Executive personal branding supports a positive presence in your channels of choice.
A female co-founder CEO leverages her company brand manifesto (which parallels her personal executive brand) each time she publishes her “Living Well With Laura Henshaw” column in Vogue magazine.
This excerpt introducing Henshaw’s Jan. 14 “Controversial opinion” column in Vogue also underscores what she and her Australian company Kic stand for—their “why.”
A recent study has found that 34% of New Year resolutions are associated with weight loss. It’s embedded in us, through toxic diet culture, that with a new year, we should strive to weigh less, drop a size, restrict our diet, “bounce-back.” The list goes on.
Aesthetic-based resolutions can be so harmful. That’s why at Kic, we’ll never condone before and after photos. Because essentially, we’re telling ourselves that our “before”—as we are, right in this moment—is not enough. But this is your reminder that your weight does not define your worth. You are enough, just as you are.
Notably, this is the message Henshaw communicates in every media interaction because she understands a Revealing Genius tenet: “The hallmark of every iconic brand is consistency.”
In keeping with this, Henshaw’s co-founder, Steph Claire Smith, recently leveraged Kic’s brand manifesto and her personal executive brand in her Jan. 12 Marie Claire article, “Steph Claire Smith’s Tips to Stick to Your Resolutions on ‘World Quitter’s Day.’”
Smith expresses the big idea behind the brand very concisely in her bio on that piece:
Steph is the co-founder of Australian health & wellness app Kic. It was her personal experience with toxic wellness, perpetuated by social media and the modelling industry, that sparked a fire in her belly to make a difference, rewrite the diet “rule book”… and help others build a healthy and more sustainable relationship with food & exercise.
Going through the Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ process from Revealing Genius helped these two leaders clarify their personal and company brands, learn how to tell their unique brand stories and affirm their brands until they felt them in their bones.
In addition to supporting them in their media endeavors, the pair’s branding work also helped them rebuild the messaging for a Series A pitch deck to secure funding that will enable the two female founders to drive a global health and wellness movement through Kic.
During the excavate step of the process, the two discovered their two-word purpose statement: lighting the way. They continued to clarify their brand and tell it as they wrote this transformation statement: We inspire people to take care of themselves, so they feel confident in who they are and believe they have everything they need to be enough. And when you read what they write in the media, you can feel their conviction about what they are doing—which comes from the affirmations part of the process.
You, too, can leverage personal executive branding and your resulting brand manifesto to support solid media appearances—and confidently go after funding for your start-up as well.
What Is This Foundational Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ Process?
The Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ process that Henshaw and Smith used is a bespoke methodology designed to be swift, thorough and energizing. It is built on many small and fun experiences and exercises uniquely positioned to help leaders excavate what they stand for and who they most want to serve; learn strategies for effectively telling others about their brand and exercises; and finally affirm their brand so completely that they can feel it in their bones. The process allows leaders like Henshaw, Smith and you! to choose whether to approach personal branding a little at a time or all at once.
Gaining consumer media visibility and obtaining critical funding are not the only possible positives that can stem from going through the Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ process from Revealing Genius. The methodology has also been used successfully by many leaders to get their dream job, obtain a board seat, become incredibly effective at public speaking, change careers (and create their dream job in the process), navigate uncertainty, write a winning business plan, develop a one-sheet professional biography or elevator pitch, make their LinkedIn page (and their social media presence overall) more purpose- and power-ful, and lead a highly engaged team. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Gain more insight into doing executive personal branding and developing your brand manifesto using this time-proven approach! Get instant access to the free Revealing Genius 10-minute webinar, sign up for our Excavate-Tell-Affirm™ Brand Leadership Summit or take our online course. We would be honored to work with you 1:1.
