I did a talk at BrandsConf in New York City last week on a topic that’s near and dear to me. It’s definitely one that will continue to grow in importance amid the convergence of the professional and personal web. And it’s one I live and breathe every day.
I call it Brand Symbiosis. It’s the principle that being a professional representative of a company online and off can and should balance with your personal presence, and that all of them can live in harmony.
Symbiosis, in biological terms, refers to organisms that live together in close and sometimes long-term interactions. Sometimes that relationship is essential to the survival of one of the organisms (and yes, biologists, it can be harmful or fatal to the host but indulge me here), but more often, it’s simply a mutually beneficial relationship. And in a business context, I think that’s at the heart of balancing a presence online that has professional and personal elements. Making that happen, however, requires a few key elements and understandings.
Intent
So much in life and business comes down to this. I have to want to do a good job for my company and keep their best interests in mind. They have to want to support my long term success as an individual and a professional. If we have that understanding up front, we learn to trust that the decisions and guidance that we give to one another is rooted in those two things. And having that trust and respect for the people I work for means I’ll use that to guide my decisions and judgment calls, both personally and professionally, since they all reflect on the bigger picture.
Dimension
As individuals, we’re a sum of all the parts. The personal and professional sides of us are actually quite inseparable, as much as we might like to try and draw distinct lines between them. But our actions as individuals reflect on the businesses we publicly represent, and vice versa. In fact, it might be that our individual actions reflect more upon the companies we work for, because they’re considered indicative of a larger mindset or approach.
Conversely, the value of having people that can strongly represent a brand is in their ability to contribute a personality and unique individual aspect that can’t be replicated with a corporate message, so there needs to be some depth there. That’s a massively valuable thing when it’s done with care. Can’t come to terms with that? Then this probably isn’t the kind of role for you (or one you’re ready to have in your company).
By the way, *this* is what I think people mean when they talk about “authenticity”. We so abuse that word. Authentic simply means genuine or of undisputed origin. Which means that you can be an authentic jackass. Or an authentic thief or crook. We don’t really want people to be simply authentic, we want them to be accessible and friendly and interesting. And there is a vast difference.
Honesty
I prefer this to “transparency”, because I don’t think it’s necessarily a healthy thing for all people or businesses to bare it all (and that’s what I read when I see the word “transparent”). What I *do* think is important is honesty. About who you are and what you stand for. About what you will share, and what you can’t (or won’t). About your relationships and associations and things that can potentially color your judgment and actions one way or the other. And the openness to communicate those things clearly and in an approachable, accessible way. Trust is based in the belief that we’re getting a straight answer, even if that answer is sometimes “I can’t or won’t discuss that.” How we judge that answer – and its underlying intent – is up to us.
Alignment
Silly, perhaps. But you have to be in constant communication about what your aims are, what the company’s aims are, and how you’re working toward those things together. There will need to be compromise as well as clear discussion and setting of expectations on a regular basis, as well as candid conversations about what’s working and what isn’t, and where more can be done. As a general rule, most of us suck at open communication. We leave things unsaid, we avoid conflict or unpredictable conversations, we eschew uncharted territory. But as the visibility of individuals and the companies they represent blur and braid together, for better or for worse, communication is the one thing that’s going to help us continually make sense of our surroundings.
Indispensable vs. Irreplaceable
You may be a face and a strong personality for the company, but you cannot and should not be the only or the forever. Building bench strength is critical to being able to support the brand while carving out your own sense of purpose and freedom. There’s a difference between being indispensable and irreplaceable; one means you’re intensely valuable overall in every context, the other means that you’re needed in a specific role or a specific function.
Teach others to fish and do what you do, and you’re always able to grow and shift as the company needs you. Indispensable people are adaptable and flexible, and as a result, they’re an asset in many different places and purposes, not just within the confines of a job description. Be indispensable, and you and your company can mutually empower each other without too much fuss, because neither of you fears being obsolete.
What Would You Add?
I know for a fact that many of us work to strike this balance every day. Whether we’re an official online professional or not, it’s called into question when we debate what photos to put on Facebook or how snarky a tweet we can get away with if we think our boss might see it. We know that Google doesn’t forget, so we wonder whether we can be ourselves yet preserve a sense of respect, of professionalism, of personality, and have them all work in concert. Yes? Do you struggle with this?
What other elements do you think are core to finding that balance? What doesn’t work? I’d love to chat with you more in the comments.
I really like this.
The road to hell is paved with good intent(ions), but the road to salvation is paved with trust. I’m of the belief that there are still a lot of people in the world who view themselves as the sum of their parts, but I like to think we go beyond the sum. True synergy (not just a spot on the board room bingo board) occurs when individuals align their personal and professional goals towards affecting change in the world.
