I recently asked friends, family, colleagues, employees and clients for feedback about my brand using 360Reach (disclosure: 360Reach is a product of my company, Reach Personal Branding). I tell everyone in the Reach community that they should complete a 360Reach assessment every 18 to 24 months or so – so I was long overdue.
Here’s some of what I learned/confirmed:
1. I have a major work overload issue. I am well aware of it – and so is virtually everyone who knows me! It’s the negative side of my brand attribute of creative – where I have so many ideas and want to pursue all of them.
2. Despite some efforts to focus on fewer things – including hiring another assistant, I clearly have not done a great job of it. I need to focus!
3. I consider myself less international than I was in the past, yet others continue to see me as global. When I was living in London and Paris and traveling internationally all the time, I felt more global. Being based in New York City and traveling only occasionally to Europe and Asia makes me feel less international.
4. People can be incredibly kind. It’s humbling to read the nice things that people say. Some of it, of course, you hear from time to time. But I think many respondents use 360Reach as a way to say things they don’t get to – or choose to – say in-person.
5. My positive brand attribute of ‘generous’ is also a negative brand attribute. Weakness feedback included: “Too generous. Gives too much time, energy. Can be taken advantage of.” And “He is so dedicated and so giving to others and I worry that sometimes he doesn’t take time to slow down and recharge.”
6. Projective exercises are the best! Projective exercises refer to questions like “If I were a household appliance, which would I be and why?” Having had nearly a million people use 360Reach, we have received a lot of feedback about projective exercises. Some people feel they are frivolous; others feel they are fun. We include them because they make it easier for respondents and help validate the other components of the assessment. And again, I confirmed my belief that the projective exercises offer some of the most valuable feedback. Reading this feedback was my favorite part of the analysis. Here’s one of the most creative responses: “[William would be a] blender – always whirring around; taking good inputs and making them into even better outputs; able to bring things together and harmonize; always creating and innovating; an instrument of endless possibilities.”
7. It really doesn’t matter who you ask for feedback – as long as they know you well. More than half the people to whom I sent requests for feedback for this most recent survey were not respondents in the past; yet there was remarkable consistency between my last report and the current one.
8. I am becoming synonymous with my company, Reach. This is not my goal. Perhaps I have lost a little of my identity with such intense focus on building the brand of Reach Personal Branding. I have to make a plan to be separate from Reach. Some day, I would like to sell Reach and that will be hard to do if Reach and William Arruda are seemingly one in the same.
9. I’m pretty self aware. When I look at the self vs. others comparison, there is a lot of consistency. In fact, the leadership competencies and team role I identified are identical to collective feedback from my respondents.
10. I understand why 360Reach is one of the most popular offerings we have at Reach. It’s part validation, part valuable insights, part warm hug and part splash of cold water – all at once!
You can see my entire 360Reach report here: William’s 360Reach Report
And here’s my offer to you. If you are one of the first 25 people to read this and act, I am delighted to give you a complimentary premium 360Reach account. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/360New and use coupon code: AWARE. Only the first 25 people to use this coupon will benefit from this offer – so what are you waiting for?