Assignment #3 - Professional Branding

Personal branding always seemed like shameless bragging to me, but the reading for this assignment has got me thinking. The concept that my own personal branding, and the ways in which I choose to market it, also contribute positively to my employer never occurred to me until now. I’m starting to think differently about how to use my own branding to promote myself professionally that will lead to greater recognition and outcomes for my school and district at large.

I have a good reputation with colleagues, both past and present, for being reliable and extremely organized. One step in my classroom will reveal a system of color-coding by subject area that provides consistency for my kids. You will also see a data center set up for the students in my class to track our progress on a variety of assessments and behavior rubrics. A friend and colleague of mine will step into my room for a few minutes a day and just pause with her eyes closed saying, “order and lines… I just needed a little order and lines” before turning on her heel to head back into her own room. Because I have gotten a positive reputation for my organization system (that I also teach my students), I am frequently asked by other teachers for help in setting up their own. I want to be seen professionally, as dependable and organized and I think I’m establishing the basis for that now.

I plan to do several things in the coming year to continue to work on my own personal and professional branding. One thing I am beginning in August is to be a leader on our SIP team at school. After being impressed by what he saw in my classroom this year, my principal is handing me a piece of our SIP and letting me be responsible for it. I get to develop a team to help me with the work, decide what the goal for improvement is going to be and how we are going to get there and I couldn’t be more excited! This is an opportunity to get my name out there and I plan to do everything I can to continue to promote the positive branding I’m trying to establish in my district and beyond.

I love the idea of “reputational power” (Peters – The Brand Called You). Power has gotten a bad rap in the past because it brings to mind the image of pushing and shoving your way to the top, no matter the cost. There is great influence, however, with reputational power. As a principal, if you are known for being dependable, approachable and level-headed – your reputation will precede you. If, however, you are known for playing favorites, not being a good listener and never advocating for your teachers – your reputation will do the same. I alone am in charge of branding myself and I want to make sure I am conducting myself in a way that establishes reputational power within my current building, as a teacher, and eventually in my own building as an administrator. Once you have reputational power with your staff, the effects are far-reaching as you begin to establish that with the families of your students and the community at large.

Technology, especially social media, can play a huge role in the branding of a school. Using a school Facebook page, Instagram/Twitter feed or a school blog (or all of the above?) to keep all stakeholders of my school in the loop is a great way to have two-way communication within that community. Beyond that, it is a great way to promote the positive branding of the school, it’s staff and it’s students (NETS-A 2b)! Taking our own personal inventory and figuring out as a staff, what we are passionate about and what we are great at, and then using technology to promote ourselves will help us to establish “reputational power” within our district and community (Biro – 5 Steps to Empowering the Brand You). Getting my staff up to date on the technology we are using, and having them use it as well (i.e. classroom blogs) will only add to that positive image we are trying to portray.