Powerful brands both attract and repel. 

Personal branding is a tool that speaks on your behalf.

An effective brand will position you as the go-to person for your expertise, knowledge, and promise of value in front of the board, investors, or recruiter. 

In my experience, it can’t be one or two things. In this competitive global market, you need a well-rounded, fully functional personal brand that speaks for you when you’re not in the room. 

A personal brand is part of your reputation—what do your senior leadership team, direct reports, or board of directors say about you when you’re not there? This is your personal brand. 

With consistent and repeatable key messages, you can impact your positioning as a leader so that you’re chosen for important assignments.

We have put together a list of 51 for you to consider.

Here’s a small sample of our list.

• Write an article or guest blog for an organization that is in line with your goals (No time? Ask your talented assistant or PR Department for help).
• Regularly speak on a podcast where it is relevant to share your expertise (Get Hired Up! -- our podcast is an option).
• Serve on a board as an independent director or board advisor.
• Ask 3 friends, 3 family members, and 3 colleagues for their assessment of your top 3 skills or competencies and get them to provide an example (look for themes).
• Meet with your internal supply chain, customers, and service providers quarterly to refresh relationships.
• Adopt one of the key values of your organization and own it (be the go-to person). This might be safety, employee engagement, community, cyber security, DEI, ESG, or philanthropy. 
• Take an improv class (many of our clients do this to amplify their executive presence).

Get the checklist here.

If any items on the list pique your interest and you would like to learn more, please get in touch. I would be happy to have a conversation with you. 

Last week, Maddie Shears (our Digital Marketing Manager) and I spent a couple of days at my cottage in Chester, Nova Scotia (CANADA) for our quarterly business planning retreat. 

We were able to conduct our strategy planning while looking out at the forest-green water, listening to the loons, and enjoying some peace and tranquility. 

We find a fresh environment very effective in helping us think big-picture and outside the box. 

Here is the view at three different times of day taken from the cottage patio by our very talented Maddie Shears (our videographer, podcast producer, and digital marketing virtuoso).

We enjoyed refreshments on the dock, followed by fresh steamed mussels, roasted potatoes, grilled steak, and grilled tomatoes. 

NEW! launch your offsite meeting with confidence with our premier inclusion event.

Let people know you care and drive performance by learning their behavioral styles and understanding their personal preferences for engaging with others.

What:  A dinner “main event” that is effective, engaging, entertaining, and sustaining

Who:   Senior management team, board of directors, or newly acquired portfolio company

Why:   To build trust, rapport, and inclusion
 

When: Quarterly or Monthly Dinner Meeting

• Annual Business Retreat
• Introducing a New Board or Team Member
• Post-Acquisition of a Division
• Post-Merger Integration

How:

• Step 1: Before the main event, we conduct a private, safe and confidential 1:1 meeting with each member of the team (30 minutes)
• Step 2: Maureen Farmer leads an engaging main event at your retreat breakfast, lunch, or dinner—you choose

Thank you for sharing your day with me, and enjoy the rest of your week!

This e-letter is published weekly and you are receiving this because you have opted in or downloaded an asset from our website.

Westgate is a 100% independent personal branding and career consulting firm.

Maureen is a performance optimization coach and personal branding strategist for next-level executives and board nominees.

Westgate Executive Branding and Career Consulting Inc. would like to acknowledge that we are located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People. We are all Treaty people.