The brand called CIO

So what are some of the steps CIOs can take to establish or improve their brand?

Darbyshire says the first step is to understand the five elements of a personal brand.

• The first is purpose, “why people follow you”. 
• Second is social style, “the way people see you”. 
• The third is communications, “the way people hear you”. 
• The fourth is history, “how people evaluate you over a long period”. 
• The fifth is versatility, “the way people relate to you and how you relate to them”.

The next step is a “brand discovery exercise”. For this, Darbyshire uses the Johari Window assessment, where a person describes himself or herself from a list of adjectives, and then asks friends and colleagues to describe them from the same list.

“It is like a virtual 360-degree assessment of words to describe you,” explains Darbyshire. These are then matched with four quadrants to understand if the CIO’s self-perception of their brand equals to how others see them and where their blind spots are.

After the self-discovery phase is the building of a “personal brand statement”.

“What is the CIO’s unique value proposition, and what is unique about them that is different to their competitors? What is their core expertise? ”

This is followed by identifying channels to promote their personal brand, says Darbyshire.

Social media is a good channel to promote your brand, says Darbyshire.

If there is only one social network they can pick, he advises LinkedIn.“Grow your connections, aim for 500-plus connections. Make sure you get recommendations from your bosses and colleagues over a period of time.”

Make sure you have a corporate looking photograph on your LinkedIn profile, he states. “The photo should convey energy and personality.”

As well as ensuring your résumé is up to date, he advises sharing articles of interest.“Continually use LinkedIn every day to see what is happening in your professional network, to see who is looking at your profile.”