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Pianist and DMA, Juilliard School
I initially began coaching because my boyfriend, a big fan of Astrid's, saw that I was confused about a lot of things regarding the direction my life was taking career-wise. He purchased five coachings for me for my birthday with the caveat that nothing was binding and that I could opt out any time if I felt uncomfortable. From my very first session, it was clear that Astrid is one of the most insightful and generous people I have met. I walked into this session last fall, thinking that I had come to a dead-end in my music career and that perhaps I would benefit from heading in a new direction. After only a couple sessions, I renewed my sense of love for music and began to see possibilities for myself that I never dreamed of. Astrid is extremely dedicated and focused in each session. One major breakthrough I have had is the idea that being authentic is a major value for me and that I have spent so much of my life trying to please others or do activities I feel like I "should" do. I feel like I have blossomed in so many ways this year, taking on creative projects that I might have been cautious of before, meeting incredible colleagues, and being excited about the future instead of fearful of it. Astrid has a great gift of seeing the beauty in each person and allowing their strengths to come through.
— JC, New York, NY
Composer
Astrid has turned around the way I look at my career in the most extraordinary way. I used to think that the professional part of what I do was very separate from the creative and deeply personal aspects of being a composer. Going after professional opportunities to get my music out there felt to me like a very daunting task--one that I found a little distasteful because it felt like "selling myself." Astrid really helped me realize that building a career has to come from the most genuine part of myself--in the same way as building a piece. With this understanding, the professional world looks much less scary to me now, and I'm able to reach out to my professional network with the courage of my conviction, and with the kind of personal investment and care that makes professional experiences deeply meaningful. Career building is about believing in what you do, and its validity; it is about communication and courage. It only works if it feels true to who you are.
With her supportive and positive attitude combined with her incredible sensitivity and intelligence, Astrid has created for me a wonderful safe space to discover how I want to develop my goals from the inside out. I have found in her a true kindred spirit as well as a powerful ally and coach.
—Hannah L,. New York, NY
Attorney and ??????
There seem to be an infinite number of resources available to people looking to make career changes these days, and I think I looked into most of them before I met Astrid. Numerous books advised me to do what I loved. That sounded good, except that I didn’t know what I loved. A career test provided some insight and long lists of possibly compatible jobs, but ultimately directed me to do what I loved - back to square one. Another career coach, dispensing with frivolities like love, laid out a practical approach to a career path that objectively made some sense, but I knew in my heart that I would hate it. I felt deficient for not knowing what I loved, unreasonable for rejecting a sensible path that didn’t appeal, and in general, completely hopeless about my situation.
When I began coaching with Astrid, I was struggling with a strong feeling that there was some ‘perfect’ thing out there for me to do, if only I could think of what it was. I had a vague idea that finding the answer would involve going through the racks of possible jobs and holding each one up in front of the mirror to see if it might fit, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that we would take a more bespoke approach. There would be no squeezing me into a readymade career in this process - instead, we would be focusing on my strengths, values, work style, etc., to think about what might be right for me. Astrid’s willingness to cheerfully abandon any exercise that wasn't working for me kept me comfortable with everything we did, and helped me to get the most out of the process.
The work we did helped me to form a foundation for understanding why certain things, career-related or otherwise, are a better choice for me than others. With Astrid’s warm encouragement, I have also started to reconnect with the creative, less self-limiting side of myself that I feared was permanently lost. I feel more like myself than I have in a long time, and I have a career direction that I am looking forward to exploring. This may or may not turn out to be the ‘perfect thing‘ that I was looking for, but I no longer feel the pressure of that search; rather, I am hopeful that by taking actions that are consistent with my character, staying open to the possibilities that arise with each action, and correcting my course as necessary, I will enjoy the process just as much as whatever result I reach. I am grateful to Astrid for helping me to readjust my direction and my outlook, and I highly recommend her services to anyone who feels lost, stuck or anything less than wholeheartedly enthusiastic about what they are doing.
— Andrea K., New York, NY
Cellist and music entrepreneur
A good friend recommended I see Astrid because I was stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Stuck, and suffering. She has helped me parse through all the detail in what seemed panoramic hopelessness. She has worked in a distinctly different way than my psychotherapist, more pragmatically, and the combination of the two ... has been, for me, very effective. I have made tectonic shifts in the way I see myself, my place in the world and how I move through it. There have been some very painful changes and realizations, but most important, I have found a source for joy, hope and energy, undiluted by difficulties, so that I actually feel better, and stronger. This is my testimony to Astrid.
— TM, Rhode Island
Educator
Astrid Baumgardner is a true facilitator, and in that capacity she has guided me to discover the values and deeply held beliefs essential to my happiness and fulfillment in the workplace, wherever it may be....Through our coaching sessions, I was able to draw out and fortify my self-confidence, without which my ambitious relocation would not previously have been conceivable. When you are determined to strive diligently for change in your life, Astrid will be there to help you to create a roadmap to navigate and overcome every obstacle you encounter throughout your life-altering transition.
