During the successful launch of the Young Leader of the Year Award on 4^th June 2019, the EWL and all of our members were delighted to hear from Cathy Hayward, Founder and Managing Director of Magenta Associates on Personal Branding, what it means, and what makes a successful brand.

The seminar was followed by a question panel with Cathy and four members of the EWL Leadership team discussing their own experiences and the impact of personal branding on their professional lives.

So the question is, what is a personal brand and why is it important?

A personal brand is essentially the way in which you choose to personify your identity to others, and a way in which to market yourself as an individual surrounding the values you believe in. We believe a personal brand is important, as it defines you as a person, not just a professional. If done successfully, it can elevate your career and your passions, giving you a platform to share your views, and more importantly, for others to listen.

One of the main talking points of the seminar was looking at what makes a personal brand, and where to get started; we have taken the highlights and detailed some top tips below:

1. Values – Before getting started you need to identify what you believe in, what values do you live by and what are you passionate about. As Cathy put it, it doesn’t matter if that is workplace, talent, sustainability or anything else; this ultimately defines a person, and therefore a brand.
   
   
2. Consistency – Personal brands can always pivot depending on market place, industry movements, events or breaking news; but you must make sure that your message, and your values are clear and consistent.
   
   
3. Trust and Vulnerability – With a consistent approach develops trust, in you as an individual and your brand. Just be yourself, and don’t be afraid to show vulnerability. You are putting yourself out there, remember that people can see through a person trying to be someone they aren’t; so authenticity is key.
   
   
4. Volunteering – Whether it be in your local community or industry specific, a key way to get yourself out there is to volunteer and help others. This is part of defining who you are the type of causes you want to support.
   
   
5. Social Media – Using social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. if of course a fantastic way of building your brand, getting people to notice who you are and what you are all about. It’s not about releasing your ego to the world, its about letting your connections know what’s going on and getting your message across.
   
   
6. Networking and Public Speaking – Networking is an invaluable tool when building a personal brand. As much as you can get your name out there on social media, we need to revert back to the points around authenticity and trust. People want to see that it’s all real. Meet new people, have some fun and let people know who you truly are! There are networking events on a daily basis, don’t attend every single one, but pick the right ones which fall in line with your own brand and target audiences.
   
   
7. Say Yes – Cathy explained that in a world where we are trying to develop the talent of saying ‘no’ more often, there is nothing wrong with just saying ‘yes’ but to the right opportunities. Leave your comfort zone and take opportunities as they present themselves.

What an event!

A huge thank you to PFM in supporting the Young Leader of the Year Award 2019, it has year on year become an award with an increasing number of nominations demonstrating how valuable the process is for nominees, finalists and winners.

Also, a massive thanks to Boden Resource for sponsoring our launch event for the second year running. Without their involvement and support for the award, we wouldn’t be able to spread the word and of course hold our launch event.

Key Dates:

Key Dates	Overview	Location
4th June 2019	Award Launch	The Crystal, London
15th July 2019 (12 Noon)	Submission deadline	E-Mail
Sept 2019 (w/c 9th)	Presentations/Interview	Venue TBC
Oct 2019 (w/c 30th Sept)	Finalists Event	Venue TBC
6th November 2019	PFM Awards Night	The Brewery, London

The awards launch was held at one of the world’s most sustainable properties, The Crystal Building in London, kindly organised through Sodexo, we kicked off with an introduction and discussion around the transition and re-branding of the YMF into Emerging Workplace Leaders. The new leadership team was introduced and we went straight in to the launch of the Prestigious Young Leader of the Year Award 2019. This was then followed by a fantastic seminar from Cathy Hayward (Founder and Managing Director of Magenta Associates) on Personal Branding, with a 4 person Question Panel made up of members from the EWL Leadership Team, telling their own story of personal branding and the impact it has had on their personal and professional lives. The night of course, wouldn’t be done without some informal networking, drinks and nibbles!

Nominating yourself and someone else

We spoke with a number of people at the event who were keen to either put themselves forward for the award, or nominate someone else. Don’t forget that you need to submit a 1500 word written submission by 15^th July.

You will need to write a 1,500-word description of your entry. Supplementary information may also be submitted in the form of graphs or tables etc, but this should be strictly limited. There are no extra points for volume!

Complete the entry form and include it with your entry submission. For entries in Young Leader of the Year category the proposer and nominee should complete the form.

http://www.pfmawards.co.uk/categories/

A final thank you to the EWL Leadership Team, EWL Members and all who attended. Keep spreading the word and see you next time!