I found the part about alignment particularly timely on this sunny, Phoenix afternoon. Not one for road maps – which I feel merely point out where others have gone before – I prefer using a compass to direct general direction, leaving the route open to interpretation. How am I supposed to inspire others to join me on this journey if I’m not communicating how their ideologies might align with that direction?
Finally, indispensable/irreplaceable is also a powerful reminder that we’re not in the business of telling time, but helping people build clocks. I’ve just had three people join the team, doubling our staff, and yet it just hit me that I’ve merely been asking their input thus far. Upon clicking submit, I’ll be dropping them all lines to suggest some actions they can take to help us make real progress and step up.
Thanks for the inspiration, Amber.
I’m a regular follower of this blog so I thought I would share my story and my opinion.
I struggled with this for a while and then put together a plan to keep my work online persona completely separate from my own personal online persona. The plan was to use Linkedin and my original twitter account, @richbrandt, for my work persona and my Facebook page and new twitter account, @CircleBalpacas, for my personal persona. This plan proved to be difficult to implement and I learned that the work persona was kind of boring, not really me and took a back seat to my personal persona. Because of that I had a very small unengaged following for my work
persona. On the other hand, my personal online persona had and still has an engaged and growing following. I finally decided to merge the two and it took a “leap of faith”. I had to have faith in myself that I would do the right thing and my employer had to take the same “leap of faith” that I did. I’m always an early adopter so it was easy for me, once I realized the logistics of having 2 personas. For a lot of others, the struggle continues.
rich
I always say it’s not a good idea to wear ‘too many hats’ as people like to say. I think being yourself should carry over into your work if you are doing what you love and know you should be doing. It’s called being true to who you are. Loved this.
Amber,
You know I love your writing, this one really hit home.
This line:
“Honesty – I prefer this to “transparency”, because I don’t think it’s necessarily a healthy thing for all people or businesses to bare it all.”
I think it speaks to the bigger picture that we don’t have to play in every sandbox, create a blog, podcast, webinar…because everyone else is and people will see if we’re not doing these things.
Being honest with yourself about what you’re good, focusing your efforts in those areas are way more important than the ‘transparency’ of your activity. As you said, we don’t have to bare it all.
This leads to a specific example.
I initially let what others were saying about me online and behind my back affect my mood. For the past two years I was working hard building my new consulting biz while forming a new elearning company causing me to create less content and visible ‘work’. Now that the company has launched, these same folks who were bashing are now praising. They viewed my online inactivity as being unproductive or not successful.
Lesson learned: Be true to yourself and what you believe. The rest takes care of itself.
Amber,
You know I love your writing, this one really hit home.
This line:
“Honesty – I prefer this to “transparency”, because I don’t think it’s necessarily a healthy thing for all people or businesses to bare it all.”
I think it speaks to the bigger picture that we don’t have to play in every sandbox, create a blog, podcast, webinar…because everyone else is and people will see if we’re not doing these things.
Being honest with yourself about what you’re good, focusing your efforts in those areas are way more important than the ‘transparency’ of your activity. As you said, we don’t have to bare it all.
This leads to a specific example.
I initially let what others were saying about me online and behind my back affect my mood. For the past two years I was working hard building my new consulting biz while forming a new elearning company causing me to create less content and visible ‘work’. Now that the company has launched, these same folks who were bashing are now praising. They viewed my online inactivity as being unproductive or not successful.
Lesson learned: Be true to yourself and what you believe. The rest takes care of itself.
Best post. Just downright amazing post. You stuck a tack in this one.
You talk about such an important topic meshing that online personal and professional sides of ourselves on the web. It’s something that I too am passionate about because so many business professionals struggle with this. As you know, the struggle can be so great that it keeps them from engaging.
I was discussing this with a peer the other week and we both agreed it’s easy for people who naturally are themselves at work and their company aligns with their values, etc. Similar to what you talked about.
The challenge is when someone feels they need to be a different person at work versus outside of work.
I believe this new age of visibility has the opportunity to change how people behave and move from living in two worlds to living in one.
Great post Amber. IMHO, this whole crazy social media world has us thinking too much about me me me. Yes, it’s important to carve out your own brand and leverage that for the betterment of your company. That’s very helpful. I’ve experienced that. It is, as you say, also important to have a deep bench. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is what makes good leaders. Good leaders surround themselves with people that can do what they can do and at times do it better. Our job as leaders is to build that bench and keep that bench on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the sandbox we play in.
So, if you boil all this down, what does it really mean? Be you and if you can leverage your personal side for business gain, the more power to you.
Amber, I get to post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as part of my job, and I do consciously post things that market my team, as well as educate, but I do goof off a little. I think it’s funny that I have a tendency to want to hide Facebook, etc., as soon as anyone walks in. I suppose it’s because everywhere else I ever worked social networking was viewed as “playing on the computer.” Really it’s about building relationships.
