Speaker 1: A huge thank you to NZ Mortgages for supporting the Lead on Purpose podcast. You can check them out at nzmortgages.co.nz. Are you tired of being overlooked for promotions? Wondering how to stand out in a crowded market? I'm going to answer those questions by sharing the top three ways to increase your market value and get noticed for all the right reasons. Hi, I'm James Laughlin and on this channel, we unlock your full potential through proven habits and strategies for personal mastery. Today, I'm diving into three powerful strategies that will help you increase your market value and make you more competitive in your field. I don't know about you, but often throughout my career, I've always thought I'd like to be paid more for what I do. Like I deserve to be paid more. Look at what those people over there are being paid. You know, the grass is always greener. Well, I believe the grass is always greener where you water it. And that's about looking at yourself and asking yourself, am I adding enough value in my life? And I don't think we can give things until we have things. You know, you cannot give what you do not have. And what I mean by that is if you're not learning and upskilling and adding value to yourself, then there's no way you can add value to a team or an organization that would warrant significant promotions, significant responsibility increase, significant pay increase. So I'm going to share with you some of the most powerful ways to add more value. And over the years, I've sat with CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies, listed companies, small teams, entrepreneurs, highest performers in sport. And you know what? I keep seeing these things show up. I'm going to share three really crucial points that I hope will serve you. Number one is this, skill mastery. You've got to deepen your expertise. It's not a passive sport. You've got to really get amongst it. The more you know, the more valuable you become. You're the go-to person. Please do not think, oh, AI can do that. There's no point in me learning or memorizing things or going deep on a subject. AI will be able to do that. No. People want to work with you if you have uniqueness. You will always be relevant if you're unique. The other thing I want you to think about is focusing on mastering a specialized skill. Something very specific. You know, there's some people out there who like to talk a lot about a little and there's other people that like to talk a little about a lot. The people who are generalists and they talk a little about a lot of things don't generally get paid handsomely. People who go deep and become the expert in a team or organization or even an industry, when they go deep and they can talk a lot about one thing or a little, they are generally very well remunerated for that. So what is it that you're passionate about? What is your strength of yours that you could double down on and become the go-to person? That allows you to demand more money and promotions. And that could be a communications thing. It could be a planning thing. It could be a relationship building thing. It could be sales. It could be marketing. It could be future planning. I have no idea what your thing is, but I know you've got a thing. But are you doubling down on that thing? Are you learning about it, researching, getting educated? Outside of work hours, that's where the gold lies. Look, invest time in continuous learning. A friend of mine once said this principle of can I, C-A-N-I, constant and never-ending improvement, right? Constant and never-ending improvement. It shouldn't be a one and done thing. Done high school? Cool, tick. No, learning should be slow, gradual, but really consistent. So take some courses. I don't know about you, but I love taking courses. Sometimes I'll go to a course. It could be multi-day. It could be day. I also like online courses. I've done a number with Yale. What was the other one? There's another one a few years ago. It was just a phenomenal online university-based course. And I learned a lot. I like doing coaching courses, getting certifications. I want to be an industry leader, not a follower. I want to be right at the forefront of it. And I know that that way I can serve the one-to-one clients that I coach. I can serve those teams that I'm consulting that are working at the highest areas of their industry. So I want you to think about that. And in summary, by becoming a go-to expert in a niche area, you make yourself very relevant. You make yourself indispensable. No matter what area of your career you're at. Maybe you've been a CEO or a CFO for 15 years. I promise you, if you want to stay relevant and your next role is going to be a move up rather than sideways or down, you've got to invest in your personal growth, personal development, personal mastery. Same goes for someone coming out of uni. It just never stops. Okay, let me share the second point with you. Really, really important point. While you're here, please hit that subscribe button if you're on YouTube. And if you're over on Spotify or Apple, please leave me a rating and review and share this with a friend. Everyone should know how to level up their value in whatever marketplace it is they operate. Here we go. Point number two, build your network. Build it. Expand your professional connections. I think of it as influence ship. I like to think of it as a whole. It's almost a science and an art, but it's a commitment of constantly how do we influence others, add value to others, build a network that's truly unique and very robust. So when you most need that network, you can tap in, but also you can give, give, give. So number one, you've heard this before, but your network is your net worth. We all know that, but often we're not taking time to consciously craft our network. I arrived here in New Zealand 20 years ago almost. It's coming up 20 years next year with a credit card that had about a thousand dollar limit on it. I don't think I had any cash. Maybe I had a hundred dollars. I didn't really know anyone, 12,000 miles from home, but through consistent connections, conversations, curiosity, I've built a network and it's one that I love. It's one that I'm proud of. It's one that I know I can add value to and also that can add value to me. Now I can reach out to people at all various levels of industry, politics, work, sport. Why? Not because I'm special, not because I have a secret sauce, but because I just consistently connect with people that I find interesting. I'm just curious. Number two, as part of that second point is make sure that you're attending industry events. I meet lots of people in facilities management. Why? I'm in large industrial places, delivering corporate training to corporates and organizations that are using those spaces. And often in there will be a person who manages that facility, that building. And I say to them, are you going to the FM industry event this year? Oh no, why would I go to that? Wow, what an opportunity you're missing out on. If you're in marketing, get along