— MH, New York, NY and Tokyo, Japan
Creative Personal Branding - Find Your Brand in 4 Easy Steps
One of the most important tools for advancing your career is defining and using your personal brand. A brand is your vision of who you are and what you do for your audiences. It is a message that distinguishes you from your competition by expressing what makes you unique and memorable, so that your target audience connects with you emotionally and wants to work with you.
Defining your personal brand is simple using this four-step process:
Step One: How am I unique?
A personal brand articulates the specific qualities you possess that make you stand out from the competition. To begin, therefore, you must start by defining what is unique or unusual about you by answering these 3 questions:
1. What is your essence?
2. What are you like to work with?
3. What do people remember most about you and how would they describe the experience of working with you?
A duo-pianist couple I know are a good example. One is a solo pianist who enjoys the flash of being in the limelight; the other is a collaborative pianist who knows how to create powerful ensemble playing. They combine their essences to create thrilling, passionate and highly coordinated performances.
Step Two: How is what I do distinctive?
The next step is to look at how yourself as a whole and figure out how which you do is unique. Look at your interests, hobbies and preferences. For example, what do your three favorite books, movies or songs say about you? What would someone learn by knowing your taste in music, food or sports?
1. What are your favorite interests? What do they say about you?
2. How does what you do, combined with what makes you unique, distinguish you from your peers in your profession or field of expertise?
As an example, a professor friend of mine is a wonderful pianist and also a tri-athlete. Being a tri-athlete means that he brings intensity, passion and razor-sharp focus to his training; it also motivate him to train with a team since he loves connecting with other people. Those same qualities spill over into everything he does professionally and enable him to connect with and inspire his students and his audiences.
Step Three: Who is my target audience and why I am the best person to satisfy their needs?
Because creative artists do not work in a vacuum, the third step in creating a personal brand is identifying your target audience. This step is critical for two reasons: first, it validates that your unique gifts are commercially viable, and second, it helps clarify your objectives so you can map your career path as efficiently as possible. To complete step 3, answer these questions:
1. Who is your ideal target audience? Create a profile of one individual who exemplifies the qualities of the audience you would most want to perform, teach or work for in your creative profession. Write down a list of these qualities.
2. Rank these qualities in their order of importance to you.
3. Why are you are uniquely positioned to satisfy the needs of this audience?
Another pianist friend performs for small groups of music lovers in private home concerts in furtherance of his a goal to create the modern-day version of the Romantic-era salon. His target audience includes highly educated music-lovers who enjoy the intimacy of a salon recital experience. His outgoing personality combined with his expressive and deeply emotional performance style are uniquely suited to this venue and enable him to build his network of salon concert lovers.
Step Four: Why do I do what I do?
The last – and probably most important -- step in creating your personal brand is to commit to your brand on an emotional level in order to connect deeply with your target audience.
Ask yourself the following questions:
If the world were a perfect place, what work would I be doing?
In this perfect world, what am I achieving through my work?
In this perfect world, how am I impacting audiences?
These answers are your life purpose!
Our final example is a musician who is passionate about the importance of music in our world. In his Step 4, he saw himself in a perfect world creating lasting experiences for audiences who would in turn share their musical insights with their communities, thus expanding the reach of his music. This musician is fulfilling his purpose by producing intimate music festivals with many opportunities for education and interaction between the performers and their audiences.
Create Your Brand Statement
Put these elements together into the following template to create your brand statement:
I am a_______________________________
(musician/artist/lawyer etc – how you see yourself professionally)
who___________________________________________________
(describe how you use your unique talents)
for ____________________________________________________
(describe your target audience)
so they can ____________________________.
(describe the desired experience you want your audience to have)
Here is an example of a brand statement:
I am a passionate, creative and inspirational musician who brings excitement, focus and leadership to open-minded, engaged and curious audiences (or students) in order to create a memorable experience they will want to share with their communities.
Congratulations! You now have a statement that crystalizes the essence of who you are and makes it clear to your target audience why they need you.
(C) Astrid Baumgardner 2010
REPRINT
I would be delighted if you should wish to reprint (for free) any part of this article in your newsletters, blogs, websites, and message boards. Please include the following attribution:
Astrid Baumgardner, JD, PCC is a professional life coach and lawyer, Coordinator of Career Strategies and Lecturer at the Yale School of Music and the founder and President of Astrid Baumgardner Coaching + Training, which is dedicated to helping musicians, lawyers and creative professionals take charge of their lives and experience authentic success. In addition to her work at YSM and her individual coaching practice, Astrid presents workshops at leading conservatories and law firms on topics including Career Planning, Goal-Setting, Time Management, Dynamic Communication, Conflict Management and Personal Branding and Networking. She is the author of numerous articles on the various aspects of how to achieve and live authentic success.