Forget the "brand," concentrate on the person

Brand recognition. Personal brand. Create your personal brand.

I'm sure you've heard these phrases before, and since they've been used so much, they're probably coming off like a brand-ing iron to the ears. Even in the non-profit and academic worlds I frequent, I have heard these phrases more times than I could count. Develop your "personal brand," we professionals are told. Little, everyday things contribute to one's "personal brand," like how you dress, who you're seen with, and how you come across to people. Rather than achieving success through working to expand your mind and improve your life, this suggests that success, instead, comes from the way you, your career, and life are packaged (like a brand). When someone sees you or hears your name, they immediately (if you're lucky) think about what you've created your brand to be.

As acclimated as I've become to the business world (both non-profit and for-profit, being the grant manager and all), this is one concept I'm not at all sold on. Sure, I can understand the importance of creating a good reputation and becoming someone that people can trust right away. But a brand? That sounds waaaay too simplistic to really encapsulate who a person is!

Brands, the way I see them, apply to inanimate products, like say, cleaning solutions or foods. When I open up a bottle of Lysol or Soft Scrub to clean my bathroom, for example, I have an idea of what I've gotten and what I expect it to do. I know that I can get tough stains out of my sink and tub with the Soft Scrub and that Lysol works better on my toilet. That's part of their brand and part of my own experience with them. But here's the thing. I use the cleaning products. I certainly don't seek to get to know them, find out how I can relate to them, or establish a connection with them. They exist to serve one specific purpose--to make my home clean and sanitary. They're inanimate objects, not sentient beings with personalities or desires.

A person is a person. Not a brand. We are way too complex to really boil things down to just a little package and nothing more. We have desires and interests and idiosyncrasies that can't all fit into a little package. What does one do if all of those interests don't fit into their brand? Leave those out? Hide them? I mean, people are FULL of contradictions and quirks--even the most normal among us! You've read on this blog, for example, my interest in "buying local" and supporting my local, namely Lake County, community. However, one of my favorite things to do is to visit the ethnic enclaves in the huge cities I visit, get horrendously lost, and come back after 8 hours with a dozen new friends I made and stories to tell. (Last time I was in Armour Square, the docents at the Chinese-American Museum let my family and me in after hours, turned on the lights and videos, showed us how to play some of the games on display, and gave us our own private tour!) However, as much as that made an AWESOME day and birthday, that is not patronizing Lake County. Armour Square is a neighborhood of Chicago. Which is not in Lake County. Does that affect my "shop local" interests? Do I have to turn in my Lake County Chamber of Commerce membership? No, no, and no. That's because I have more interests than some silly narrow definition.

So maybe the focus isn't to develop your "personal brand." Maybe what we need to do is to understand and appreciate the complex, multiform human beings that we all are. A brand can't possibly cover all of that.

The kids are all right

I'm the youngest person at my workplace, and even some of the interns are older than I am. I'm most often the youngest person at most of the conferences/convergences/committees that I'm a part of. As a recent college graduate, you'd probably expect that I would be among the youngest folks no matter what professional setting I'm in.

I don't necessarily mind that, since I can't change when I was born, and I'm pretty comfortable with most aspects of myself. The only thing that annoys me is when people make comments about it. I'm sure you know some of them, but here are some of them:
--"You sounded so much older on the phone/in your proposal/insert-situation-here."
--"You write/speak/present so well for your age."
--"You're a lot more mature for your years."

I know they are probably well-meaning, but does anyone besides me see the condescending nature of these comments?? What they're implying is that what a twentysomething writes or speaks about usually wouldn't have much merit, but I happen to be the exception. Or that twentysomethings usually aren't all that mature. And their comments really are not an observation about how young people act, but rather how they think young people act. I know that some folks may maintain that ageism is directed toward the older members of our society, but I don't think that it's any better or less harmful directed toward the younger members. In fact, it really underestimates and de-values their experiences for the same reason--age! It's equally awful, no matter who it's directed at.

Let me get this straight. I don't write well for my age. I write well. Period. My public speaking skills aren't good for my age. They're good. Period. Public speaking is something I like to do and really excel at. I'm not mature for my years. In most cases, I am just that, mature. (And in other cases, I'm quite the opposite, because, like everyone else, I'm human.) When talking to many funders, I would wager a guess that I'm a lot more knowledgable about crisis work than they are. It has nothing to do with age, but rather experience (which I have a lot of).

I think some of the deepest friendships and best professional relationships I've had with folks older than me (and by that I mean by at least a decade, not one or two years) have been with people who recognize the blessing that is their experiences and wisdom as well as recognizing that the young people have a good deal to share and contribute to the world as well. I think that's so important. It's one thing to realize the experience that comes with age, but it's also vital to recognize that experience and wisdom comes at all ages.

Six months...a revel's reflection

I haven't written in ever so long, mostly because I've been unbelievably busy and partly because I am not entirely sure how I could condense everything I've been feeling into a blog-ready, condensed entry. I've been at my job for six months.

Doesn't seem that long, does it?

I feel like I've grown a lot in that time. I'm still marvelling over the fact that I'm there. For those of you who don't know, I'm working at the rape crisis center where I interned a few years ago. I figured that when I entered the "Real World" it'd most likely be at a non-profit, preferably a women's organization like a crisis center but not necessarily this crisis center. I've learned so much in this short period of time: how to write grants and proposals, how to analyze budgets and audits, how to improve my public speaking skills (I was good at public speaking before, but I think I've really improved), and what it means to represent my cause. All that and more. I feel like I'm really making a difference in the lives of women and children.

Being at the flagship agency in the state also really has made me aware of everything that goes into being among the best. I remember that I studied the history of crisis intervention back during my senior year, and I had made the case that advocates needed to get back their grassroots approach to their work. I still agree with that, but I see the current state of crisis intervention as the next phase in that grassroots movement. No matter how much a center can be sophisticated and polished, the fact is that we still need to advocate for victims of violence. And the kinds of things that we do help bring advocacy and the horrifying subject of violence against women and children into the public consciousness. As much as some of our popular fundraisers may seem like a far cry from the grassroots days of yore, they represent the next stage on our journey because they show that anyone can advocate for a victim, in the largest or smallest of ways.

Being at such a big and multifaceted agency also has made me wonder how the small centers do everything they do and still stay strong. I remember during my days at Rape Crisis/RACES (they go by RACES now but are still as fantastic as ever), all the employees did direct service as well as all the administrative and fundraising tasks. I remember when I'd go there after hours, many of the staff members would be there until 7 or 8 PM. I know that there are agencies that are even smaller and more pared-down, and I really have gained a greater respect for the way that they can do all of that hard work and still stay on top of their game.

Well, I'm sorry I kept you all waiting to hear about my updates, but I think this sums it up well. Happy 2010, everybody!