Strategising Your Success

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Have you ever heard of the term Personal Branding? It’s not something we have made up, it’s a positioning strategy frequently used by leaders and politicians across the globe, to enhance their personal impact and boost their careers. Our Prime Minister is no exception.

As, a role model for aspiring female leaders, a representative of the Labour Party, the Prime Minister of Australia and an ambassador for all its people, Julia Gillard undoubtedly has a huge responsibility on her shoulders. Central to her performing each of these roles, is the cultivation of a strong personal brand and image that projects a confident, capable and statesman-like figure.

One of the most visible personal branding strategies employed by Gillard is the accentuation of her most identifiable characteristic, her hair colour. By intensifying her hair to a deeper and richer hue of red, the colour’s strengthened connotations of energy and confidence are transferred to Gillard’s persona, lifting her appearance and giving her a more striking and energetic presence.

Julia-Gillard_0 copy JG

According to former finance minister, Lindsay Tanner, ‘Gillard has dyed her hair red for years to help build her personal brand. It makes her more noticeable.’ The move also represents Gillard’s embracement of her unique colouring and the development of her assets into a personal trademark that makes her more memorable.

So if you want to advance your career, consider the use of personal branding strategies and how they can help you enhance your visibility, communicate all your skills and capabilities and really project you, at your finest.

A Strong Leadership Brand

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Individuals can be trained and slowly cultured into strong and powerful leaders. But imagine being suddenly thrust into a leadership position without any prior knowledge or training. Well this was how it all began for Sam Walsh, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

It was after the unexpected death of his father, that Walsh’s leadership skills came to surface. Despite being only a young teenager, Walsh took it upon himself to start managing all of his family’s affairs. Undoubtedly, this is a feat that only a natural born leader with great strength of will and character would be able to achieve.

With his strong leadership qualities, it is no surprise that Walsh is now in a high-powered management position in one of the world’s leading resource companies. Despite his incredible degree of authority and power, Walsh remains a very open and relatable character.  He has been known to prefer a more open-door and informal style to leadership which encourages team involvement and empowerment.

Walsh’s individual style to leadership and high level of professionalism is well reinforced by his external image. His choice of blues and purples in shirts and ties, communicate a sense of formality and professionalism, but also reflect his approachability and openness. From a colour perspective, these colours are well suited for his image as blue is a colour which represents integrity, communication and trust and purple denotes vision and regality.

Walsh is also often seen wearing a handkerchief in his suit pocket, which communicates his gentlemanly characteristics as well as adding an interesting twist, which sets his style apart from the more simplistic and conventional style of other high level executives. The addition of cufflinks and a pin finishes his elegant look, completing the image of a refined, statesmanlike figure.

Overall, Walsh is truly an inspirational leader whom has successfully distinguished himself by cultivating an image which strongly aligns with his professional status, as well as his own personal characteristics and leadership style.

Sam Walsh

Helping Young People to Achieve their Career Goals

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

If you have a dream, then you should chase after it.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Well take a step into the shoes of a young woman who has low self-confidence and is struggling to step out of her shell.  There is no denying she’s a smart woman, after all she’s excelling academically at university and has the potential to accomplish great things in life.  But having potential can only get you so far if you’re shy and unsure of yourself.  So it’s not surprising that the thought of attending an interview, which even a self-assured person can find nerve-racking, is petrifying.  Not only that, but this lack of confidence can prevent someone from achieving their future goals.

Unfortunately, she’s not alone.  This somewhat daunting and over-whelming feeling is a reality for many young people who are just starting their careers.  Imagine the surprise of entering the big world of corporate and professional organisations after just having graduated university.  Or having the potential and skill, but not being able to portray yourself visually in the way you want to be perceived.

We all have career goals and aspirations at some point in our lives but making them happen is another completely different story.  And that’s why projecting a confident image is such an important and powerful tool.  We also all have positive qualities, but what many people don’t realise is that confidence defines who you are and helps you in pursuing your career.

EGAMI STYLE recognises the importance of nurturing talent and working with young people to build their confidence, establish an influential image, help cultivate their leadership ability and develop life skills.  For this reason, we are thrilled to be involved in helping young people achieve their career goals through our image programs and workshops as well as supporting the WA Miss Universe event.

From a holistic perspective, our approach enables young people to develop their own unique brand and create a memorable presence that goes beyond first impressions.  For the WA Miss Universe participants, what’s really important is that this is a life skill they will be able to take with them beyond the competition and greatly assist them in their future endeavours.

Keeping your Image Current

Friday, October 15th, 2010

Men, keep your image current this season by incorporate a different trend into your style.  Perhaps introduce a nautical element by opting for a navy suit over black.  When it comes to selecting a shirt, choose dark blue stripes or a simple blue shirt to add more emphasis to your image.

Nautical

Congratulations Renae and Lia!

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Since November 2009 EGAMI STYLE has been working exclusively with the WA Miss Universe contestants on the key elements of personal image, presentation and preparing for their final answers. Congratulations to the Miss Universe WA Finalists who came in second and third at the National Competition: Renae Wauhop, from Perth, who was the runner-up and Lia Tapper, from Perth, coming in third.  That’s an amazing effort!