Why Executives Should Invest In Their Personal Brand

The idea of personal branding was first introduced in a 1997 Fast Company article by Tom Peters, titled “The Brand Called You.” Peters stressed the importance of devoting time and effort toward imagining and developing oneself as a brand as a means of fostering career advancement.

Nowadays, every executive has a personal brand, whether they like it or not. But not every executive takes the time to figure out how they can best define it on their own terms. On the one hand, there are seemingly unlimited vehicles for personal brand building, from speaking engagements and white papers to social media platforms and blogs. On the other hand, it’s not always easy to cut through the noise, especially in the digital world, and control the ultimate message. While it requires time, dedication and consistency to ensure that your story is being told according to your unique values and beliefs, I can assure you it’s well worth the effort. 

Ever since I made my own personal brand a priority, I’ve experienced important benefits for myself and for the organizations I’ve represented throughout my career. Here are a few key highlights:

Increased awareness for you and your company.                       

When you reach the c-suite level, executives typically have a lot of wisdom and learnings to share. Covering relevant and substantive topics often yields opportunities to further spread awareness of your personal brand. Many of the articles I’ve written for Forbes and LinkedIn, for example, have generated requests for speaking engagements and media requests. In many ways, a strong personal brand of an executive can also be a secret weapon for the overall company. After all, increased exposure for your story provides a parallel path for building awareness for your company’s brand. 

Enhanced credibility and trust.

By sharing topics that matter most to you, you can create a more trustworthy and believable personal brand, which today’s employees are craving. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, integrity, dependability and purpose drive close to 76 percent of the trust capital of business, while competence accounts for only 24 percent. Fostering a trustworthy brand can have a positive spillover effect for your company as well: if a high-level executive is seen as credible, then that executive’s company is seen in a similar light. Interestingly, 82% of people are more likely to trust a company when their senior executives are active on social media.

Opportunity to define your true self.

I like to think of personal branding as a way to help define the type of person you want to be. Oscar Wilde said it best when he said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Personal branding helps you to be yourself, communicate your unique point of view and ultimately do more of what you love to do. After all, who is more qualified to build your brand and tell your story than you? By sharing your authentic self, you can more clearly distinguish your thoughts and ideas from other executives in your industry, providing a possible competitive advantage to you and your company.

As the opportunities for personal brand building proliferate, there’s never been a better time to focus on your personal brand and become an established thought leader in your space. So long as you have something to say that provides value to others, you can start to elevate your personal brand and leverage the favorable ripple effects on your organization’s brand. Just like a flower, the more you tend to and nurture your personal brand, the more it will help your company’s brand. It’s a win-win!