October 4, 2022
Episode 151 – Cindy McGovern – Sell Yourself. Build the Brand of Trust
“If there’s anything that is standing in your way of getting more of what you want in your life, I would invite people to examine their brand. It’s playing into it whether they realize it or not.” – Cindy McGovern
- Selected links and people mentioned from this episode:
- Sell Yourself by Cindy McGovern
- Why You’re Not Getting Hired by Cindy McGovern
- Orange Leaf Academy Online Learning
- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- Straight Talk by Rick Brandon, PhD
- The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy
- Connect with REIN Canada
- REIN Canada
- [email protected]
- REIN Channel
- [02:08] Patrick introduces his next TEDM guest, Dr. Cindy McGovern.
- [03:31] Cindy & Patrick swing into action with Cindy sharing what she’s passionate about and how that translates into her business!
- [04:46] Sell Yourself. Cindy explains how and why the title of her book unfolded. As a difficult topic for many, including Cindy at one time, through her business and book, Cindy’s intention is to “de-ickify” sales.
- [06:38] Leadership requires sales. If we want people to buy into our vision, whether raising capital or building a business we have to sell ourselves to build trust and mutually beneficial relationships particularly with the rapidly changing landscape of the last few years.
- [09:59] Patrick discusses the Four Dimensions of Trust: are you telling the truth, are you reliable, are you competent and do you care? While all components contribute to trust, the GAS (give a shit) factor is the make or break factor. Cindy picks up that baton and carries on explaining how many confuse rapport with trust (just because you get along with someone, doesn’t mean they trust you!) which then leads to examining your brand and where the gap may be.
- [11:35] In the reality of virtual business and a multi-sensory community, Cindy talks about the importance of how we present ourselves online and show up to sell our brand – be it Zoom, podcasts, interviews or meetings. How and what do we want to be known for and be trusted to provide?
- [15:06] What is the legacy you want to leave? What impression do you want to leave people with about you? Cindy reinforces that it’s our job to ensure that impression is left, that we embody our brand, those qualities and competencies in all facets of who we are.
- [17:15] Individual brand and our superpowers. In her “workshop in a book” Cindy takes readers through exercises to discover their superpowers and take an honest inventory of what their superpowers are not. Self-awareness is key to understand how the rest of the world may be perceiving you, rather than dwelling in blind spots.
- [19:22] Own it! When we do get clear on our superpowers and kryptonite, work ‘em. Cindy describes how we can reframe the discomfort of highlighting our superpowers to our audience/clients/investors/employers to show them how we will be of value and contribution rather than passively expecting them to notice.
- [22:01] Cindy goes back the critical need to intentionally create our individual brand. There are several chapters dedicated to this in her book, which work through creating, living and selling our brand. These pillars are foundational in how we develop trust. When we are willing to do the work, we will see more results with what we desire.
- [25:39] As a coach, Cindy regularly sees people who are ready to change, up for the promotion, confident in their ability but just not selling themselves effectively. She observes their resistance to honestly look at their gaps, and step into who they need to be to achieve this. Cindy offers wise words around the shift we need to make.
- [28:39] Changing our personal brand isn’t always an easy decision and it comes with layers of unfamiliarity. The first step though, is we must decide. In Cindy’s book, she has a section designed to help with that decision that involves 5 questions that lead to core values.
- [30:54] The journey of our brand, of what we desire to stand for and how we desire to be perceived is a living, breathing, evolutionary path. It is an ongoing work in progress to check in, evaluate, and foster healthy self-awareness.
- [32:38] So why does any of this matter? Cindy explains that if you do desire to advance, or transition your place in the world, this is the work to get you there. She has observed some amazing results with her clients – the key to that is a commitment to maintain momentum in elevating your brand.
- [34:56] Self-examination, self-discovery, and stay true to yourself. We must create the brand that is congruent with who we are. Cindy advises that if we’re not aligned with how we need to show up to support our brand we won’t keep it up. As human beings, there will be off-days and hard days, and that can be the day better spent at home, or we decide to show up for it anyway if that feels aligned. She shares an example of one of her clients to illustrate the point.
- [37:26] Cindy takes a quick dive into her view of social media, how it fits into our branding, and a helpful reminder – what we put out there and post, we can’t take back. Authenticity once again, is the ace!
- [39:39] Cindy shares a bit about her background, her desire to help and teach, and how the work she does now, evolved from a gap she found in her own education which she felt compelled to fill in order to help people soar.
- [42:16] A self-professed helpoholic, Cindy started her first business in 2009 to help businesses grow and make money after the 2008 crash. Then in 2020 she expanded to start an online learning academy to help people build their skills as she observed a collective desire for transition. Along the way she has written books and blogs as resources to enhance learning and success.
- [43:43] In a world that’s shrinking with the widespread adoption of technology, Cindy and her team consistently work to keep themselves ahead of the curve. Because they had already been working virtually for years, in 2020 they were quickly able to support their clients in a shift to maintain culture and continuity in a hybrid environment.
- [45:58] Cindy offers her viewpoint on “the sky is falling” narrative. No surprise she wholeheartedly disagrees. It is in fact a time for leadership and either connecting to or creating a brand that aligns with that. Economies are cyclical. She is coaching her clients to see and seize the opportunity that exists now and to also prepare and plan for the next inevitable “winter season.”
- [53:53] Leadership: innate or learned? Cindy differentiates management (process side) and leadership (people side) to illustrate that leadership is indeed a skill to be honed because people are constantly changing, as is their “why.” That said, she identifies an innate quality that good leaders possess, which makes them better leaders than managers. A desire to lead.
- [56:05] Consciously creating culture and environment is a big part of leadership and both Cindy and Patrick express how they make it a priority in their business. From a personal brand perspective, we either embody what we say we stand for and build trust or we don’t, and tear trust down.
- [61:27] Cindy tells a quick story that demonstrates the ease in building a team when you’re clear on the culture you wish to create, your values and actions are aligned, and your team is invested in maintaining that standard. The more we wear our values on our sleeve and our brand, the more effectively and efficiently we can create flow in our teams and business.
- [64:42] Embracing change and innovation. Cindy encourages her clients to embrace generational differences, promote the dynamics of diversity in their teams which allows everyone to learn and show up as their most powerful self.
- [67:35] Patrick and Cindy riff about intentionally creating how we want to show up, shaping our personal brand and narrative despite how our life occurred up to “this” point. Being a victim to our life is just another brand that we can sell.
- [72:02] Time to shift into a little rapid fire: the book Dr. Cindy loves and recommends; paraphrasing one of her favourite inspirational quotes; a recommended book from Patrick (wait whose rapid fire is this?!); message at the pearly gates; iPhone or Android; room-desk-car; favourite musical artist; favourite movie; go-to “swear” word.
- [78:21] Cindy’s gratitude.
