The benefits of having a personal brand

- Having a personal brand has several benefits. I think, both in the professional life and personal life. For me and the journey of defining my personal brand, it allowed me to discover my authentic self but definitely boosted my confidence. Bringing your whole self, being authentic at work is very important for me to make those long-lasting relationships. And, making those relationships real. For me when I was discussing my own personal challenges like when I had my son for the first time. My work required traveling and I had to chat with my manager that I cannot travel for a certain period of time. And, getting that support was only possible when I was authentic and... open to talk about those things. Bringing your authentic self to work was so important and I didn't shy away talking about my personal challenges, you know, working mom of two, two young kids and that actually allowed my coworkers, young women or women in mid-career to come for advice like, "How do you deal with this?" And, sometimes I also advise how do you take care of a very challenging pickups and drop-offs and how do you get help at home. And, that created a bond between the young women as well as the women in mid-career, who had aspirations but just hearing from the experiences, we built a very, very great bond. When you're vulnerable what I felt my coworkers and my managers, they saw the real side of me. That I'm very genuine, I'm very open and transparent, there is no Shamla at work and Shamla outside work. And, the relationships I can say till date are very real. And, that makes the work actually a fun place to be because you can then solve any tough problem at work when you're able to talk your personal life. As I was going through my own personal journey of defining my personal brand, I think... that whole experience made it very clear what my strengths were. It allowed me to work upon my strengths but it also allowed me to see what the gaps were as I was trying to achieve my goals. The whole journey of reflection which I strongly believe in, it actually truly made it so clear for me, what truly motivated me. What made me happy? That's what defining personal brand was for me. It also made it very clear to attain what fulfillment and meaning meant for me in life and professional life.