  Then there are the “get it done” types.  The group that believes, if you want to do more, you have to expect to not do it perfectly.  Of course to the perfectionist, this group comes across as performing substandard and yet it seems they are liked by a large majority.  The last type of course is the “Keep them on their toes, “curb your enthusiasm” types.  This group is very capable and resourceful, but they waiver between one of the two types throughout days. They don’t like to be known as the perfectionist, but they are also go getters.  As you see, we are not even going to discuss the non-performers.  This group has a complete different frame of mind, and is frankly not our reader. 

So now that we have covered these three performance types, we will proceed to discuss why it matters.  In leadership, exchanges within the professional realm, between employees and employers fall within one of the above matches of categories.  The question is which types and what difference does the interaction between the various styles make on performance outcomes?  In other words how do employee/employer expectations of behavior, shape performance outcomes?

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of studies already published which demonstrate how a person's expectations can shape another person's behavior. One of the early studies of expectancy effects was conducted by Robert Rosenthal. He told elementary school teachers that some of the students had been identified as intellectual bloomers by a test they took. The teachers were told the names of those students and led to expect that those students would do particularly well over the course of the coming academic year.  In truth, the information given to the teachers was bogus. The students identified as bloomers were no different academically from the other students. Their names were selected at random. Only their teachers' expectations for them differed. Yet, sure enough, the students who were expected to bloom really did do better than the others by the end of the school year.

By now, the power of expectations has been demonstrated not just in classrooms, but also in workplaces, courtrooms, doctor-patient interactions, parent-child interactions, psychotherapy, consumer transactions, and more.  So you may ask, why is what we already know worth discussing now? The reason is that as a result of previous studies, the discussions involving expectations were mainly used in developing reward systems in organizations.  Well, these are tough times in the economy.  Wealthy and well-established organizations such as Darden and Chesapeake Energy have had to layoff 500 to 800 employees at one time (Business Week).  Organizations globally, need to conjure other ways of motivating their workforce beyond the dollar amount increase on their paychecks.  So what gives? The answer I believe lies in the interaction we spoke of previously. 

The last quarter of the year, usually marks the time where many organizations have their yearly retreats and holiday gathering.  However, in truth, the majority do these as a tradition, rather than a ritual; the latter pointing to a set of objectives to be met, in addition to socializing and having fun.  So what are the objectives referred to here?  They can be summed up in one sentence: getting to know your employees.  Of course, I am not suggesting by any means that a once a year event can do miracles.  However, it is a great opportunity.   What performance standards do they adhere to?  What motivates them?  What is their view of themselves?  So one may ask: aren’t there a million things people are motivated by? A new car, a new house, days off, vacations, etc.? The answer is, no.  According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs after our most primary need, which is basically surviving from hunger, we are pursuing one of three needs: 1.  Safety, 2.  Belonging, and 3.  Mattering. In every communication, in every conflict, we are subconsciously either reinforcing or yearning for safety, belonging, mattering or a combination.  So what this means is that the key to making your employees feel like they want to be there and be engaged at doing the things you want them to do, is not being the same to all of them.  I could just see some Equal Employment Opportunity proponents thinking “not a good idea.”  Well, we are not talking unfair treatment here.  We are talking “individualized” and “customized” treatment.  It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “you can’t be everything to everyone” doesn’t it? Yes, you have your own unique individual style, whether it be the perfectionist, the get it done or the curb your enthusiasm type.  But so is your employee.  If your expectations are flawed and you view them and expect the same from them as you would from yourself, you might as well save yourself that retreat money and give them a nice severance package today.  The emotionally intelligent employer, gets the inside scoop on their workforce and provides the right remedy for the right ill.   Does that take time? You bet it does.  But so does hiring, training, and planning.  Want a Top Performer that will win the crowd like Cher did on Dancing with the Stars this week? Deal.

The Witch is Dead

Prevailing wisdom says that complicated thoughts and feelings have no place at the office.  Executives and those especially in leadership positions have two emotions to choose from:  indifference and cheerful.  They must portray omnipotence at any and all situations without showing the slightest bit of need, whether it be need for support, need for input, or need for problem-solving.  And God forbid, if there are any strong negative feelings; they are not allowed to express them because it will make them feel “human” rather than super kind. 

