What’s the Secret to Building Influence for Your Executive Personal Brand?

Consistent brand expression leads to trust and then a greater impact on key decisions.

An executive personal brand can help leaders in healthcare positively influence other leaders, teams and—ultimately—decisions. 

And what is influence, exactly?

This article by Korn Ferry defines influence as “the ability to have a positive impact on others, to persuade or convince them to gain their support.” Having influence can have a huge positive impact on a leader’s success. 

“This may be particularly true for leaders who, for example, have many different groups reporting to them,” writes author Daniel Goleman in the Korn Ferry article. “Remember, leadership is the art of getting work done well through other people. And influence is the most powerful way to do that. 

“By the same token,” continues Goldman, also the author of the best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, “influence is also crucial when you work with a division over which you have no direct authority, yet their work is necessary to your own success. You can’t order them to do what you want; you must persuade or inspire them to put forth their best efforts toward the clear objective you have defined.”

In all, influence is valuable to executives in healthcare who want to get things done and achieve the next milestones in their projects and careers. Executive personal branding can help pave the way to influence via consistency and trust.

The Secret to Building Influence Is Consistency 

This article from Inc.underscores the idea that influence is most often and most easily carried through trust. “Regardless of your position in comparison to the positions of your co-workers, if you want a healthy and influential working relationship, you’re going to have to cultivate trust,” the article says. Trust is built through the consistent use of your words and actions.

In contrast, inconsistency is the fastest way to ruin your reputation. 

“Consistency,” the article emphasizes, “is slow but sure. If you execute your tasks effectively and on time, day after day, eventually people will come to rely on you. The same is true when you execute a consistent style of leadership, setting consistent expectations with your employees and giving consistent rewards for good work.

“That consistency is vital for building influence,” the article continues. “Otherwise, you’ll have an air of unpredictability about you, and people won’t know whether to trust or impugn your suggestions. If you’re consistently motivated by the same principles, people will trust that your ideas are solid and reliable as an extension, and that will make it easier to get people on your side.”

Consistently Communicating Your Brand Promise Builds Trust in Your Executive Personal Brand

Let’s consider more specifically how executive personal branding can help leaders build the kind of consistency and trust that will lead to influence. 

First, recall three top auto brands: Mercedes, Volvo and BMW. A key reason that people do business with these three companies is that they trust them to deliver consistently on their brand promises. 

For example, people who want luxury might trust Mercedes to provide it, whereas folks who place a premium on safety might trust Volvo to best protect their loved ones. In turn, consumers who own an “ultimate driving machine” might trust BMW to give them that experience. In all, consumers trust these automakers’ brand promises enough to let their car-buying decisions be influenced by them.

Executive personal branding works much the same way. Executives who have identified their brand values and consistently deliver on them are more likely to be trusted by their employees, colleagues and other leaders. That trust means those executives’ employees, colleagues and fellow leaders will more readily allow them to influence their decisions and actions.

It’s Imperative to Excavate Your Executive Personal Brand Message

But what is my executive brand promise, you ask? 

Revealing Genius has already helped hundreds of executives do executive personal branding in a thoughtful and discerning manner using three key steps: Excavate–Tell–Affirm™. In all, following our time-proven ETA process helps leaders to define and then consistently communicate their brand promises.

Leaders who have used Excavate–Tell–Affirm are prepared to be consistent in who they are, gain the trust of people around them and—you guessed it—build their influence over key people and decisions.

Executive personal branding is powerful stuff. If you’d like to dip your toe into learning more about it, check out our complimentary Excavate Your Brand webinar or register for our 7-Day Summit. If you’re ready to dive in deep or prefer private sessions to excavate your purpose, check out our 1:1 executive coaching options.

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 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.