Enlist Others to Help You Promote Your Personal Brand

Creating an executive presence means identifying what you want your personal brand to be -- and developing a network of advocates who will promote that brand.

Those were just a few takeaways from Elevating Your Executive Presence and Brand, a panel discussion during the 2025 REACH Women’s Conference on April 23rd. Panelists were Selena McLaughlin, Enterprise Development Program Manager for Bank of America; Carmen Canales, Chief Human Resources Officer; and Chris Douglas, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson. Barbara Maida-Stolle, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northwest N.C., served as moderator.

McLaughlin cited Harvey J. Coleman’s PIE theory for career success to emphasize the importance of networking in order to promote your personal brand. The theory states that of the three main components  -- Performance, Image, and Exposure – performance accounts for only 10%, with image and exposure making up the other 90%. That means simply working hard is not enough to ensure that others will notice, McLaughlin said.

It’s important to first clarify to yourself what you want your brand to be, she added. “You have to really sit down and possibly put it on paper and think about what you want to be said about you when you’re out of the room.”

Then building a network that includes sponsors – leaders who will talk favorably about you to others – is crucial, she said. “You have to lift your head up from performing to actually do the work of networking, talking to people, letting people know what you desire.”

Don’t be surprised if you have to live your brand before you are 100% ready, Canales said. If you know, for example, you will have the opportunity to speak during a meeting, do your homework and be prepared to make your points concisely. “Be prepared to have an opinion and a recommendation. Step out of your comfort zone and put that voice in the room.”

And be prepared to tout your successes beyond your yearly performance review, she added. “You don’t want to only talk about those successes one time a year. You want to be dropping those nuggets and sharing those wins all along, and sharing credit and giving credit where it’s due… in a way that feels authentic and comfortable and sincere and engaging.”

Creating Your Brand

McLaughlin cited the ACE model of leadership communication as a good basis for developing your personal brand. The theory by Allison Shapira, a leadership communication expert and adjunct professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, states that ACE stands for Authenticity, Clarity and Energy.

Authenticity means being yourself and letting people know who you are, McLaughlin said.  Clarity means being clear and concise in your communication. The energy piece refers not only to your own energy, but managing the energy of others.

Collaborating with others who complement that energy is also key to success, said Douglas. As a young lawyer, a leadership assessment identified her self-assurance as a major strength. But while that trait makes her a decisive, natural leader, it also meant she should make a conscious effort to surround herself with people who provide balance, she said. “I need somebody who’s super deliberate and who’s going to say, ‘Well, have you thought about the downside of that, Chris?’ Or ‘Should we take a step back and think about that?’ Because that’s going to make for a better team and I think that makes me a more effective leader.”

Developing a confident, authentic executive presence is a skill that can be developed, the panelists said. Simply videoing yourself, even for 90 seconds, and reviewing the video is a way to practice skills such as presence and composure, Douglas said.

“If an executive presentation is something that matters to you, then practice it like anything else that’s important,” Canales said. “But it is absolutely achievable, and it doesn’t mean that you’ll give up anything that’s authentically you. It’s really going to take you from better to best.”