‘Personal branding’ is starting to feel a lot like the old beauty magazines.
Different audience, same message: look perfect, sound insightful, be endlessly productive, inspirational, visionary and whatever you do, don’t let the mask slip.
I’ve worked in branding long enough to know the power of perception. I’ve even benefitted from it. But lately I’ve been wondering… have we just swapped one set of impossible standards for another?
Where beauty magazines once told us how to glow up, personal branding posts now tell us how to show up, in perfectly lit carousels of leadership tips, morning routines and strategic vulnerability.
Some people are brilliant at it and I admire their energy and consistency. And I don’t know about you, but I feel the pressure. To be polished, to perform, to package things up just right.
Many of us have learnt to play the game. But part of me misses the days when expertise didn’t need a never ending campaign of self.
And I do think sometime ‘sod it, I can’t be arsed’ and then, what about the rest? The ones doing great work but not always “camera-ready”? The thinkers and makers and doers who don’t love the spotlight? The ones whose value isn’t obvious in a single post?
What does it say about us, if being seen matters more than what we actually do?
No real conclusion here, just a quiet question.