Can too much personal branding be bad for you?

That’s the question asked in a recent Forbes article titled “The Paradox of Personal Branding.” On the question of whether or not personal branding can make you a better professional, Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson believes that “if it leads people to be thoughtful about how visible and transparent everything really is.”

So what’s the downside? Edmondson, who has studied fear in the workplace, notes that many employees can feel extremely uncomfortable speaking up and standing out. These are two prerequisites when it comes to personal branding. Her solution is to focus on the bigger picture: “If we go after something of importance that we care about, we’ll learn new skills and we’ll thrive and connect and network. If we go after the network – how do I find the right people so I can get myself into a position where I can write my own ticket? – you might miss the boat. But go after the problem, and you’ll both develop and demonstrate your value to others.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because we talked about articulating your value proposition when creating your online personal brand.