Joanna Bloor is a veteran in the media space and has worked in leadership roles with companies like CBS Interactive, Pandora, and OpenTable. Joanna is the CEO and Founder of Amplify Lab and has over 20 years of experience in digital media, broadcast television, and radio.

In this episode, Joanna and I dive into what you actually want to be known for in your professional career and how to properly articulate that to your peers and clients.

Joanna has spent a year talking with other women on how they can represent themselves as the experts and get C-suite leadership positions, which are usually very male-dominated.

A big question that comes up is how do you figure out what you really want to be known for? As Joanna was trying to figure out how to answer this particular question, she found that it was actually quite difficult to really articulate that message for yourself.

Another point that she discovered was that once you've figured out what you want to be known for, the actual process of explaining that to others is also incredibly difficult.

If you look at examples of successful executives, the story of who they are and why they do what they do is deeply connected and tied into the company's brand as well. This means that companies need to focus on their executive’s story just as much as they focus on their brand's story.

There is a lot of anxiety around getting your message wrong and there's quite a bit of challenge towards defining yourself down to just one particular thing. However, when you define the type of audience you want to connect with and the types of conversations you want to have with them, the process of 'what you're known for' becomes a lot easier.

Another point you should consider is that it's really okay for your message to change and grow over time. Perhaps it's best to phrase the question as: What do you want to be known for in this phase of life? This will help you narrow down your options based on what you want to achieve -right now-.

When you've found your message, Joanna encourages her clients to talk to 5 people who 'already love you', and talk to them about that message. Call them back 48 hours later and ask those same 5 people what they remembered about the conversation and see if they remembered any 'sticky' words that resonated with them.

Just remember, words change and your definitions change, but the only thing that remains consistent is you. You have to be genuine about the message you put out there and you have to be genuine about the journey you're taking right now. When you have that in place, then defining what you're doing right now becomes a whole lot easier.

Interview Links:

Joanna Bloor’s Website

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Scaling Up is the best-selling book, by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles, on how the fastest growing companies succeed where so many others fail. My name is Bill Gallagher and I'm a certified Gazelles business coach. 

We help leadership teams to get the 4 Decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash right so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth success. Our 4 Decisions are all part of the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 (from the original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits).