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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of Image Group International, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies, and hacks for the new tech world. Here, you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques, and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image, and reputation.

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Welcome to the personal branding master class. I'm John Michael, and today we're talking about something that every CEO, Executive and leader needs to master. Authentic personal branding. Before we get into it, connect with me on X, as Jon_Michail, my LinkedIn is Jon Michail, and you can find me as Image Group International on Facebook.  And hey, if this episode resonates with you, please subscribe, rate us on Apple podcast and spread the word. Alright, let's jump into it and start with the hard truth, the world is in the flux, and it's not getting easier anytime soon. We're living in an era of relentless disruption, economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension, environmental challenges and the global workforce undergoing seismic shifts in this environment, the old rules of leadership no longer apply business as usual. That's a fast track to irrelevance. If you want to thrive in today's world, your personal brand, ie your reputation, how you perceived out there, needs to lead the way. Why? Because trust has become a rare currency. We're witnessing unprecedented skepticism towards institutions, governments, corporations and media are all under the microscope. And of course, the report from the recent report from Edelman shows that 68% of people don't trust CEOs to tell the truth. Meanwhile, employees, customers and investors are demanding more than just products and profits. This is the world we live in. They want purpose, transparency and accountability from the people at the top. In times like these, leaders must become more than just figureheads. They need to be visible, relatable and, most importantly, authentic. People want to see leaders to reflect real values, not just corporate sound bites. They're asking, Who are you really? What do you stand for? And are you living it every day? Yeah, I know it's a hard task, right, but this is what the new game is all about. 

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The pandemic was a wake up call forcing us to reevaluate what leadership means. Leaders who adapted, and I can give you many examples of that, those who showed empathy, shared their struggles and connected authentically came out stronger. Those who clung to outdated command and control models. Wow. What happened to them? They lost trust, they lost influence, and, of course, market share. What it means is really you can't keep on beating people over the head anymore to get them to do what you want them to do. You've got to really lead. And of course, we've mentioned before that leadership really has to come first from self leadership. Now, as the world faces new challenges, economic shifts, climate crisis and the rise of AI, leaders need to connect on a human level like never before. People aren't just going to follow ideas anymore. They're following individuals who inspire confidence through consistency, empathy and action, and that's exactly where personal branding comes in. So this isn't just about building a reputation or look looking good on LinkedIn. Okay, so you can get a few likes and brownie points. From that perspective, your personal brand, from our perspective, is the bridge between who you are and the trust you need to earn. Whether you're a CEO navigating market vulnerability, or an executive leading through change your brand rooted in authenticity, creates the trust, influence and loyalty required to succeed in this ongoing, unpredictable will. The following episode, we'll explore how to build that kind of brand, one that reflects not just your skills, but of course, your values and humanity, because in today's world, leaders who lead with authenticity are going to be the ones who will be trusted to follow. So let's get into it. 

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Okay, let's start off with part one. So what I would say is there is the death of corporate masks. Yes, and this is why personal branding matters. Of course, the spin doc doing etc, will continue, because that's the way it is. But the same time, anyone that's really smart will take this on board that you don't have to spin this right now, you can be authentic about it. Yes, at times you might get it, not perfect, but authenticity works. So the days of leaders hiding behind their corporate logos and job titles are long gone. It used to be that, you know, corner office, that big title did the talking for you. Not anymore. People today want to connect with the person behind the brand, not just the product or the mission statement, and, of course, the research that I mentioned earlier backs this up, because people trust individual leaders more than companies. There's also another research from Harvard Business Review that tells us that 58% of employees say they would leave a company if the leaders don't align with their personal or company values. This is really interesting, because obviously, if your employees don't trust you either, then you've got a serious problem. A serious problem is the point where you can see if your listed company is an example, your share price will definitely fall. Make no mistakes about that. This is where personal brand and then becomes your secret weapon. But here's the kicker, it's not about what just you say. It's about how you act. Your public image and personal values have to match. If they don't, your credibility and the influence goes down the drain. It tanks faster than a bad tweet going viral. 

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So the next part of this is authenticity, something that we talk about a lot, and we regard an authority on this conversation, because that's what we've been talking about from a personal branding point of view for close to 35 years. So authenticity, in this case, is not the Instagram kind. Here's why. Many leaders will get this wrong, especially if they are taken on board the superficial aspect of authenticity. They hear the word authenticity, many of them, and think, oh, it means being vulnerable for the sake of it. A LA, Brene Brown style, of course, they treat authenticity like just another social media strategy. Let me tell you about something. I'll be blunt. People can spot fake authenticity from a mile away, including the crocodile tears you see through a crisis a typical press interview. Being authentic doesn't mean sharing every detail of your personal life online. That's what the social media companies have con people to do to sad outcomes. For many, it's not about turning your leadership story into a therapy session. For God's sake, for therapy go and see a therapist. It's about being aligned what you believe, what you say and what you do have to connect. They must be congruent. Take Richard Branson as an example. Branson doesn't just talk about innovation. He lives it from Virgin's corporate structure to his personal lifestyle. It's all about pushing boundaries. Now that's real authenticity, not because he shares personal stories that much, but because there's no disconnect between the person and brand, certainly, that's the perception. And here's the reality, if you claim to value something like sustainability, you'd better walk the walk performative leadership is dead unless you're a politician, and that's another story. But you only have to have a look at the current American election to see how much performative leadership is in action there. But remember, business is not politics, okay, although there might be politics in business, politicians operate totally differently to most business people. So what's important here is that your stakeholders, especially your employees and clients, resonate with your messaging, because they will see through any messaging that doesn't match your actions. So authenticity works because it's about trust, and trust is earned, not declared. 

