Your questions about personal branding answered
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What are the most common personal branding mistakes professionals make?
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How can you build an authentic personal brand without sounding boastful?
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What practical steps should you take to develop and maintain your personal brand?
There are many ways to define personal branding, but no one gets the idea across as strongly as Warren Buffett. He famously said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
While personal branding and reputation are not one and the same, their concepts certainly overlap. “Personal branding is the combination of the footprints you leave both online and offline,” says Irene Chia, founder of Whitespace Management Consulting. “And the line between the two has increasingly blurred.”
From casual Instagram posts to weighty think pieces on LinkedIn to professional networking conversations, where does personal branding really begin and end?
“Interestingly, not everyone has fully embraced the importance of maintaining an online presence, even though online and offline branding work best together,” Irene shares. “Online branding builds breadth, while offline branding builds depth.”
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In other words, personal branding isn’t just about big moments like presentations, interviews, or meetings — it’s also shaped by everyday interactions and one’s digital footprint.
After more than a decade of working with and coaching leaders and professionals across industries, Irene has observed one common struggle — striking a balance between producing content and keeping it meaningful.
“Posting frequently without substance or freshness can backfire,” she reveals. “Repeating what everyone else is saying, even when packaged differently, only adds to the noise.” Instead, Irene recommends being clear about one’s branding and letting that become the content’s anchor.
This is a classic identity issue — one of five top personal branding mistakes Irene has seen professionals making most often.
Below are the five most common personal branding mistakes Irene sees — along with actionable tips on how you can address them.
5 personal branding mistakes most professionals make — and how to fix them
1) Trying to be someone else
One of the most common regrets Irene sees is professionals attempting to shape their personal brand after someone they admire or someone they think they should be modelling themselves after — rather than grounding their brand in who they actually are.
“Just as no two thumbprints are the same, every individual brings a unique combination of strengths, perspectives, and values,” she explains. “A strong personal brand starts with clarity around who you are and what you stand for.”
When this clarity is missing, Irene says personal branding becomes imitation rather than differentiation. The same language is used. The same ideas are shared. And people wonder why they fail to stand out.
Think of it this way — if one’s identity cannot be borrowed, why should one’s personal brand? In the wise words of Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Pro Tip: Start with self-reflection—list your unique strengths and values before modelling anyone else.
2) Lacking in self-awareness
Another major regret stems from a lack of self-awareness. “A person who has never looked into the mirror cannot fully appreciate how they show up,” Irene says. “Without honest reflection and feedback, blind spots simply remain blind.”
These blind spots can manifest in subtle but damaging ways. For instance, how approachable one appears, how one communicates under pressure, or how one responds to disagreements.
These are patterns that shape a person’s reputation over time and can sabotage valuable opportunities in the process, especially if the individual remains unaware.
Pro Tip: Schedule quarterly reflection sessions with yourself and seek candid feedback from trusted mentors or colleagues to uncover hidden blind spots.
3) Saying one thing but doing another
Incongruency — when words and actions don’t align — is another regret that quietly erodes credibility. “If you say you value discipline but consistently give in to the first temptation, that disconnect is felt,” Irene explains.
After all, personal branding is built on trust, and trust is built on consistency in what you put out there. When an individual’s behaviour repeatedly contradicts their stated values, people start to question their authenticity, which weakens their personal branding and relationships over time.
Remember, your brand is not what you claim for it to be, but what you consistently demonstrate.
Pro Tip: Identify one behaviour that contradicts your stated values and create a small action plan to bring it into alignment.
4) Being authentic only when it’s convenient
Inauthenticity — the state of not being one’s true self — often results from acting with incongruence. Many professionals believe they are being authentic yet apply different standards in different situations.
“Authenticity is revealed in everyday interactions, regardless of the demographic or seniority of the people involved,” Irene observes. “When professionals apply different standards to different people, authenticity erodes.”
This inconsistency doesn’t go unnoticed. Whether in meetings, emails, or casual conversations, people pick up on how they are made to feel — and those impressions linger. “No one appreciates being treated as less than,” Irene says. “Your personal brand is strengthened or diluted in every interaction.”
Pro Tip: Be intentional about how you show up. Pause before interactions and ask yourself, “Is this how I want to be known?” Then respond in a way that reflects your values, regardless of who you’re speaking to.
5) When your online and offline selves don’t match
Be honest. How many times have you Googled somebody before meeting them in person? And better yet, check their socials after your first interaction with them?
That’s the reality we’re living in. Today’s hyperconnected world means that personal branding is no longer confined to the office.
“Employers and stakeholders no longer assess you just through your resume,” Irene explains. “They look at your digital footprint just as well.”