In my people-strategy practice, I have always been an advocate of following your three eyes: your mind’s eye, your heart’s eye and your inner eye.  Most people may quickly relate to the mind as the center of logic or thoughts and the heart as the center or emotions or feelings, but not necessarily relate to the inner eye.  This is what I refer to as one’s intuition.  Either based on experience, genetics or what I like to believe, as one’s value-set, intuition is a very credible source for decision-making and conflict-resolution and people matters in general.  However can it be the only source?  Where do intuitions get life from? 

Intuitions, or gut feelings, are sudden, strong judgments whose origin we can't immediately explain (Carlin Flora, 2007). Although they seem to emerge from an obscure inner force, they actually begin with a perception of something outside—a facial expression, a tone of voice, a visual inconsistency so fleeting you're not even aware you noticed. Think of them as rapid cognition or condensed reasoning that takes advantage of the brain's built-in shortcuts. This concept is reinforced in a Los Angeles Times article Brain’s Use of Shortcuts Can Be a Route to Bias: Perception: The Mind Relies on Stereotypes to Make Fast Decisions. But in Hiring that Can Lead to Discrimination.

Encased in certainty, intuitions compel us to act in specific ways. While endless reasoning in the absence of guiding intuitions is unproductive, it is best used as the first step in solving a problem or deciding what to do. The more experience you have in a particular domain, the more reliable your intuitions, because they arise out of the richest array of collected patterns of experience. But even in your area of expertise, it's wisest to test out your hunches—you could easily have latched on to the wrong detail and pulled up the wrong web of associations in your brain.  Is it any wonder that the story of Wizard of Oz incorporated courage, heart, brain, and home as a team taking on the Witch of the West? 

We regularly see executives with recurring emotional challenges at work—anxiety about priorities, jealousy of others’ success, fear of rejection, distress over perceived slights—who have devised techniques to “fix” them: positive affirmations, prioritized to-do lists, immersion in certain tasks. But when we ask how long the challenges have persisted, the answer might be 10 years, 20 years, or since childhood.

Clearly, those techniques don’t work—in fact, ample research shows that attempting to minimize or ignore thoughts and emotions serves only to amplify them (Frank Bond, 2012). Effective leaders don’t buy into or try to suppress their inner experiences. Instead they approach them in a mindful, values-driven, and productive way—developing what we call Congruency Response at Center for Work Life.  Highly correlational to the components of emotional intelligence, Congruency Response, is the activity one partakes in to make sure decisions and emotional responses don’t get processed by short-cut responses that are based on the data received from each of the three sources of emotion, logic, and intuition, but rather by all three. 

In our complex, fast-changing knowledge economy, this ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings is essential to business success. Numerous studies, from the University of London professor Frank Bond and others, show that emotional agility can help people alleviate stress, reduce errors, become more innovative, and improve job performance. 

Take the case of a young female executive who having worked at corporate for years had a family and realized she was experiencing tremendous guilt when leaving them behind to go to work.  Vice versa when with her family, she felt guilty, she wasn’t “accomplishing” what she could or needed to.  For years she had tried quieting the guilt, but it was like a yoyo effect.  The more she tried to be satisfied, the less she actually was. 

On the other hand, take the case of a male executive who in spite of very high level of intelligence and proficiency at his leadership position, had constant battle with conflict and reacted through anger.  He had gone to anger management classes only to feel he had become unempathetic and stoic. 

Conclusion:  control is not necessarily the solution.  Acceptance on the other hand is what unlocks the door and opens the path to freedom and fulfillment.  Both cases mentioned above, where going with the “gut feeling” when in reality, their gut feeling was only communicating its primary response which was dislike.  The next step needed to be the inner experience of courage to accept, rather than control.  Values and principles tame the gut feeling and provide the ultimate unbiased decision, whereas the mind alone, aims to control.    

In our highly individualistic society, where power and accomplishment are symbols of success, it is difficult to believe that lack of control can sometimes be a savior.  Our gut may be uncomfortable with someone, or some circumstance, however accepting only that response, and going with it, could be like the predicament of Hansel and Gretel picking at the Witch’s Gingerbread house. It's time to declare an end to the battle between gut and mind—and to the belief that intuitions are Para psychological fluff. Better to explore how the internalized experiences from which gut feelings arise, should interact with the deliberate calculations of the conscious mind and the heart.

