What Is a Leadership Brand? A Simple Guide to Building Yours

Melanie Perkins is a trailblazer. As co-founder and CEO of graphic design platform Canva — which boasts a $37 billion valuation — Perkins is a self-made billionaire, and she’s not even 40.

Integral to Perkins success: a consistent and recognizable leadership brand.

Unlike eccentric CEOs like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Palantir’s Alex Karp, Perkins’ personal leadership brand isn’t defined by bombast or controversy. Instead, it’s all about quiet confidence, design-first thinking, and a tireless focus on empowering Canva users. Here’s why leadership branding is such a difference maker for executives today.

What’s a Personal Leadership Brand?

A personal leadership brand is the unique combination of values and strengths that define how an executive leads their teams. Simply put, a leadership brand is what you’re known for — the impression you leave on the folks you engage with.

At its core, your personal leadership brand reflects your purpose and the impact you want to make on the world. It’s something you proactively shape — not something others can define for you.

For example, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is known for being kind, curious, and laser-focused on growth (a quick peek at Microsoft’s share price demonstrates that precise level of focus).

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has an instantly recognizable leadership brand.

Why Your Personal Leadership Brand Matters

For executives who understand that there’s always a next level to get to, personal leadership branding is much more than a mere checkbox. Here’s why.

A strong leadership brand helps you stand out in the crowded marketplace of ideas.

Increases your credibility

By developing your personal leadership brand, you become more credible because your audience can clearly see what you’re all about. A consistent and authentic presence — both in the digital world and the real one — builds familiarity over time.

And that’s a big deal because 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know, according to Nielsen. By building up your leadership brand, you can become one of those trusted voices — someone who others look to for insights and direction.

Makes it easier to hire top talent

Perhaps not surprisingly, Glassdoor reports that 86% of jobseekers research company reviews and ratings before deciding where to work.

During this research, would-be employees no doubt poke around to see what leadership is all about. With 76% of jobseekers actively looking for a new gig because they’re fleeing toxic bosses, your personal leadership brand can be the difference between attracting top talent or sending them running in the other direction.

In addition to helping you attract top talent, a strong leadership brand also helps you unlock your team’s full potential by establishing a foundation of trust. A study from the Harvard Business School found that employees at high-trust companies are significantly less stressed, have more energy, and take fewer sick days. At the same time, this cohort also reports a 50% uptick in productivity, a 106% increase in energy, and a 76% improvement in engagement. And they also lead happier lives and report less burnout.

Generates business

When you cultivate a strong and engaging leadership brand, you increase visibility and extend your reach — driving inbound leads, for B2B executives in particular. After all, as the old maxim tells us, people like doing business with people they like. According to Accenture, 65% of consumers are influenced by a leader’s values and actions when it comes to making purchase decisions.

A strong leadership brand helps you stand out in the crowded marketplace of ideas. Not only can this help you sell to new customers, it can also convince on-the-fence investors to start supporting your business by clearly demonstrating who you are and what you stand for.

Attracts opportunities

In addition to driving business, a polished leadership brand can also lead to all sorts of opportunities — business partnerships, podcast invites, and media features to name a few. Such opportunities can expand your reach and reinforce your credibility in the eyes of both industry peers and potential clients or customers.

For Brandi Spurling, who founded Sage Culture Co., consistent leadership branding has led to more than 85 speaking opportunities — all from word-of-mouth referrals, with zero dollars spent on advertising. In other words, the more you intentionally show up and share your vision, the more opportunities find their way to you.

Sage Culture founder Brandi Spurling has used her leadership brand to secure extensive speaking opportunities.

5 Steps to Build Your Brand

Leadership branding can really move the needle. But how exactly can you go about building your leadership brand? Let’s take a look.

1. Identify your authentic leadership brand

First things first: What is your authentic leadership brand — and does your current presence including your LinkedIn profile, website, and recent content — accurately reflect who you are as a leader?

To define your leadership brand, start with listing out your core values — innovation, empathy, integrity, etc. Next, identify what the lasting impact you want to have is — whether that’s scaling a company, being an exceptional mentor, fostering diversity in the workplace, and so on. Finally, put those ingredients together in a concise leadership brand statement that sums up who you are as a leader and what you hope to achieve.

