The document provides guidance on developing a personal brand through understanding one's strengths, weaknesses, passions, values, and creating an effective LinkedIn profile. It includes exercises to help identify top strengths, weaknesses to improve, core passions, and values to ensure one's personal brand authentically reflects what is most important. The goal is to align one's personal brand with their work so they can maximize opportunities and have a greater positive impact.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome......................................................... 1
1. Personal Branding.................................... 2
2. Strengths.................................................. 3
3. Weaknesses............................................. 6
4. Passions .................................................. 8
5. Values .................................................... 10
6. Linkedin activity...................................... 13
3. Building your tribe
Through personal branding and leadership
1
WELCOME
Welcome to this workshop hosted by staff from Griffith Business School at Griffith University
Dr Naomi Birdthistle is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Business
Innovation at Griffith Business School. She has entrepreneurship in
her blood having started her own business at seven and worked in the
family business (Europe’s largest indoor carnival) for nearly 20 years
on a part-time basis. She is a leading family business expert and is
passionate about assisting family businesses and entrepreneurs to
grow and scale their business.
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Through personal branding
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1. PERSONAL BRANDING1
Your personal brand matters. It’s what people first think of when they think of you. It’s what
you are known for, your skills and capabilities and the work that you do. Branding is about
bringing who you are to what you do and how you do it. Delivering your brand clearly and
consistently will create a memorable experience in the minds of those you interact with and
can open doors to new opportunities.
Make your plan
This personal brand experience is your opportunity to learn more about yourself so you can
identify your unique skills, strengths, and talents. It’s your chance to tap into your values and
passions that guide and influence what you spend your time on and the work activities that you
enjoy and do. These areas form the foundation of your personal brand and can help you chart
a course for your career and can position you to identify and engage in new opportunities.
Each of the following activities will involve you getting introspective to figure out key elements
of what makes you unique. You’ll document your ideas, then you’ll dig deeper to distil what’s
most relevant.
1 This topic contains content and workshop activities developed by Price Waterhouse Coopers and William
Arruda.
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Through personal branding
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2. STRENGTHS
People with strong brands are clear about who they are. They know and maximize their
strengths. Now is your chance to uncover and define the unique skills that make you stand out
from the crowd.
Use the questions below to help uncover your inner star.
1. What was the most successful project I ever tackled, and what made me
successful?
2. What was the most important team role I ever fulfilled and why?
3. When faced with an overwhelming obstacle, what’s my “go to” skill to overcome
it?
4. What are the strengths that others acknowledge in me?
So far I have handled several difficul tasks but the most successful project I ever tackled
was writing a proposal to request for funds from the US embassy to organize an
international conference. The reasons for getting successful in dealing with that included
learning from the previous experiences and continuous consultation with the programme
coodinator.
The most important team role I ever fulfilled was facilitator. Previously, when I worked in
teams I prefer facilitating rather than leading to make other team members feel more
comfortable when working together. In doing so, the team members seemed to be happy
to share ideas and help each other get the work done more effectively.
When faced with an overwhelming obstacle, the skill that I applied seemed different
depending on the situations. I just tried to calm down and see the problem rather than
escaping from it. In this situation, problem solving skill was likely to play an important
role. I solved the problem based on the situation by finding the source of the problem
and find the best way to cope with it.
The strengths that other acknowledge me are being active and having good
communication skills, especially creating good networks with international organizations.
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Through personal branding
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Dig deeper on your strengths
Dig deeper to identify themes and key strengths you want to put in focus.
1. What strengths and skills came up over and over again?
2. Which skills do I enjoy using as often as possible, regardless of the task?
3. What skills have I mastered but would rather not use every day?
4. What skills would I like to build on to create greater impact?
The strengths and skills that came up over and over again seemed to be
leadership skills and being considered as a decision maker in some situations.
The skills I enjoy using as possible, regardless the task were communication and
time management skills
The skills I have mastered but would rather not use every day are team working
and negotiation skills.
The skills I would like to build on to create greater impact are leadership skills as a
woman and problem solving skills.
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Through personal branding
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Identify your top 5 strengths and outline them in a diagram that looks like this:
Activate
Follow the 3 Cs—clarify, communicate, capitalize—to ensure you have a good game plan to
maximize your strengths as part of your day-to-day activities.
Area Description Action to take
Clarify Know your strengths – from your perspective and the
perspective of others who know you well.
