NLGJA Student Central > Food For Thought

By Bob Witeck

Just about 10 years ago, I recall the zeitgeist about personal branding. In the age of the individual, Fast Company told us we each had to become our own brand. Huh?

On first blush, the idea struck me as glib fast talk. Until I got the real point: What makes a professional succeed in a career may be very similar to the characteristics or strengths of a successful brand, nothing more profound or more complicated than that. It’s about how others see us and define our value.

Branding implies an emotional or deeper connection we sometimes make with a product or company. Successful professionals can build that reputation capital by using strengths or attributes to define their best work and strongest career traits. These are “brand” strengths that employers savor and colleagues respect.

Journalists and communicators fundamentally work with words and images. Yet when we succeed beautifully, it’s because we likely have deepened the connection with our colleagues, readers and audiences. Ask yourself, “What makes me different or stand out?”

If you were pitching “you,” what would you say? Here are just seven memorable characteristics that signal different brands of successful media professionals:

Resourceful — Your gift may be as the go-to person for unusual angles, deeper expertise, hard-to-find sources and key stats. You are a digger, investigator and fact-finder without peer.

Mentor — You shine by making others shine. Helping bring out talent, skills and knowledge among others is an invaluable asset to any organization. A strong mentor is a professional who dedicates the time and experience to share, build and create more talent capital.

Wordsmith — Some, if not most (sigh), media professionals love words, as well as writing, editing, squeezing and crafting sentences (or visual images) into all forms of expression. The best of this breed are invaluable in many career settings for their power to persuade, enlighten, inform and humor us with well-chosen words. The very best become Molly Ivins or Frank Rich, perhaps.

Connector — If you read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, you will understand who and why connectors matter at all. They are an essential part of all communities, and they make it possible to join human capital together in brief or lasting ways. They relish the mechanics of connecting different kinds of people to achieve a new outcome, and that can result in new products, ideas, ventures and even occasional conflict.

Manager — Are you a born manager? Do you inspire and lead others to do their jobs magnificently? Were you made to blend a team together? Do committees make you cringe or soar? We all know from experience that the best managers are vital to any work but not so easy to identify (or promote).

Specialist — For specialized media professionals, the rewards may be great – as is the sense of accomplishment that goes with it. Mastering a subject or a field can set you apart as the “best in class” and make you more competitive with other generalists in any career field. That is, of course, unless you choose something highly narrow or a bit too specialized.

Trend-Catcher — Some communicators are not only great observing and writing about the “here and now,” but also capturing our imagination by scoping out the world yet to be – and understanding how to communicate about it. Preparing and predicting future trends, you can become an expert prognosticator.

This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of NLGJA Outlook. Bob Witeck is CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. He is a former board member of NLGJA and a lifetime member.