Confident. Polished. Attractive.
What do you want your professional image to say about you? The way that
you come across in your professional image,
can say a lot about you, especially in a first impression.
Many studies have shown that within the first few moments of meeting somebody for the first time,
they are able and they are constantly, and this is very
very natural, assessing your likability,
your agreeableness, your intelligence, and your competence based on the first impression
of your professional image. So, in this video,
what I want to share with you is, how you can improve
and enhance your professional image using these five practical steps.
The good news is your appearance, your executive presence
and professional image does not mean doning
red carpet fashions or hollywood style makeup and intense hairdos.
It does not mean that. And if you want a deeper dive,
by the way, I've created a video earlier around how to always looked
look confident and polished, no matter where you are.
And the link to that video is right here.
How to always look polished and confident?
So if you want a deeper dive right after this video, go to that video as well.
And go on a deeper dive. But today I'm showing you five practical
tips on how to enhance your professional image.
And tip number one is understand the context.
So you've heard the adage of dress for success, right?
Everyone is sharing this tactic
when it comes to job interviews, promotion, showing up in your first day of work,
and so on. Just for success, seems to be the phrase,
be it common advice, but what does it mean?
And that's why, the first tip is to understand your context
because just in for success in one context is different form from dressing
for success in a different context.
So the context means the environment
in which you're working, the culture at work.
What are the cultural norms in your workplace?
It could mean also the context of who you are meeting with on a daily basis.
And what do, how do they show up?
And also the image hat you want to project when it comes to your career,
trajectory in your niche and in your industry,
so that is understanding the context. And when you understand your contexts,
your particular one, know that it's not the same as others
giving you advice from a different perspective.
It is your unique context
and when you understand that it will inform you on how to put together your professional image.
Step number two is to communicate your uniqueness.
Your professional image is so intricately tied
to your personal brand and your personal brand says,
so much about you, including your values,
your beliefs, your dreams, your goals, your mission and what
you know to be the purpose of your life. It is so intricately tied that it is inseparable.
So this is about building your personal brand and there are two sides of it.
One side is being able to articulate your uniqueness
and the other side is knowing exactly who you are.
And by the way who you are is not your job title,
who you are is not what you do and who you are is definitely not how much you make.
So when it comes to being able to articulate who you are,
I have created a video for this very recently
and it goes into a really deep dive on understanding who you are, knowing yourself
and not letting others define you.
So to go deeper dive into that topic,
go to this link on the edge of the screen right here
and there will be a link to that video, deep dive into that
so you can really determine who you are and be able to articulate that in your personal brand.
The other side of it is being able to articulate your uniqueness.
Your uniqueness is something about you that no other person has
and this is something you have because if you think about it,
your particular experiences, your education,
your knowledge, nobody else in the world has accumulated it the
way that you did in the order that you did it.
So in other words, nobody in this world could do exactly what you do and knows exactly what you do,
but you got to be able to articulate exactly how you are unique and different from other people,
if you don't articulate this well, or if you're unable to articulate your uniqueness,
then others will automatically compare you to the credentials, to your credentials,
your licenses, your years of experience and now you’re competing against everyone else.
And it's really difficult to compete on those things.
But if you can differentiate yourself and articulate your uniqueness,
this is where you can shine. And by the way,
if you're serious about knowing, how do I communicate this?
How do I communicate the value that I have to
bring so that I can be successful on job interviews so that I can effectively get the promotio,
get buy-in from my ideas, and have other people respect my leadership?
If you're serious about about being able to produce these results for yourself and your career,
then I invite you into the opportunity to work with me.
I have a master class where I've taught many,
many hundreds of professionals all across the world on how to achieve this skill,
and this is a skill in the art of communication.
Communicating your uniqueness and value you have to bring if you want my help.
And you are thinking that it is time that I move forward in my career.
Then I invite you below this video there's a description and in the link there in the description,
there is a link that is a link for you to apply to book a call with me.
And that's where you're going to meet with myself or a member of my team.
And we're going to just have an initial conversation to see
whether or not this is the right fit
and if it is then you have an opportunity where I will be working directly with you.