Armstrong breathing fire

“Able, you’re fired. Out!”

Take a minute to ponder the harsh choice of words.
Now take a second to guess the setting in which those words were said.

On Friday August 16^th, AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong led a rather disheartening company meeting, to which roughly 1,000 employees had dialed in. This meeting was for Patch members and was held shortly

Tim Armstrong

after Armstrong disclosed, the organization would shrink Patch websites from 900 to 600. While everyone knew bad news was around the corner for many employees, no one was aware that they would be witness to one of the most poorly handled firing incidents in history.

Mid-sentence, Armstrong abruptly discontinued addressing the attendees to turn his attention to the Creative Director of AOL’s Patch unit, Abel Lenz. He proceeded to say “"Abel, put that camera down, now. Abel, you're fired. Out," as can be heard on Forbes. Meanwhile the air stood still and silence followed as 1,000 already disheartened employees listened in. About five seconds later, Armstrong continued with his meeting as Able exited.

What all went wrong?

1. Susan Adams of Forbes makes a good point. She distinguishes, that even before the incident, Armstrong’s voice was cold. Susan mentioned that although he accepted responsibility for the status of Patch’s struggles, he also opened the meeting with statements which threatened staff to leave Patch if they didn’t believe him or thought the discussion was a joke. Everyone knew the meeting wasn’t a joke, especially because it followed the previous announcement about reducing Patch’s web presence by 300 websites. His approach was condescending and hurtful from the start.

2. At the beginning of the meeting, Armstrong announced “I don’t care what the press says, I don’t care if people leak information.” However, he then fired an employee for recording the meeting. Where is the logic in this scenario?

3. Possibly the most blatant and scrutinized action in those dreaded two minutes was his harsh firing of Abel. His choice of words were cold, his tone inappropriate and worst of all he did it publically. Not only did he belittle Able by firing him publically, but he did it I front of 1,000 of their co-workers, without a blink.

4. After coming under media fire, Armstrong later attempted to justify the incident, announcing that Abel had been warned previously not to record those meetings. Not only was that a poor reason to fire someone on the spot, because he could have easily just asked the employee to stop filming (or possibly even signaled for him to put the camera down), but that reasoning contradicts his previous statement at the meeting:“I don’t care what the press says, I don’t care if people leak information.” From the outside, it is easy to see where Abel would have assumed the previous warnings not to film meetings were negated by that opening statement. However, Armstrong was lacking the emotional intelligence to detect where Able may have become confused. He then acted emotionally and disrespectfully.

5. To date, Abel has not been asked to return to AOL. 

What went right?

1. It should be noted that Armstrong has personally apologized to Abel.

2. He also issued an apology to the AOL community.

What are the repercussions?

1. Tim Armstrong has come under fire across the board from the New York Times to Forbes. He has fatally damaged his own reputation.

2. Having ignited a chain of disapproval and backlash, Armstrong, who clearly was already struggling emotionally will likely have trouble determining how to dig out of this hole if he does not seek counseling.

3. Abel has lost his job in an unreasonable way and will likely also struggle to emotionally recover.

4. Armstrong’s actions are drawing an angry and dissatisfied response from consumers toward AOL as an organization.

5. Employee morale has been possibly irreparably damaged. 

Fortunately, this situation has sparked an executive development discussion.  Susan Adams of Forbes says in AOL’s Chief Demonstrates the Worst Way to Fire Someone, “If he feels ‘emotional,’ as he said in his statement yesterday, then he should work through those emotions with a friend, counselor or coach before dumping on his workforce.“  This situation presents itself as a key argument for the importance of executive development and leadership training. She is exactly right; executives, Armstrong included, are under extreme pressure. They want to succeed and take their job to heart. As Armstrong said himself “It was an emotional response at the start of a difficult discussion dealing with many people’s careers and livelihoods. I am the CEO and leader of the organization, and I take that responsibility seriously."

The power to make or break employee morale, improve or destroy the bottom line and change the future rests in the hands of executives everywhere. What most of those leaders and their employers don’t realize is that responsibility can be tackled much more successfully, with a little help along the way. 

