This is not a typical “3 tips to build your personal brand” article wrapped in fake promises.
Ok, there are three things. But they’re not tips! Think of them as a call to cut the BS and come home to yourself.
Most executive brands are too polished and too safe. They’re optimized for approval and built to impress everyone except the person they’re supposed to represent: you.
If you want to build a brand that reflects who you are and one with heart, here are three things worth considering.
Spiritual. Know what you stand for when the ground shakes.
Strategic. Clarity about what you’re saying, and why.
(Slightly) rebellious – Bravery to break the rules that no longer serve you and stand up for what you believe in.
If that sounds uncomfortable, good. You’re not here to be liked, you’re here to lead. Let’s go.
1. Start with something deeper than optics
When I say spiritual, I mean – where’s your anchor? What do you reach for when things don’t go to plan, or you need to make a public announcement with the next round of layoffs?
It might be your kids. Your old boss who showed you what real integrity looked like. That moment at a funeral where you realised half the crap you worry about doesn’t matter.
This is the stuff your leadership should be built on. Because if you don’t name what steadies you, you’ll keep defaulting to what flatters you. And that’s when your brand becomes a performance.
2. Strategy = clarity
Most people confuse visibility with impact. They think posting five times a week means they’re being seen. Maybe it does. But seen as what?
Strategy means knowing where your voice moves things. It means posting because it contributes, not because it proves you’re still in the game.
A good executive brand isn’t loud, it’s precise and serves its audience.
Ask yourself:
- Would I say this out loud at dinner with someone I respect?
- What’s the one thing I’ve been too scared to say publicly?
- Where in my content am I just parroting the industry instead of challenging it?
- If someone read just my headline, would they think I have a pulse?
If you want to sound different, say something real.
3. Rebellion = refusal
I don’t mean blowing things up for the sake of it. I mean consciously saying: No, I won’t go along with this room just to keep the peace. No, I won’t write another bland post that sounds like ChatGPT.
Maybe you don’t call out the whole company, but you call your friend in finance and ask: are we really okay with this? Maybe you back the person no one else notices. Maybe you speak up when the “high performance” culture feels more like quiet harm.
I’ve been guilty of trying to sound right, stay likeable, and say what my audience wanted to hear. But a good friend once told me: if you say what you really mean, you’ll lose the people who were never meant to stay, and you’ll finally reach the ones who are.
So here is my rebellious statement: I don’t want to live in a world where all the leaders sound the same. And I sure as hell don’t want to help build it. I’ve spent years making people more palatable, polishing the edges just enough to help them get through the next board meeting, the next podcast, the next conference. And I’ve built brands for people whose words never matched their eyes. Even the most beautifully constructed brand is worthless if there’s no soul in it.
I don’t run a country or steer an empire. But I do help the people who do. And if I can help just a handful of them show up more truthfully, with clarity, courage, and humanity, I believe that creates a ripple. Because the way leaders show up in the world shapes the world. Their silence or spine, their integrity or performance all builds something. And right now, we need more truth and more presence.
If I can help even a few leaders stay fully human while the rest of the world flattens into sameness, then I’m doing my part. That’s why I care about how leaders show up. Because they set the tone and their words ripple outward into policies, into workplaces, and into homes.
This work, helping leaders return to what’s true, feels like part of the same mission. A quiet act of rebellion and a long game of keeping something sacred alive.
Don’t wait until you’re irrelevant to become real.
I know that you’ve worked hard for the reputation you have and you’ve built trust and earned credibility. You can’t just throw caution to the wind and start posting like a renegade.
You don’t have to burn it all down to tell the truth. You just have to stop hiding the part of you that knows something deeper wants to be said.
Remember what steadies you, what moves you, what were you here to do before the headlines, the shareholders, the pressure to perform.
Start there.
And if your voice feels shaky and if you’re not sure how to show up without cracking the image you’ve spent years building, let’s figure it out together. That’s the work the world needs.
Because leadership that lives only at the surface won’t survive what’s coming. But, leadership that’s spiritual, strategic, and slightly rebellious is the kind people follow – let’s build that.
In your corner,
Kate
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