Do Executive Personal Branding by Noting What You Say ‘Yes’ To

The things you’d welcome more of in your life speak volumes about your executive brand.

By Mary E. Maloney

There are some things we should all say yes to—things like eating well, going on a diet from our smartphones and spending time with people we love. When it comes to executive personal branding, however, what each person says yes to will be different. What you, personally, say yes to speaks volumes about your brand.

This is such a powerful idea that I use it in the Revealing Genius 7-Day Summit to help executives and leaders create their personal brands—or “excavate” them, as the first step in my time-proven ETA™ excavate-tell-affirm executive branding process is called.

To see what I mean, take out a piece of paper right now and try this easy exercise: Make two columns, one with the header, “More of this, please,” the other with the header, “Less of this, please.” Spend two minutes completing your table.

What would you like to have more of in your life? Less of? Think about all aspects of your life as you compile your answers: spirituality, health, style, relationships (family, friends, community), work, finances, recreation, social and learning. Write down what comes top of mind.

Now, look at your list. What stands out to you? When you think of your executive personal branding, what gives you energy when you do it? What would you like to say yes to?

Executive Personal Branding Helps Focus Your Energy

We often talk about having limited time and energy. And we all know we can’t expand our time. But we can boost our energy by doing the things that light us up, that we are born to do, that we are the best at in the world. In these things lie clues about our executive personal brands.

What if, in the next week, you did more of the things on the “more of this, please” side of your list? You’d get charged up, right?

Try it. I bet you’ll find you have more energy for doing even more of the things you already knew you’d like to do.

Your ‘Brand’them Can Help You Manage Your Executive Brand Energy

It is cool that we can boost our energy. One way that my Revealing Genius clients do this is by discerning and playing their “brand”them, their theme song. This song must make you move, snap your fingers, even strut.

Some examples of these brandthems that participants in Revealing Genius programs like the 7-Day Summit have chosen in the past include:

• You Gotta Want It by Jordan Sparks
• Lose Yourself by Eminem
• Just Fine by Mary Blige
• Ain’t Nothin’ Gonna Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder
• Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men
• Timber by PitBull
• Soul Man by Sam & Dave

The idea behind your brandthem is that you put it on and within seconds your energy is boosted. What is your brandthem?

7-Day Summit participants get a musical bonus to aid their executive personal branding work: recommendations for music neuroscience-based apps that use music to promote productivity and produce desired mental states. Here are two of them:

• Focusatwill.com: a neuroscience-based subscription service that uses phase-sequenced playlists of instrumental music designed to improve users’ productivity by four times

• Brainfm.com: a program that leverages technology called “functional music” that teams of scientists and composers patented. It’s purpose-built with pioneering auditory neuroscience and neural phase locking to steer listeners into a desired mental state—focused, relaxed, meditative or ready to rest.

Shift Your Actions to Better Support Your Executive Personal Branding

Take a moment to ask Alexa or Siri to play your brandthem or to tune it in on your stereo. Get in your executive personal branding groove. Now ask yourself: “What shifts could I make in where I spend my energy? Can I commit to one?”

Your answer is your personal energetic goal. And I guarantee it will support your executive personal branding.

To take a deeper dive into more aspects of executive personal branding, please sign up for an exploratory call or register for the 7-Day Summit.

Mary E. Maloney, FACHE

An executive advisor, educator, speaker, author and producer, Mary E. Maloney is the founder of Revealing Genius and the expert that accomplished leaders trust for positioning, messaging and brand strategy for themselves, their teams and their organizations. A former CEO and CMO, Maloney guides healthcare C-suite leaders, founders, physicians and board directors to powerfully and strategically message their expertise and “why” so they lead with conviction and achieve their most coveted goals. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), one of only ~8,000 in the world to earn the credential, the benchmark for board certification in healthcare management.

Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska