Have you taken the time to discover, then capture, your professional voice?
Understanding, and then articulating, Who You Are as a Business Person of Worth catalyzes clients to do continue to do business with you.
When you capture your professional voice first, in the words of Don Miguel Ruiz, you are on the road to becoming impeccable with your word.
Not only that. When you capture your professional voice first, you retain customers as a result.
Just what is your Professional Voice?
Perhaps you feel you are doing just fine, repeating your company’s selling value proposition or some snippet of marketing communications speak. Value propositions or marketing communications are not your professional voice.
Current and potential clients hear these phrases indifferently. You come across not only as shallow and unsubstantial. Also, you appear inauthentic and uncreative as well.
Why repeat someone else’s one-size-fits-all words if these phrases do not fit Who You Are, What You Do and, most importantly, Why You Do What You Do?
Not only that. Ask yourself why you would leave your professional definition in the hands of other people who neither know you nor understand you?
Repeating someone else’s words does not make you professionally credible. However, in capturing your own professional voice first, you understand how, why, when and where Who You Are complements your organization’s values and mission. ~ Babette Ten Haken
Capturing your professional voice is not about education, certifications, academic degrees or the job you do.
Your professional title or job title will not adequately communicate Who You Are, What You Do and Why You Do What You Do. While your title may sound impressive, do your professional actions speak louder than someone else’s words?
A job title or academic degree tells people what you are trained to do, not whether you are any good at doing what you do. In addition, a job title, academic degree or training certification does not convey whether you enjoy what you are doing.
Clients see far too many professionals hiding behind professional backgrounds that do not match up with the quality of what they expect you to deliver consistently. Years of training may not equate with whether your core professional competencies create enduring business outcomes.
You may just be doing your job without passion, conviction, values and ethics. Because you haven’t taken the time to capture your professional voice first. And incorporate your self-discovery into your job functionality.
Discovering and defining the magic that happens at the interface between training, knowledge and self-discovery translate into valuable and enduring professional outcomes. ~ Babette Ten Haken
Understanding your Professional Voice involves Self-Discovery first.
There is no technology, assessment or app for self-discovery, folks. If you continuously are honest with yourselves.
When you think about it, putting YOU in the hands of someone who is hiring you, measuring you, assessing you or scoring you often creates greater confusion than it does clarity.
While the results of these tests are prescriptive to others, at times they deviate from accurately reflecting Who You Are, What You Do and Why You Do What You Do. You know that. Except your clients don’t.
And here’s why.
Because you haven’t taken the time to answer those questions for yourself. And take your responses seriously.
First, based on someone else’s opinion, you over- or under- perform. Depending on your professional context, your performance may be neither acknowledged nor appreciated.
Then, you feel frustrated, inadequate, confined or limited.
As a result, it just could be that you are not being true to Who You Are as a Business Person of Worth. Consequently, you short sell yourself and your capabilities.
Unfortunately, if you do not learn to capture and articulate your professional voice, you find yourself in the wrong job at the wrong organization at the wrong time, working with the wrong clients.
You and I know you are better than that.
Finding your Professional Voice takes a page out of Voice of the Customer Methodology.
So here’s what you and I are going to start to do, beginning today. For those of you with STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) backgrounds, you know about Voice of the Customer Methodology (VoC).
VoC is all about Design for Six Sigma, customer-driven design and development for new products and services. Discovering your professional voice through VoC also is about learning to tell your story and focusing on customer success for customer retention.
Here is your epiphany. You are responsible for re-designing YOU. Starting today.
Finding your professional voice deconstructs you, then reconstructs you. As a result, all of your critical professional components begin to work together more harmoniously. When Who You Are complements What You DO and Why You Do What You Do, you are joyful. And you become a joy to work with.
Clients flock to you and stay with you.
I wrote a little book called Do YOU Mean Business? If you read nothing more than the first four chapters, you are well on your way to re-engineering yourself and capturing your professional voice.
However, if you are ready take action, rather than read passively, then it’s time to discuss your ideas and customize a program for you.
When you capture your professional voice first, an expanded universe of A-List clients await you. Why settle for anything less than working with the type of organization and the kind of customers that you were designed to best serve?
What are you waiting for?
Babette Ten Haken is a catalyst, corporate strategist and facilitator. She writes, speaks, consults and coaches about how cross-functional team collaboration revolutionizes the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) value chain for customer loyalty, customer success and customer retention. Her One Millimeter Mindset™ programs draw from her background as a scientist, sales professional, enterprise-level facilitator, Six Sigma Green Belt and certified DFSS Voice of the Customer practitioner. Babette’s playbook of technical / non-technical collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. Visit the Free Resources section of her website for more tools.
Image source: iStock
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