to the industry events. That's where you learn. That's where you stay ahead of the game. That's where you build your network for your next role, your next job, your next challenge you need to overcome. Maybe you're trying to hire some staff, get to those events. You'll find the staff, the good ones at those events. So join professional groups in your industry. I'm not a massive fan of the BNIs and it's not to pick BNI out, but it just comes to mind. But those very transactional networking groups, not a big fan. I just think it can be fast, wham, bam, thank you. What can you do for me? What can I do for you? I like the long burn, the slow burn. Now, if I've offended you, I apologize. But if that's the way you operate, that's great. And if it works for you, that's awesome. It doesn't work for me. I like slow, long-term relationships with people, with businesses, with providers, suppliers, educators. Just take it easy. Don't get into that, what can I do for you? What can you do for me? Just start to get to know people. Lead with curiosity. And I want to say that strong connections can lead to new opportunities and collaborations, and they will massively elevate your value. And in summary, like a robust network, not only opens doors, but also positions you as a key player in your industry, which of course will boost your market value, right? Okay. Last but not least, I was actually speaking before I tell you what it is. I was speaking at an event at the Christchurch Town Hall a number of months ago. And it was to an amazing organization who have an amazing national brand. And I said, look, your brand is quite phenomenal, but there's something that's much better than your brand. And I think there's a few people in the audience going, my God, what's he going to say about our brand? I said, the one thing that supersedes your brand is the personal brands of each of you. That's the most powerful thing. Because there's lots of brands out there that we can do business with, lots of reputable ones, but we don't do business with brands. We do business with people. And so if you're a person that works at an organization that has a brand or a logo or whatever you want to call it, it's you that's important. It's you that gets that next client. It's your relationships. It's your curiosity, charisma, care, kindness, service, value. It's you that gets it. So number three is personal branding. That is going to elevate your position in the marketplace. It's going to help you to command higher dollars when it comes to negotiating at work or with clients. So I would encourage you, please, strengthen your personal brand. Make it a priority. Don't let someone else curate your personal brand for you because they won't. Nobody cares about your personal brand more than you. So number one, how you're perceived in the market actually matters from a personal branding standpoint. How do people perceive you? Shoddy, lazy, poorly dressed, always late to the party. You don't want to be that person. Your personal brand is super important. It tells the world what you value. Do you value kindness, connection, love, empathy, hard work, high performance? Or do you value laziness, being mean, selfish, tardy? I want you to really think about this. Cultivate a strong personal brand by showcasing your expertise. Talk about the things that you're passionate about, that you're great at. Share that through content. Your digital reputation is so important. You've got to be curating that. If someone says, James, I want to work together or collaborate, first thing I do, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn. Or James, I'd love to be on your podcast. I'll be like my team, team, go wild, research. If this person doesn't have a digital footprint, it's generally a no, I'm not going to work with you. I trust people who build a personal brand and share it with the world because I can see who they are, what they stand for. People who are not building a personal brand but want to collaborate and do work, it's very hard to get to know if they're genuine. It's very hard to get to know who they are. So first things first, build your personal brand by sharing content that matters to you. And make sure your online presence actually aligns with the value that you bring to the table. Talk about the things that other people don't talk about. Highlight your unique perspective. There's a dollar figure and a value associated with uniqueness. People pay for unique things. That's why art is so valuable. I've seen some terrible art in my life, yet people will pay millions of dollars for that. Good on them, they see it as unique. I see it as not so appealing. But hey, the beauty is in the beholder, right? The eye of the beholder. So I want you to think about your uniqueness. It's so important. And if you work on that, harness that, build your personal brand, it's going to set you out from the rest. You don't need to be an entrepreneur or a solopreneur to build a personal brand. You don't need to be a public figure, a keynote speaker, a musician, whatever your thing might be. You don't need to be that to be a personal brand. You can be those things. You could be working nine to five in an organization whilst building your personal brand. And if you're not, you're leaving something on the table. You're leaving something very important on the table. And that is future opportunities. Do not leave future opportunities to someone else's discretion. If you want to control and navigate your future opportunities with more intention, your personal brand is the key. Look, I want to just kind of summarize that and say a strong personal brand will set you apart from competition and it allows you to command higher value in any marketplace. Do not skim it. Do not think about doing it later. Start building your personal brand today. Get your LinkedIn updated. Your Instagram handle updated. Your email footer updated. Write a piece of content. Take a photo of something you've read today or looked at or you've walked past and talk about why it's important to you and why other people should pay attention to it as well. Keep it simple. Get started. Keep moving. Look, I hope today's session was really valuable to you. I hope there's something that you can grab and run with. I hope there's something you might even share with another person. But if you want to be more valuable, it's not a passive act. It's a very active thing you've got to get active in. I always say to people, you've got to participate in your own rescue. And that is you've got to step up to the plate and do the work day by day. Small incremental improvements done over the long-term lead to sublime results. Consistency is the key. Now, I hope you've enjoyed today's session. Hit subscribe if you're on YouTube. If you're on Apple or Spotify, please leave me a rating and review and share this with a friend. Until next time, please get out there and lead your life on purpose. A huge thank you to NZ Mortgages for supporting the Lead on Purpose podcast. You can check them out at nzmortgages.co.nz