One of the best tools to build a recognisable professional brand is to get clear on your ‘archetype’. 

An archetype helps you identify what role you are playing in the industry and subsequently to your audience and build around it. It isn’t a rigid structure you can’t escape, nor is it a life sentence. Myself, I’ve been one and I’ve become another. You might identify with two of them, being a mix (allowed) but lets not get carried away (no more than 2 thanks). What it does, is it gives you a framework and support in how you position yourself and your message. 

As you’ll see below, the ‘Builder’ would be a great fit for someone at the beginning of their entrepreneurship journey. People with a start up, big aspirations and building the plane in the air. There are loads of advantages here, they can build in public, grow community and take the audience on the journey. However that person, deciding they are an ‘Expert’ instead might find it hard to position themselves as such if they are having troubles building the business. You can’t call yourself an expert at starting a business if your business isn’t expertly-run. 

Therefore, the key to finding the right archetype is self awareness. Accepting where you are at and remembering that it’s ok to be learning as you go professionally. In fact, I’d encourage you to take the position of ‘student’ AKA ‘Avatar’ (not the blue kind) within your archetype unless you have undeniable bona fides as an expert. Being an avatar grants greater flexibility, room for growth and takes the pressure off. Then maybe, one day, you might become the expert. Take people on the ride with you. When someone knows your archetype, they know how to position you, refer you, and remember you. 

The 6 professional archetypes in the disability sector

The Challenger – Questions the status quo. Says the things others think but won’t say. Known for disrupting comfortable conversations with contrarian takes. Quick note, contrarian is not the same as controversial. Controversial is trying to get attention by saying things you know will upset people to upset them. Contrarian is challenging old paradigms and calling inconsistencies not for attention but rather to make things better.

• Good challenger: Drives change, starts conversations, says what others are thinking.
• Bad challenger: Contrarian for the sake of being contrarian, without substance or consideration. 

The Expert – The deep specialist, acutely knowledgeable and passionate about one particular field of knowledge. Known for knowing more about their ‘one thing’ than anyone else. Again, a great archetype if it’s actually you. But you better live and breathe this subject. The important distinction to make is that being passionate about a subject doesn’t make you an expert on it. Look at your credibility exercise we ran last week. Do you have the wins and achievements to be here?

• Good expert: The go-to authority in this subject, speaking at conferences, educating others and bringing clarity to something confusing.
• Bad expert: Inaccessible, jargon-heavy or just unqualified. Poor communicator making it more complicated as well as gate-keeping. Don’t be a gate-keeper. 

The Connector – Knows everyone, everyone knows them and brings people together. Their value is in their network and their ability to see the right connectons to be made and not just fo themselves. This is a relational industry, so being great with people and connecting them is a sure-fire way to build valuable relationships and expand your reach. Just make sure you’re not only living this lifestyle, but that your reputation is solid. Ideally you’re a capybara, someone who gets along with everybody and genuinely enjoys other people.

• Good connector: A gravitational force that brings people to them through events and coffees, sees every problem as a question of ‘who can help here?’. Ideally they are more interested in seeing others win and look to help everyone (understanding that will also help them).
• Bad connector: Makes plans and grand statements that don’t get carried through. Don’t care for their reputation and are all talk. Worse, is they are obvioualy self-interested, making everything gross.

The Builder – Creates cool things. Businesses, programs, systems, communities, whatever will drive the change or purpose they are looking for. Known for making things exist that didn’t before, figuring things out for everybody’s benefit and happily making mistakes in public in service of their project. So make sure you’re committed to whatever it is your building, starting and bailing on countless products hurts the brand and zaps credibility.

• Good builder: Has a clear why, which intuitively connects to their project. They are focused, excited and adaptive, in love with the process and build in public. They’re an avatar for people wanting to start their own thing.
• Bad builder: Has a bunch of different projects, each with their own big idea and they go nowhere. Don’t evolve, don’t build in public and changes every week. 

The Storyteller – Translates complex realities into human stories, able to find core themes to these stories and retell them in a way that imparts wisdom, emotion and a call to action. Whether it be storytelling their clients, themselves or characters in the sector, the ability to tell stories (really well) is the ability to communicate at a high level and move people. Becoming known as a storyteller provides speaking opportunities and gives you endless source material. Makes people feel the importance of issues that statistics can’t convey. At their best: shifts culture. At their worst: all narrative, no substance.

• Good storyteller: Is able to shift culture and prevailing opinion on certain subjects. Remind people of the human part of the sector and advocate for people unable to advocate for themselves. Good storytelling isn’t fluff, it’s actually hard-hitting. 
• Bad Storyteller: Poor communication that just bores people, leaves no mark and in some cases confuses the underlying message. Bad storytelling can be harmful or be seen as gossip or simply irrelevant. 

The Coach – Loves developing people, teams and culture. Known for their ability to unlock potential in others, has an interest in psychology, workplaces and systems. If you’re an amazing operator with great teams, efficient work practices then the coach archetype can position you as a leader in sector capacity building AKA the person with the blueprints. Appeals to prospective customers and employees. 

• Good coach: Advocates for improving the sector’s capability and workforces. Whether it be training, recruitment, systems and processes. They see this industry as a people industry, and that people are our most valuable resource
• Bad coach: Gives advice without accountability, has crap teams themselves and just bashes bad practice or promotes themselves as awesome. 

Most people are a blend

You’ll probably see yourself in more than one. That’s fine. The question is which one is primary, which role do you most naturally fall into and which one gives you the most energy?

Exercise

Choose your primary archetype and your secondary archetype. Write two paragraphs: one explaining why the primary fits you, one explaining how the secondary shows up in your work. Eg: I’m a builder (primary) with some storyteller energy (secondary).