Complete the strengths task
above and identify your top 5
strengths
Communicate Share your strengths effectively, in person, on paper and
online
Infuse your strength words into
your elevator pitch, resume, bio
and online profiles
Capitalise Find opportunities that require and will showcase your
strengths
Select leadership and volunteer
opportunities that leverage your
strengths and build your visibility
Good communication skills Active
Good team working skills
Being able to work well
under pressure
Good prioritization skills
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Through personal branding
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3. WEAKNESSES
Everyone has weaknesses. Even Superman had his Kryptonite. Weaknesses might simply be
things that don’t interest you, or areas where you haven’t focused your energies. It may be
skills or capabilities you have identified but haven’t had enough time to use or develop. Whilst
typically we see weaknesses as “negative” and strengths as “positive”, by identifying your
weaknesses you get to explore opportunities to build on them, limiting their impact on your
work.
You’ve probably heard the expression, “keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.”
The same is true of strengths and weaknesses. It is really important to know both.
Use the questions below to identify your personal Kryptonite.
1. What are the weaknesses that I am aware of?
2. When working on a team, what roles do I avoid that may be important to my
goals?
3. When faced with an overwhelming obstacle, what’s most likely to cause me to
give up?
4. What was the least successful project I have ever tackled and what tripped me
up?
I am sometimes impatient, especially when I disagree with some points.
When working on a team, the roles I avoid that may be important to my goals are being
as a leader and coaching.
When faced with an overwhelming obstacle, the most likely to cause me to give up is
overloaded work during the particular period of time.
The least successful project I ever tackled was applying for an ID number in the US
embassy system. However, I kept trying and got successful because of the senior staff
member who did that before even though I spent more than a month.
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Through personal branding
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Dig deeper
Go deeper and identify three weaknesses that you want to overcome because they may
hinder your ability to achieve your goals.
Weakness 1:
Weakness 2:
Weakness 3:
Activate
Follow the 3 Ms—mitigate, manage, master—to identify opportunities to limit the impact of
your identified weaknesses.
Area Description Action to take
Mitigate Minimize the impact of your weaknesses by choosing
fields/projects that don’t require skills that lie in your ‘weak
zone’. Or find a way to outsource the ‘weak areas’ to
another teammate so you can leverage your strength.
Identify weaknesses that c nabe
mitigated by leveraging strengths
or other resources.
Manage Focus only on those weaknesses that may be holding you
back from achieving your goals
Identify weaknesses that need
remediation.
Master Seize opportunities to build this skill so it will serve you well.
Consider leveraging the help of a mentor to turn your
weakness into a strength (or at least develop it so it won’t
hold you back).
Identify skill building opportunities
and create an action plan
What skills are missing? What skills would I like to build but have not yet had the
opportunity to practice? What weaknesses would I like, or need, to turn into strengths?
Trying more challenging tasks
Accepting more roles in my organization
Continuing my further studies
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Through personal branding
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4. PASSIONS
Your passions fuel your actions. When you integrate
your passions into what you do, you’re more engaged
and can create a powerhouse of enthusiasm,
engagement, and inspiration for those around you.
Passions can play a positive role, at work as well as at play. They can:
1. Re-energize you when another task or experience drains you
2. Allow your subconscious to work on a problem while you’re focused on something else
that you really enjoy
3. Create connection and camaraderie with others
4. Provide a productive outlet for excess energy or stress
5. Improve your memory and your mental, emotional, and physical health
In this exercise, you’ll have the opportunity to step back and think about your passions, how
you can integrate them into what you do, and how you can connect them with your career
goals.
Let’s begin by figuring what is the thing that motivates you, that you look forward to
achieving. Enter your responses to the questions below:
1. What would I do with my life if money weren’t an issue?
2. What’s something that, when immersed in it, I lose track of time?
Continuing my further studies Trying a new job
Being part of more projects Supporting my children's education
Trying to apply for a scholarship to study in another country again
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3. What is working well in my current life & career? What do I find fulfilling, meaningful, enjoyable
and important?
4. What can I talk about for hours that when I talk about it, I light up?
5. If I could be remembered for 3 things after I die, what would they be?
What I am working well in my current life and career is being able to support my children's studies and be
What I find fulfilling, meaningful, enjoyable and important is having a warm family and working with friend
Working performance Kindness
Diligence
When I talk about future life, especially the long term goals after the retirement, it light me up.