Pay them or lose them

McDonalds began making headlines in July when the company worked with Visa to create a budget guideline for employees. According to Clare O’Connor of Forbes, this budget has not only backfired, but more likely caused increased support for political campaigns aiming to boost minimum wage. No business, big or small, is immune to the ethical pitfall of under-paying employees. But, this situation lends itself to a great case study on emotional intelligence when it comes to paying employees.

Emotional Intelligence and McDonalds’ Payroll

Wikipedia describes emotional intelligence as the ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself, others and groups. So what does the emotional intelligence process look like for McDonalds in this situation?

Identify.

Credit: MarketingProfs Daily Fix

The budget assumes employees would earn $1,105 from one job and hold an additional second job in which they would earn $955. There are a couple problems right off the bat. Because they are earning minimum wage, that means those employees are working approximately 38 hours a week for McDonalds. Based on the $955 from the second job, McDonalds also expects those employees to work about 32 hours a week at a second job.

An organization aiming to be emotionally intelligent should stop and realize that a seventy hour work week is going to leave employees stressed, tired and unhappy. Here the organization has identified the feelings of employees.

Assess.

Another issue with the budget arises when one realizes that even if the worker is able to hold a second job

and work 70 hours, many of the budget items are unrealistic. In most locations, $600 rent isn’t practical. Beyond that, the national average for health insurance is at $215 where McDonalds listed the item at a $20 monthly expense. The moral of the story here, is that even with both jobs, workers would still be struggling to survive.

Credit: Detroit15.org

Here again, companies like McDonalds have an opportunity to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Here there should be an acknowledgement of conflict. The next step is going beyond realizing the situation exists to empathizing. This involves moving past knowing the workers are upset and assessing why they are unhappy, which is a key aspect of both emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. Understanding these worker’s emotions involves asking: what is like to work 70 hours a week but still not bring in enough money for a comfortable living? What is it like to have to choose between a safe apartment and being able to eat? Or having to decide between buying a reliable car or having health insurance? It is likely these workers are continually stressed, insecure because they don’t have options in emergencies, and hurt because they are under-valued.  

Control.

At this point in our study, the organization would acknowledge the hardship for their employees and empathize, which would lead to taking control. Now, emotional intelligence isn’t about completely yielding to the demands of others and people pleasing. The key here is to manage sympathy and empathy with a level head. So, should McDonalds automatically yield to recent strikes and pay workers the $15 an hour they are demanding (as reported in The New York Time’s A Day’s Strike Seeks to Raise Fast-Food Pay). Not necessarily. However, McDonalds should take the time to ponder how much they can improve wages. University of Kansas School of Business’ student Arnobio Morelix performed a study which revealed that if McDonalds paid these workers the $15 they seek, the price of a Big Mac would go up only %.68. The company doesn’t have to worry about loss of business with such little change in cost. If McDonalds’ CEO made $8.75 million in 2012, surely there is room to move some figures around.

Beyond considering how the problem can be fixed, emotional intelligence is about acknowledging the other side’s feelings and having a conversation, which can be further understood by learning the principles of conflict resolution. Though it would be jaw-dropping to imagine it would actually happen, in this situation, McDonalds could make the effort to not only increase wages, but make budget explanations available to employees so they understand why they earn what they do, rather than simply feeling like a kicking-post. The more the company is willing to truly start caring about the employees, the happier and more productive employees will become. In return, employees need to be willing to meet the organization in the middle.

Liar Liar… is someone’s business suit on fire?

Truth is a tricky thing. The movie Liar Liar, illustrates this well. Fletcher Reede is a man who builds his life and career on lies, which in the end comes back to haunt him. He learns that his perpetual dishonesty has forever damaged his home and professional relationships. On the other hand, when Reede is forced to tell nothing but the absolute truth, he hurts people’s feelings and still damages relationships. So we know that blatant deceit isn't good, but is honesty always the best policy?

 Why We Don’t Always Tell The Truth published by the Harvard Review provides interesting insight. Author of the article, Ron Ashkenas, focuses on the concept of “shading the truth” at appropriate times. He says “there are times when a little white lie or the absence of key facts might be appropriate.” In his writing, a salesman serves as an example for the type of role that may involve limiting the truth and figuring out how to deliver it later. Realistically, his argument is even backed by performance statistics. Research referenced in Honest Workers at a Disadvantage on the Job found that honest employees didn’t perform as well, had lower customer satisfaction scores and yielded fewer sales conversions. In essence, this is the case because customers felt satisfied with the transaction upfront when they talked to a fibber.

