Please don’t volunteer – Your brand depends on it

Build your personal brand by being a professional-contributor

How and why you contribute will affect the perception of your personal brand–so make your professional contributions count. How you show up will dictate how people make decisions about whether they respect you, trust you, or will refer you.  How you build your brand is a direct reflection of the attitude and professionalism you have when you contribute. This judgment is made, consciously or subconsciously.

Part of the Please don’t Volunteer – 9 part series

by Suzanne F. Stevens, Conscious-Contribution™ Cultivator, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), YouMeWe.ca

In one organization where I contribute, I work closely with a volunteer whose objective is to expand her network to build her business. Although she has been successful at making the appropriate connections when I needed her services I hesitated to reach out. In her volunteer efforts, she was tardy when it came to responding to emails; she was passive with bringing forth solutions; and provided incomplete analysis. I didn’t see this person as a potential service provider because of her adjectives: tardy, passive, and incomplete. When you contribute, what adjectives are impacting your brand?

Consider how you conduct yourself as a Professional Contributor. Many people volunteer to enhance their professional careers, while their interactions with other volunteers may jeopardize the professional impression they wish to create.

How to build your personal brand as a Professional Contributor:

• Am I on time for meetings?
• Do I actively participate and contribute?
• Am I open to others’ perspectives?
• Am I just offering advice or am I offering to implement?
• Do I continuously demonstrate respect for other Professional Contributors?
• Do I see my task(s) through to completion?
• Do I bring up ideas and execute?
• Do I take things personally, or in the context of the overarching association objectives?
• Do I communicate to fellow members like they are family or my professional colleagues? [People often take liberties with family; the aggressive, or uninterested tone is an example of being too familiar]
• Do I always need my voice to be heard or my way to be had, or can I move past some issues to move forward on others?

Volunteer as if it was your career

The best advice I can provide to becoming a Professional Contributor is to treat the opportunity, at least at the beginning, as if you were dealing with a client, and that each fellow contributor is an influencer. This approach will put your best foot forward, promote respecting the process, and not become overly familiar with anyone. As you build trust and rapport with your fellow contributors, moving to more a respectful colleague relationship will allow for camaraderie and connection that will promote continued engagement.

The danger becomes when we treat our fellow contributors like family: too direct, too honest, too often. Ask yourself, would I treat my client or a colleague like that?

People will refer you, (don’t expect it), if they like you, trust you and can count on you professionally.

Imagine if everyone on your board or in your professional association was a Professional Contributor. Don’t you think you would be able to move the association and the industry forward more efficiently as you are all respecting others’ time, insights, and objectives?

Also, it’s easier to be a Professional Contributor when there are limited demands on your time and energy, but when it becomes tough, would you just quit? Remember, that decision will create an impression of you, whether you want it to or not.

Until next time, make your contributions count. #MyContributionCounts #YouMeWeMovement

Consider, how is your contribution impacting your brand?

1. Are my contributions enhancing my personal brand?
2. Is how I communicate well-aligned with my brand?
3. Is my participation perceived as a value to the overall organization’s objectives?