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Through personal branding
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5. VALUES
Values
Tap into your values. A good way to figure out what makes you tick is to look at your values.
Think of them as your personal compass—they give direction to the choices you make and the
way you behave.
If you’re able to pursue activities and interests that are in line with your values and what’s
important to you at a core level, you will be less stressed. You’ll also save energy and lower
conflict—internally and with others. Your values can point your decision making in the right
direction so you can spend your time in the “right” areas for you. There is nothing more
powerful than aligning who you are with what you do and how you do it and spending your time
on pursuits that have meaning to you.
Identify your top five values and find your true north.
1. Go through the list of values overleaf.
a. Eliminate words that do not resonate with you.
b. Put a check mark next to the values that are important to you.
2. Review the short list of values you checked, pick your top five, and write them on the next
page. If you have a value that’s not on the list, feel free to add it in the space provided.
13. Building your tribe
Through personal branding
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Values
Accessibility Courage Empathy Honesty Originality Speed
Accomplishm
ent
Creativity Enthusiasm Humor Passion Spirituality
Accountability Curiosity Excellence Imagination Peace Spontaneity
Accuracy Dependability Experience Impact Perfection Stability
Adventure Determination Expertise Independence Power Strength
Affection Clarity Fairness Integrity Prosperity Success
Affluence Comfort Faith Intelligence Punctuality Sympathy
Altruism Commitment Fame Justice Recognition Teamwork
Ambition Compassion Family Kindness Relaxation Understanding
Assertiveness Completion Fidelity Knowledge Reliability Vision
Balance Contentment Flexibility Leadership Resourcefulness Wealth
Bravery Control Fun Learning Respect Winning
Calmness Directness Generosity Love Security
Celebrity Discipline Grace Loyalty Sensitivity
Challenge Diversity Growth Mindfulness Significance
Charity Efficiency Health Optimism Sincerity
List the values you have checked and/or values you have added in, below.
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Through personal branding
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Define your values by what they mean to you. It’s important to be clear about the meaning
behind the values you chose. Sometimes two people can have different interpretations of the
same word. For example, to one person, flexibility means being agile in your work style on a
day-to-day basis; to another, flexibility means being interested in working on a variety of
different projects that are thrown your way.
To get started, list your top five values to the right in order of importance. Then define
what that value is.
Top five values (most important first) Definition of what that value is (to you)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I have to be highly responsible for what I am doing.
I try hard to achieve what I am focusing on.
I keep learning at every stage of my life to upgrade myself.
When I do somthing I normally care or try to understand others.
When working hard, I try to make my time free for relaxation.
Accountability
Accomplishment
Learning
Empathy
Relaxation
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6. LINKEDIN ACTIVITY
Having considered your own personal brand, you now will build your own LinkedIn profile or if
you have one already you will redesign it based on what you have engaged with today.
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform and has over 760 million
members. As a member you can use the site to keep in touch with business associates,
clients, and co-workers.
It can also do so much more – it can boost your profile, build brand awareness, and help you
to recruit the right people! As LinkedIn says: Every story needs a hero. On LinkedIn you are
the central character of your own work story. Some guidance on setting up or redesigning your
LinkedIn profile:
1. Help readers visualise who you are by adding a profile photo. Members with profile
photos receive up to 21x more profile views.
2. Add your current position and work experience to your profile. Strengthen your work
story by adding visuals such as pictures, videos, and presentations.
3. Let your skills shine on your LinkedIn profile so readers can see your strengths. Having
at least five relevant skills on your profile will help people connect you with
opportunities.
4. Include your current city helps your profile stand out up to 23x more in searches.
5. Keep readers engaged by adding interesting detail and visuals.
6. A strong synopsis draws your readers in. In the first sentence write you do…. “WHAT I
DO: I help (my target audience) achieve (their top goal) by providing (my product or
service).” You can continue with this by answering questions like:
a. WHO I WORK WITH: I partner with (target audience or industry type) - this helps
potential clients understand who you work with
b. WHAT MAKES ME UNIQUE – this identifies what makes you better, unique or
different when compared to others.
c. WHY IT WORKS: When you partner with (company name) you get the most
efficient, effective and affordable (product or service) that (target audience) is
looking for right now.
d. WHAT OTHERS SAY – insert client testimonials directly into your profile page
e. READY TO TALK? Reach out to me directly here on LinkedIn, email me at (email
address), visit us online at (website url) or call me direct at (phone number).