“An inconsistent image across platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok can raise doubts about credibility.” Imagine knowing someone at work who champions sustainability a lot but appears to have a cavalier attitude about it on their personal accounts.
When online and offline personas don’t align, personal branding suffers. So, practise what you preach!
Pro Tip: Start with something simple and compare your LinkedIn and Instagram bios. Do they describe you in the same way? If not, rewrite one short bio so your values and focus are consistent across platforms.
How to brand yourself without sounding boastful
Acknowledging the gap between words and actions is just the first step. Many professionals — especially in Asian contexts — still feel uncomfortable talking about their achievements. “Our culture has taught us to stay humble,” Irene says. “But humility was never meant to hide our strengths.”
Drawing from her analysis of thousands of CliftonStrengths® assessments — a widely used tool that identifies an individual’s top strengths — in Singapore, Irene notes that many capable professionals undersell themselves and get overlooked.
One way to communicate strengths naturally and authentically is to stay grounded and factual in the language used. “Starting with phrases like “I believe in…” or “I really enjoy…” feels very different from declaring “I am the best person for…” or “I’m very good at…” she explains.
Irene also recommends focusing on contribution and outcomes rather than self-evaluation. The Context-Intent-Action-Outcome (CIAO) framework helps professionals describe impact without sounding self-promotional. For instance:
- Context: “The committee was brainstorming how best to utilise a donation from the wife of the late founder.”
- Intent: “I raised the idea of leveraging an upcoming event where there was already a critical mass of members to honour the late founder.”
- Action: “Building on that, I suggested using the donation to fund the members’ retreat dinner where pioneering members can testify what the late founder had contributed.”
- Outcome: “As a result, members appreciated the special dinner and gained a deeper understanding of the founder’s legacy.”
“Another powerful approach is letting others speak for you,” Irene adds. “You might begin by saying, “A common trait many have affirmed in me is…” Testimonials, recommendations, and feedback not only validate strengths, but also make them visible in a credible way.
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Your 7-step checklist to building your personal brand
For those just starting out, don’t worry. Building a personal brand doesn’t require big gestures. In fact, Irene emphasises that progress comes from small, intentional actions:
- Clarify your intent: Start by defining the purpose of your personal brand. Is it to advance your career, promote a service, or build partnerships? Being clear about your intent ensures you act intentionally, rather than following others or trends blindly.
- Define your audience: Is it a global audience, an industry, or a specific community you want to reach? Knowing your audience will guide the tone, content, and platforms you choose.
- Choose your platforms: Identify where your audience spends their time, online and offline, and select the platforms accordingly. And remember, less is often more — focus on 1 or 2 platforms that you can maintain consistently.
- Decide how often you want to engage: For online platforms, posting once every two weeks is a good starting point. Plan your content ahead to avoid writer’s block during busy periods. For offline engagements, determine how often you will network and attend events — and make the process enjoyable so it becomes sustainable for you.
- Maintain presence through interaction: Even when you have no new content to share, you should stay visible by commenting thoughtfully on posts or contributing to conversations that align with your values and brand.
- Gather feedback and adjust accordingly: Check in from time-to-time on engagement metrics or speak to those around you to understand what resonates with people and what does not. This allows you to identify content that aligns with your brand and strengthen your messaging.
- Reflect and refine: Your brand should evolve with you. What matters today may not matter a year from now, and setting time aside to reflect on your journey can give you insights to refine your brand, content, and approach as you move along.
Brand wisely, because you’re already branded
As professionals gain visibility, Irene urges them to stay anchored. She suggests taking time to review their personal brand by asking a simple question: “If someone were describing me today, what would they say?” Tools, including AI, can even help audit digital presence and highlight misalignments.
Irene also highlights the importance of a memorable introduction. “Work on a 20-second elevator introduction that will leave an impression,” she explains. “Think about a quirky or unique tagline that captures your essence.”
Take Irene’s own 20-second elevator introduction as an example: “Be careful, I can read you like an X-ray machine. I enjoy studying the behaviours of people at work and in social settings, and I do so through the lens of 15 psychometric tools in my toy box.”
For professionals who feel they’ve missed the window, Irene’s take is clear: It’s almost never too late, thanks to the prevalence of social media. “A single post, insight, or interaction can reach thousands and create rooms for career growth, partnerships, and influence,” says Irene.
But visibility comes with responsibility. “Missteps are amplified just as quickly,” Irene cautions. “An insensitive comment, inconsistent messaging, or even prolonged silence can shape how others perceive you negatively.”
In the end, personal branding is not about perfection, but about ownership. “Personal branding is your responsibility,” Irene advises. “Brand wisely!”
Because whether you choose to shape it or not, your brand is already speaking on your behalf.
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