At first glance higher scores and more sales seems great. In fact, it feels good to tell someone what they want to hear and make them happy. But as demonstrated by Fletcher in Liar Liar, there are consequences down the line. Customer satisfaction scores for dishonest transactions would likely plummet upon further investigation. The real truth would eventually surface after receiving the misrepresented product or service and it would not only damage that employee’s scores, it would also create a bad image for the company.

Furthermore, within the same research which demonstrated on the job liars performed better, it was ironically revealed that dishonest employees stayed with companies for significantly smaller periods of time and required more supervision. Understandably, dishonest employees weren't trusted with as much by their employers.  

As a general rule of thumb, there are pros and cons for more and less honesty when it comes to “getting the job done”. Less honest employees tend to benefit immediately while honest employees see long term rewards. But there is an important factor that hasn't been addressed yet, which is the delivery of honesty. What about the new breed of employees, whom we’ll call “Kind Truth Tellers?” These are individuals strong in their emotional intelligence and leadership skills. Kind Truth Tellers avoid jobs that involve offering a service they can’t tell the truth about. As positive people, they understand how to highlight the best aspects of their service or product, while being completely honest. After an up-beat friendly conversation about the product of interest to a customer, a Kind Truth Teller might say “It sounds like you might really enjoy this ______ and I’m so glad I could answer your questions today. As it is very important that you’re completely satisfied, I want to make sure you know that this product has a delayed shipping date of July 20^th.” Including the less appealing truth may lose the sale. More likely, it will gain the trust, and respect of the customer.

Be it a sales call or a conversation between a manager and an employee, honesty is the best policy. As individuals, everyone has the ability to remain honest if they work at it. All that being said, even when the truth can’t be softened, it is still best in the long run for everyone involved. Better the customer knows upfront that they don’t want that product, than they never buy from the store again due to lack of trust. As shown by research, the employee who is treated kindly, but occasionally challenged through honest feedback, will grow and likely gain ground in their career.

No one is saying complete honesty is easy or that it is even continuously sustainable. We are all human and we all slip up. However, the goal is to continue developing ourselves and try. It seems appropriate to close with one of history’s most famous honesty quotes, which was coined by Thomas Jefferson “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” 

Additional Topics of Professional Interest:

Lions and Tigers and Confidence, oh my!
Leadership Qualities of Nelson Mandela
How to avoid bottling Emotions

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Is personal branding really as hard as diamonds?

Ever increasing emphasis is placed on an individual’s personal brand. “Diamond in the rough” people of the professional world are those who excel in networking and personal brand communication.

From strong LinkedIn profiles to expert elevator pitches, these individuals stand out.  While learning effective networking tools and knowing how to work a room is crucial, too many people undervalue the first step in success. In order to communicate effectively, one must understand their own personal brand. But first, they must understand themselves.

Understanding one’s self isn't simple. In fact, Benjamin Franklin said “there are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond and to know one’s self.” He had an excellent point. However, creating your personal branding statement doesn't have to be “as hard as steel.”

Personal Branding Statement Pointers:

·         Spend some time with yourself to reflect on personal and professional accomplishments. Utilize your emotional intelligence skills to evaluate who you are and where you stand in life.

·         Write your statement down on paper. This step involves heavy refining, editing and care. Remember to include the following:
1. Your introduction: “Hi, my name is ______.”
2. Communicate your current job title or area of expertise.
3. Let your light shine. The most captivating individuals are those with a cause. Spend a bit of time to explain what interests you about what you do. What would excite others about what you do?
4. Everything you do provides value. Who are you serving?

·         Read your statement out loud and get acquainted with keywords that will help you remember and deliver smoothly.

·         Be prepared to repeat the process above regularly. You change as time goes on. Your title, your top concerns and your audience will not always be the same.

·         Speak with confidence. If you've taken the time to understand yourself, all that is left is delivery. Communication is complex as it relies heavily on non-verbal factors such as body language. Knowing where you come from and getting the words right are the first steps. Becoming a strong communicator is another discussion.

If you’ve read this, you are on a great track for personal brand statement success. Just remember to look inside, keep re-evaluating and stay confident.