The Most Overlooked Executive Branding Strategy (And Why Most CEOs Miss It)
One of the best parts of my work is getting to meet executives from all over the U.S. and Canada. At any given time, I could be working with the CEO of an investment banking firm who operates from Midtown Manhattan, a founder building an AI robotics company out of a startup hub in Silicon Valley or the leader of a copper mining company headquartered in the heart of Yorkville, Toronto. Regardless of the zip code or area of expertise, each client is largely looking to build more credibility behind their executive brand, and rightfully so.
The average adult now spends over six hours a day online, and whether they're prospective clients, investors, employees or journalists, people increasingly expect company leaders to have a visible digital presence. According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, nearly 70% of stakeholders expect CEOs to have an online presence and publicly address issues that impact them. There's no longer a debate about whether executive branding matters. The real conversation is how to approach it. On a recent client tour through LA, New York and Toronto, I found it fascinating to hear what leaders believed should be their biggest communications priority heading into Q4.
One executive wanted to double down on LinkedIn. After watching many of his peers lean heavily into AI-generated content, he'd started hearing from clients that his posts stood out because they were rooted in real experiences and thoughtful perspectives on issues they genuinely cared about. Another client had almost the opposite perspective. She felt LinkedIn had become overly performative and wanted to invest more heavily in earned media. The interesting part was they were both right.
As a PR and thought leadership consultant for executives and CEOs, it's not my job to prescribe one-size-fits-all solutions or declare one playbook the most effective. Every executive communications program should align with both the individual leader and the organization they represent.
Sometimes that means building visibility because very little executive presence exists. Other times it means strengthening market positioning while humanizing leadership to attract employees, investors or customers. Yet during almost every conversation, one critical piece was missing. Very few leaders had spent enough time thinking about the positioning they wanted to own.
When we talk about thought leadership goals, I hear a lot about landing features in Fortune or The New York Times, growing LinkedIn followers, increasing engagement and speaking on bigger stages. I hear far less about how leaders want to be positioned when those opportunities arrive.
In my opinion, the leaders who agonize over establishing strong positioning have a significant advantage because it's one of the least invested in and most effective strategies in executive branding.
The CEOs who stand out aren't posting more. They're thinking deeper.
When I begin working with an executive, positioning is always where we start. It's foundational to the strategy, yet it evolves alongside each leader, their organization and their industry. It's never a one-time exercise.
Developing a strong position means having honest conversations across dozens of topics. We uncover the values, experiences, beliefs and defining moments that have shaped how someone thinks. We explore not only what they know, but why they believe it, because that's where original thought begins.
Recent research has shown that technical expertise alone is no longer enough to build trust. Stakeholders increasingly expect leaders to demonstrate competence alongside authenticity and transparency. (Insert hyperlink to supporting research.)
It's also what separates my New York client's content from competitors relying solely on generic AI-generated updates. When communication is grounded in lived experience and shaped around how we uniquely think, every post, interview and article carries a perspective that can't easily be replicated.
Visibility without positioning is just noise
One of the biggest misconceptions in executive branding is that more exposure automatically leads to a stronger reputation. It doesn't.
If you're quoted in The New York Times, but the message doesn’t accurately reflect how you operate or think on topics critical to your base, all the clicks in the world won't help you reach your goal. Every interview, keynote and LinkedIn post teaches your audience something about who you are. The question is whether it's teaching them what you want them to remember. That’s where positioning comes in.
On the other hand, a thoughtful LinkedIn post with modest engagement may do far more for your executive brand than a viral media appearance if it allows the people who are discovering you for the first time to relate and respect your thought leadership because it’s been properly positioned. The data backs this up. In a 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn study, 64% of buyers said they trust thought leadership more than glossy marketing materials when judging someone's actual capability, and 95% said strong thought leadership made them more receptive to that person even before any direct interaction.
When someone searches your name before a meeting, investment or partnership, they want to know how you think, what you value and whether your perspective aligns with their own. That's the quiet work positioning does long before a conversation ever begins.
The best executive branding work happens before anyone sees it
There's a reason positioning often gets pushed aside. It isn't glamorous, it doesn't produce vanity metrics overnight and it requires reflection, interviews and conversations that are difficult to prioritize when you're running a business.
In my practice, we've built positioning into the process so we make the most of the limited time executives have. Every client touchpoint is designed to capture original thinking that can be transformed into months of thoughtful content. Even one hour a month with a CEO can translate into dozens of hours of meaningful content that accurately reflects how they think when that time is intentionally planned.
The return isn't simply more content. It's stronger online positioning that compounds over time because it's consistently reinforcing the same reputation.
As I think back to my recent conversations with leaders across New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, I'm reminded that the executives building the strongest brands aren't necessarily the ones dominating every platform or every headline. They're the ones investing in an intentional presence that doesn't try to speak to everyone. Instead, it speaks directly to the stakeholders who matter most to them and their organizations.
We spend a lot of time focusing on the outward side of communications by chasing bigger subscriber numbers, landing coveted media and growing vanity metrics. Yet it's the inward work, where we decide how we want to show up and what perspectives we genuinely have to contribute, that gives leaders the greatest opportunity to stand apart. As in life, being noisy without substance rarely leaves a lasting impression, but being intentional with the right audience almost always does.