Support your local veterinary girl gang

Danielle Lambert, the founder of Snout School (“Where bold women in #vetmed define success on their own terms”) and #SnoutSquad has a singular goal: To empower women in veterinary medicine to build businesses and brands.

In a presentation this weekend at the Royal Canin Women's Veterinary Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., Lambert discussed the importance of personal branding, beginning with: “I want to set aside the idea that it's inherently narcissistic to put pictures of yourself on the internet.”

If you build it...

Lambert asked the audience of women at all levels of veterinary industry leadership what words they associate with the idea of a “personal brand.”

Self-centered.

Self-absorbed.

Self-serving.

Sound familiar? She gets it. “The concept of standing out in a ‘vanilla' industry-especially for things that peers might think are frivolous-can be hard to digest for veterinary professionals.”

And yet, there are many examples of men exercising their personal brands in veterinary medicine. Lambert highlighted the tendency for women in the profession to shy away from presenting themselves as a personal brand.

“If the intention is attention-building a brand to get free stuff, brand sponsorships or incentives, it won't have the same impact,” she said. “If you use social media to honor your goals and values, your authentic self comes across.” And with that, you give your peers the opportunity to support you.

Faster together

Lambert then pivoted to a discussion framed around the idea that “we rise faster when we rise together.” She led the leadership group through a lively discussion of mentorship. The next time you're sitting with a group of veterinary peers-especially if they happen to be women-think about the following questions.

• Who are you mentoring?
• Who is mentoring you to help you achieve your goals?
• Where are we struggling to support each other?
• How can raise awareness about the wide variety of jobs that exist in veterinary medicine?
• Who has a veterinary brand you admire? Why?

Lambert reminded the group that there's no shame in standing out, standing up and supporting your peers.