If someone were to ask you to describe yourself, could you do it in five words or less? If you can’t, chances are you’re not crystal clear on who you are and why you do what you do in this world. The advantage of having a short set of brand descriptors is that it makes it very easy to evaluate things and see whether they fit with who you are. From clothing to jobs to housing to cars to all the other things that exist in our sphere of influence, your brand descriptors can help you see what is working for you or not. For example, I worked with a client recently who, through our process, discovered her brand words were “strong, creative, courageous, spicy, free”. With my support, she was able to use the words to evaluate her wardrobe, moving into clothing that was a better reflection of both her strength and spice, adding more colour and unique elements. She transitioned into a new industry and used the brand descriptors to determine if the new job she was considering had enough of the creativity she needed. She also expanded her evaluation to her relationship with herself and her behaviours and experienced a strong alignment with and more courage of conviction in the accuracy of those words. She is now using them to evaluate and shape her leadership style, as well as an affirmation of all of her unique qualities. Brand words aren’t written in stone, but they can be a supportive guideline for developing a strong professional presence and leveraging that to your advantage. It’s worth it to spend some time getting clear.