Awards Help Build Your Personal Brand
By RDBA Executive Director, Annette Maggi, MS, RDN, LD, FAND
Across my career as a dietitian, I have found that one of the biggest struggles we have as a profession is in building our professional brands and effectively communicating the value we bring to our business and employers. We are a humble lot, often most focused on how we can help others.
But in a retail environment where things are continually moving and shifting, fiefdoms built and then eliminated, and many leaders still not aware of the multitude of ways dietitians can positively impact the total company’s business, it is essential to communicate the RD’s value add. And this requires self-promotion as RDs are still a unique breed in a sea of buyers, merchants, and retail marketers.
Winning awards can be an effective way to draw attention to the value dietitians bring to the retailer as well as a driver for upward career movement. Securing an award can bring positive press to your retailer as well as increase awareness of the RD role and your individual skill set with internal stakeholders. Think of it as a part of your strategy for building your professional brand. Your elevation speech could start with the phase “award winning retail dietitian.” An award can bring validation as well as opportunities for expanded roles and responsibilities.
The Retail Dietitians Business Alliance provides a unique opportunity for you to leverage awards as a part of your personal brand strategy or to nominate a colleague deserving of such an award. Nominations are now being accepted for the RDBA Retail Dietitian of the Year Award. “The RDBA Retail Dietitian of the Year Award is about rewarding an exemplary individual who is promoting health and wellness to their customers as well as carrying the message throughout their organization,” comments RDBA CEO Phil Lempert. “It is a unique recognition that empowers not only the recipient, but also their entire organization to improve the lives of their shoppers and community.”
This award recognizes a professional who shows leadership in utilizing business skills and industry knowledge to positively impact consumer behavior change through the retail sector. The award will be presented at the FMI Connect show in Chicago from June 20-23, 2016, and complimentary travel and registration will be provided to the award winner. The registration deadline is midnight on March 31, 2016.
