By Kobusingye Chantal Flavia
Consider the giants of your professional fraternity and the corporate boardrooms. Their success is rarely accidental. Rather, they understand that brilliance without visibility is a lamp placed firmly under a bushel. To build a legacy that lasts, one must master the subtle art of strategic personal branding.
Personal branding is a rather enormous concept comprised of nuggets such as etiquette, netiquette, one’s demeanour and poise. Etiquette refers to the customary code of polite and respectable behaviour. Netiquette simply translates to the guidelines for polite, ethical and respectful online communication.
Whereas some of these may qualify as obvious, they are not so obvious. One’s posture, tone and body language determine how they are perceived upon first impression, which could be the distinction between one who misses out and one who qualifies for a particular opportunity.
Social media presence is also pivotal in regard to modern-day personal branding. Formidable lawyers such as Senior Counsel Macdusman Kabega, known by his moniker “The Devil’s Advocate”, who has represented several high-profile clients and is currently leading Mrs. Molly Katanga’s defence team, have managed to brand themselves as some of Uganda’s top legal minds through word-of-mouth and tangible courtroom outcomes.
Nowadays, social media presence serves as one’s public-facing professional portfolio owing to the fact that every shared article, commentary and update acts as a pixel in their professional portrait.
Keeping in mind that “an old poacher makes the best keeper”, you ought to be hyper-vigilant of what your profile protects because the internet never forgets.
Finally, intentional networking remains the ultimate catalyst for systematic growth. This could be through volunteering in spaces that grant exposure to potential mentors as well as protégés, such as the recently concluded Journey to the Boardroom Zenith Grand Finale that had Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga and Her Excellency Lisa Chesney, the British High Commissioner to Uganda, in attendance.
The spaces may not necessarily be focused on one’s sector but, as highlighted to me by an exceptional lady, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
It is vitally important to ensure that a relationship birthed through networking is actively sustained. This consistent engagement transforms a brief encounter into a resilient professional alliance and a cornerstone for long-term career mobility and mutual success.
The author is a Legal Scholar ([email protected]).
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