Giving you coaching and guidance and also masterminding with you on how you can apply this
to your situation. Tip number three is to decide on your goals.
What impact do you want to have when you enhance your professional brand?
For example, do you want to become more approachable?
Do you want to appear like you have executive presence,
like, people know that you're in charge,
or do you simply just want to refresh your current image?
What are your exact goals and the impact you want to have when people see your new image?
And so from that stand point, once you are clear on your end state,
this will inform you on your wardrobe choices,
it'll also inform you on your way that you show up, your presence as well,
your aura, and also the way you connect with people.
So start with your goals in mind and let what
you know, and let what you discover guide you towards that end.
And tip number four is to be of genuine service to others,
right? This is important for your professional image
and your personal brand as well when it become when it comes to being a genuine service.
What I mean is find a group of people that you are going to serve
and you are going to provide equitable
fair exchange for those individuals, serve them to their highest,
using your knowledge, and your expertise,
and find something that is within your core competency to be able to solve problems
for them and be well
compensated for in return. So, this is about your willingness to
operate at a work ethic out of having genuine
integrity to serving others,
but at the same time knowing that the essence of professional image
and moving forward with our career is all about,
it's not about getting something for nothing.
But it's also not about giving everything for nothing in return,
but it is fair and sustainable,
and equitable fair exchange that you are giving something your
service to your highest potential to others to
as many people as you can.
And you are receiving fair and equitable fair exchange compensation,
as a result of it. So this is part
and parcel of enhancing your professional image
because when you lead you lead for, you lead with what you value,
your mission and your purpose in life. And so if you are an individual a person on a mission,
your mission is to serve others as more people that you can serve using your knowledge,
your expertise, and getting a fair compensation in return,
you will be on your most inspired career path.
And this is a really top executive professional image to be able to
maintain and do so with inspiration.
Tip number 5 is to make your attire sustainable.
When I say sustainable, I'm not referring to the materials that
your clothing is made of. And is it a sustainable material?
What I mean, is that your choice of clothing every day could be,
because this is part of your professional image,
a very important part because it goes towards the first impression. And but every day,
you know, your brain has a limited number of decisions.
And that's why it's quite easy to go through decision-making fatigue
because as a professional, as a career professional every day,
you're making so many decisions at work.
So many decisions pertaining yourself, your family,
your colleagues, your teams as well. And that results in decision-making
fatigue. And bright in the morning is where it is
so ripe to make your best decisions.
And if you are spending a lot of time in the morning on your attire, choices with
attire, then that uses some of your mental resources
when it comes to decision making.
So my tip is to make your choice and your choice of attire sustainable,
which means that you are creating systems in your wardrobe to help you make decisions easier
faster and without a lot of mental resources.
So for example it could be instead of having one of every color across the rainbow
and all different shades of colors.
Try using different colors, where you just have a few colors,
where it's easy to mix and match between outfits and where,
you know that the colors will look good,
even if you swap them and that way you don't need to be spending a lot of time deciding
and wondering if this matches or that top matches that bottom and so on.
Right and that's why, have you noticed this that Steve Jobs
wears he same thing every single time? It is that black turtleneck and blue jeans.
Why? Because he understands this when it comes to the brain’s decision-making fatigue,
so he doesn't want to spend his decision-making on a daily basis
on things that don't aren't a high priority.
So then he just simplifies it. His entire wardrobe
is the same and that way there's absolutely no mental resources
going towards the attire. And so this is the same could be true for you.
Maybe you're not aligned with the value of having,
only the same outfit every single day,
but you can systematize it
so that it can be a choice that doesn't require a lot of mental resources
and I would recommend if you are if you're interested to seek a stylist as well,
just a consultation with a stylest in terms of
what colors are easy to match that look good on me, in terms of my skin tone
and my structures as well.
And therefore you can be able to system systematize your everyday
so that it does not take a lot of mental resources away
from your decisions. With that
those are the five tips to enhance your professional image.
And I want to hear from you comment below.
Have you noticed that I was changing my my wardrobe, changing
my attire with every tip? I want to hear from you, which was your favorite?
And what have you learned from this video in terms of how you are going
to implement your enhanced professional image?