2. Define your target audience and identify the best channels to reach them

Next, figure out  who you’re trying to influence with your leadership brand. Is it customers, employees, investors, or some combination thereof? And where does this audience hang out, anyway?

Chances are they’ll be active on social media, which means you should be, too. According to LinkedIn, 82% of customers are more likely to trust brands when their executive team is active on social media. By posting on a regular basis, you can build up your LinkedIn personal brand and your audience, earning their trust and respect.

Other key channels include blogs and newsletters for sharing your POV in depth with subscribers. Meanwhile, podcasts and media appearances enable sharing expertise and industry perspectives with a larger audience.

3. Create and share quality content that reinforces your leadership brand

Once you’ve identified your audience and the channels you’re going to use, create and share content — LinkedIn posts, newsletters, and speeches — on a consistent basis to make yourself more familiar to your audience while authentically reinforcing your values. The key to effective content comes down to quality, not quantity; deliver value to your audience and they’ll come back for more.

A key way to reinforce your personal leadership brand is by positioning yourself as a thought leader through regular media bylines in business and trade outlets. It’s an important way to gain social proof and establish your authority. (Not sure how to get your work published by relevant media? Working with an earned media agency can accelerate the ROI of your efforts.)

While you’re at it, be on the lookout for podcast invites, speaking engagements, and the opportunity to sit on conference panels. These channels not only expand your reach but also reinforce your leadership brand and further establish your credentials as an expert in your field.

4. Engage with and build community (online and off)

As you begin growing your audience, it’s important to proactively engage in both the digital and real worlds.  Remember the social aspect of social media. Don’t just post; engage with your audience by responding to their comments and commenting on their content. Join relevant LinkedIn groups and industry forums where your audience is already spending time and contribute to discussions that align with your brand.

In addition to engaging your community online, host or attend in-person events — like conferences, local meetups, and roundtables. These events provide a powerful opportunity to build your brand as a leader.

5. Measure the impact of your brand and adapt

No matter how strong your personal leadership brand is, you can always improve it. Measure the impact of your brand on a regular basis and adapt accordingly.

To do this, track both qualitative and quantitative signals. While you’ll no doubt want to grow your engagement rates and follower counts on social media, you should also pay attention to what people are saying in the comments.

From time to time, ask trusted peers for their opinion on your online presence. Sometimes an outside perspective can help you identify gaps and opportunities to clarify your messaging.

Of course, if you notice that your brand isn’t resonating as much as you hoped, you may have to go back to square one and repeat the first step in this section. Partnering with a leadership branding agency to build your brand can help you avoid such an outcome.

How to Know if Your Personal Leadership Brand Is Working

If you write a viral post or get invited to sit down for a major media feature, you can be pretty confident that your leadership brand is making an impact.

Unfortunately, most signals are usually quieter than that. So, how can you tell if your leadership brand is making a difference? Look for these signs:

People describe you in a consistent manner

Ask people what comes to mind when they think of Richard Branson and they’re likely to mention things like entrepreneurial spirit, risk-taking, and adventure. That’s the power of an effective leadership brand.

The right kinds of opportunities keep coming your way

Do you find customers proactively reaching out to you in response to your LinkedIn posts? Do reporters approach you for perspectives on your industry? Do senior employees ask to work with you? Those kinds of organic opportunities are signs that your leadership brand is working.

Your ideas gain traction

A strong leadership brand drives conversations. This might take the form of one of your LinkedIn posts going viral and getting reshared. Or you might find your ideas cited in articles, whitepapers, or media reports.

You feel authentic and more confident with each passing day

The right leadership brand is a powerful antidote to imposter syndrome. When you’ve identified who you are and what you want to be known for as a leader, it’s easier to align your actions with this vision. A good leadership brand is a powerful decision-making tool to help at crucial junctures in your career.

How to Strengthen Your Personal Leadership Brand

As you begin optimizing your brand, ask trusted peers to review your output and share their feedback. What are you absolutely knocking out of the park? What could you improve on?

Once you’ve established a brand you’re proud of, take it to the next level by partnering with a personal branding agency who can assess how you’re positioning yourself and help you clarify your message — making sure your strategy helps you achieve your ultimate goals.

Learn more about how a personal branding agency can transform the way you’re perceived by the people who matter most.