Franca Lehfeldt: Personal branding – it needs rough edges.

Not all decision-makers realise the importance of personal brands.

Franca Lehfeldt: ‘Corners and edges’ – standing by your convictions and standing up for them. We must not all run in the same direction. We need personalities that people can rub up against.

• People are interested in people. Narratives are driven by people and narratives drive brands and share prices. Personal branding can therefore become a measurable success factor for companies.

• Purpose, ethics and employer tasks are very important today. Companies that believe that none of their heads should shine bigger or brighter than the company logo are on the wrong track. Companies that work with their personal brands win both internally and externally.

However, in Franca Lehfeldt’s understanding, a personal brand also comprises a product promise, i.e. a special service or mission. She distinguishes this from selective fame without performance features, which can sometimes be seen on reality TV: There, the message is already exhausted with the person.

• Friction generates energy: those who go public should therefore remain true to themselves and their positions. Authenticity is more important than the opportunism of wanting to be everybody’s darling!

• Messages that a personal brand recites but does not represent are counterproductive. Formats – for example in social media – and topics must be intentional and lived.

Otherwise, the voice or body language will betray the artificiality of the set-up, as very few people can adapt like professional actors. The audience won’t always actively name it, but they can sense when behaviour is not authentic.

Franca Lehfeldt: On the one hand, it is more difficult to establish yourself as a personal brand today due to the diversity of media in which everyone is broadcasting.

On the other hand, social networks offer many people the chance to build a brand character in the first place. In the past, the editorial offices of journalistic media were the gatekeepers.

Book Franca Lehfeldt for presentations with the Premium Speakers Agency. Give us a call or write directly to franca.lehfeldt@premium-speakers.com