What do people say about your leadership when you’re not in the room?
- Christina - Spark Back Coaching
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Most people only think about personal branding when they’re job hunting or promoting a business. But your brand is bigger than that.
I'm sure you’ve heard the classic line: a brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In other words, your reputation. Philosopher Gloria Origgi even calls reputation a form of currency. And like any currency, you either manage it wisely or let it lose value.
Regardless of how important your reputation is as a leader, I'm definitely not in favor of promoting your personal brand through cringe-worthy LI posts, humble brags and over-polished stories. Those might get attention, but they rarely build trust. The balance leaders should strike is simple: share what’s authentic and useful, not what looks impressive.
For leaders, your brand shows up in two places:
Internally: in how you influence, inspire, and set the tone for your team.
Externally: in how you share lessons, ideas, and values with a broader audience.
The 3 most important things to understand about your leader brand:
👉For leaders, personal branding doesn’t only live online. It starts internally, in how you show up in meetings, the consistency of your actions, and the reputation you build with your team. If your internal brand is weak, your external brand will eventually collapse under the weight of inauthenticity. Influence at scale begins with credibility at home.
👉It doesn't look the same for everyone. Your (external) personal brand should live at the intersection of visibility and comfort. Maybe that’s writing, maybe that’s speaking, maybe it’s thoughtful commentary in the right spaces. What matters is consistency and authenticity.
👉You already have a personal brand, whether you manage it or not. If you ignore it, others will define it for you.
If you think personal branding is a vanity game then you're not seeing the full picture. As a leader, your voice matters. What you say and how you say it has the power to inspire, teach, and mentor. Your brand is not only serving your career ambitions. It’s also shaping your legacy.
⁉️Question for you: What reputation are you building today, and is it the one you want to leave behind?
🌟Sparking Leadership # 21: a weekly series on human-centered, sustainable leadership. Follow for real talk and practical tools. In the meantime, lead with spark!