I never did like separating my home life and my work life, and my personal side and my business side. I never liked hiding things from people because I was told to, although I did because I wanted to be “trusted.” I’m so glad to be working for a company finally that allows me to be transparent, and EVERYONE benefits as a result. I may do things occasionally at work like pay a personal bill, but I do just as much work at home if not more, so it all balances out.
This was one of the best articles I’ve read in a long time. I’ll be looking for other blog posts from you.
I’m in a good place working for mgmt that realizes most of what you’ve written here is in our collective best interests. I’m allowed to do much of what I do online to build both the personal and the professional sides of “who I am”. And you’re right, they are one and the same.
I would add “benefit of the doubt” to the mix above. There’s something to be said for each “side” to take a step back when disagreement flares up, being able to say, “well, okay, that’s my boss and I trust him”, or “well, ok, that’s the employee I entrusted with all this so let’s let him do what we hired him for”. That sort of thing.
You can’t replace transparency with honesty and get the same benefit. Honesty is about yourself — you’re the judge, and there is not a person on Earth who won’t eventually flex the rules farther than they originally intended. Transparency is about your clients and customers — they’re the judge.
Brilliant. This is a battle I’ve had in my office and have taken the approach of just being me utilizing just one persona. It’s true that we can be different people at home and at work. George Costanza summed it up best during one of his irate diatribes “My worlds are colliding”. More now than ever before our worlds collide with such frequency that I’m not sure they’re separate anymore. Really amazing insights Amber. Thank you.
What a refreshing post. You eloquently say what I’ve genuinely felt for a long time about what makes a job a GREAT place to work. But you brought it all together in one place. How to I tag this – branding? career growth? How about under “important to remember.”
Amber,
I love receiving your posts every day! In my situation, I am my brand since I partner with business owners to have an online presence that keeps their customers coming to them instead of the competition. Most of them are too busy running their business to understand everything about their online presence, so I have to have a trust factor with them, and be a real person to them.
Amber:
You’ve just simplified one of the most complex issues for large brands and their representatives to understand…Thank you!
I love this post, especially the points on authenticity and being indispensable. Those who I view as indispensable are also the same that I would view as authentic in every sense of the word. I don’t think that’s a coincidence either. They “get” that to be true leaders, you can’t have one without the other.
Working with college students on a daily basis, this blog post resonates. Thanks for so eloquently putting to words conversations that I have with co-workers daily.
Working with college students on a daily basis, this one resonates. Thanks so much for putting to words so eloquently something that I discuss daily with co-workers.
Definitive piece on a very important aspect, Amber! I’m passionate about combined life-work dynamics and agree if properly done, brand symbiosis online is a convergence of that. A shift in thinking about this process, armed with better understanding of what it is and is not, provides a backdrop for including only the essentials. Your defining outline is a great place to begin.
Definitive piece on a very important aspect, Amber! I’m passionate about combined life-work dynamics and agree if properly done, brand symbiosis online is a convergence of that. A shift in thinking about this process, armed with better understanding of what it is and is not, provides a backdrop for including only the essentials. Your defining outline is a great place to begin.
This is a great post! “I have to want to do a good job for my company and keep their best interests in mind. They have to want to support my long term success as an individual and a professional.” It’s a shame how rare this kind of agreement is. This part alone could fill an entire course in an MBA program. And all managers should be required to learn it.
My workplace mantra is that your job is only as good as your boss, and I think you’ve nailed why that’s so. Thanks!
I really like this post. I’m a big supporter of being true to yourself and using that to help further your business relationships. If you try to be someone you’re not, or someone else, you might find yourself in a position where trying to be something else gets to be too much and people are surprised to see the “real” you.
At the risk of sounding cliche, honesty really is the best policy. There’s a limit to being transparent but you can take honesty a little further.
This is one of the best articles I’ve read recently. (Oh, lord, that sounds like every piece of automated blog spam I’ve ever received, but it’s true!) One of the challenges for social media professionals is convincing companies that being a real person is not just okay but beneficial in this space.
There are still a surprising number of executives who have never even used Web 1.0, let alone Web 2.0. They simply have no frame of reference for how people interact online today. That SHOULD make it easier for them to understand social media, which is just a faster version of in-person conversation. Apart from the technology behind it, social media is far more old-school than the 1990s-2000s internet, where everyone had umpteen fake screen names.
But perhaps because technology is involved (and it’s a scary complicated technology to this type of person) they decide social media is scary and complicated. I think we can bring it down to this question: Have you replaced the front-line staff in your physical offices with robots? If you could, would you? Probably not. You know you need pleasant, individual, real people in that situation. And they’re smart enough not to turn up at work in bondage gear or wearing an inflammatory political t-shirt. (Unless, hey, that’s what your company does.)
There’s no reason it should be any different online.
A nice piece of guideline that business must keep track of. Thanks for sharing this one out