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The next part for you to consider is, of course, your brand is a story, so tell it right. Here's the thing, people don't buy products or services. They buy stories. They buy relationships through stories that connect. If your leadership story is just a bullet point list of achievements you've already lost, and of course, you only have to go on to LinkedIn to see many about pages and bios that really it's just a tick the box exercise, as opposed to a connection storytelling approach where really creates the biggest difference. So success in without a struggle, of course, in your storytelling is not relatable. So. So the idea here is to make whatever story you're going to share is to make a relatable and, of course, unforgettable. Your personal brand needs to be a story that people connect with on a human level. And of course, and this is the thing to be aware of. AI is not going to do that. It's your heart centered approach that's going to actually get people to connect with you, so share the real moments, both wins and finders. Think about Elon Musk right now. Love him or hate him. His brand is as much about his struggles as his successes, from almost going bankrupt with SpaceX to sleeping on the Tesla factory floor. Well, I don't know if that's a true story, but it certainly sounds good. Must a story overall, though, is about not being perfect. It's about persistence and giving it your best shot, and that's what people relate to. If you want to build loyalty, you need to get comfortable sharing some of the ups and downs, for sure, but that's where trust comes from over time. Because without that, of course, if you're going to just be sharing all your UPS, then people don't believe that, because that's not being human. People respect leaders who aren't afraid to admit failure, as long though, as it's part of a bigger story of growth. So if you're gonna and this is very important. So failure, failure, failure does not mean you keep on promoting that and you still are coming across as loser, loser, loser. That's not what we're talking about here, because, of course, that's not going to build credibility for you if you keep on losing, losing, losing, and you've hit 75 years old. And I say that with the greatest respect to 75 year olds out there. 

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Jo the next part, of course, is consistency. And consistency is very important, but it's also the most underrated leadership trait. Here's what mostly the stumble on consistency. You just can't show up authentically one day and go back to corporate speak the next you know, consistency isn't glamorous, but it's where your personal brand either lives or dies. It's about reinforcing your core message every single time you interact with the audience, and it's a starting point where you need to identify the three traits that define your leadership. And I'm giving you this as an example today, having said there could be others as well. One of them is, are you visionary? You know, what's the message you want to put out there? Empathetic or results driven? Whatever they are, these traits need to show up across all channels, example, LinkedIn, in interviews, in company meetings and even casual conversations. Consistency is what builds reliability, and reliability, of course, builds trust. So it's not just about public messaging, either. It's internal consistency. From a communication perspective, matters just as much your team members need to see the same leader in private meetings that the media sees in public interviews, so the moment your messaging feels fragmented, you've sort of lost control of your brand, and this is important to keep in mind. And finally, with that, I would say Part Five In today's episode is around empathy and the real game changer, I believe in modern leadership, because you cannot do anything right now, empathy does not show up. 

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So let's address this something that, of course, a lot of leaders still don't get empathy is no longer a soft skill. You know, I don't think it was ever a soft skill, but, of course, that's what most people know it as. When it's authentic, it's game changing, because it's a people connector and also and of course, in that case, as a flow on from that a good, effective business strategy. If you think leadership is just about hitting targets and driving profits, you're stuck in the past, today, as noted a moment ago, leadership is about connection and empathy is about how you connect. Employees today want to feel seen, heard and valued clients and customers want to know that you care about them, certainly with it could be your offering in this case, or certainly more in help, helping them deal with some of the challenges in their lives. Doesn't matter if it's a product or service, more than just their wallets. When you lead with empathy, you build deeper relationships, and deeper relationships, of course, create loyalty. We know that, and loyalty, of course, in business, is priceless. I often say this, empathy isn't about being soft, it's about being smart. And this is the thing here. You know, you meet a lot of these tough guys out there that lack the empathy. And I use guys loosely here, but the thing is, in my experience, the really, really, really strong guys and gals. Of course, are empathetic because that's emotional intelligence. And of course, smart people that really succeed have got elements of emotional intelligence, EQ that definitely has gotten to be smart in the first place. So empathetic leaders get better results because they understand their people. They know when to push and when to listen, they understand that people also follow leaders who care, not just bosses who command so wrapping up, you know what I say is live your dream brand every day. So here's the bottom line, your personal brand is more than just a title or a PR strategy. It's about your values in action, your story in progress and the consistency of your leadership. So ask yourself, Am I living my brand or just talking about it? Because at the end of the day, people don't follow a title, they'll follow the person behind it. Leadership isn't just about guiding a company. It's about being the living embodiment of what you and your organization stand for. So I want to thank you today for tuning in to this episode of the personal branding masterclass. If this conversation resonated with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts until next time, stay bold, stay real and leave your brand authentically. I'm John Michael, signing off and cheerio

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence, and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for personal coaching, seminars, and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.