Identity is your compass. Your story is your strategy.
Aug 30, 2026
Identity Is Your Compass. Your Story Is Your Strategy.
There is a strange moment that happens in a lot of successful careers.
You’ve accumulated experience.
Built credibility.
Achieved things you’re proud of.
Perhaps you’ve become a founder, CEO or senior leader.
And then someone tells you:
You need to build your personal brand.
So the obvious questions begin.
What should I post?
Should I write more on LinkedIn?
Should I start a newsletter?
What should I talk about?
How do I become more visible?
But I think we’re starting in the wrong place.
Because before asking “What should I say?”, there is a much more important question:
What do I actually want to be known for?
And that question is surprisingly difficult to answer.
Most leaders don’t have a content problem.
They have a clarity problem.
Senior careers accumulate enormous amounts of experience.
Roles.
Successes.
Failures.
Decisions.
Turning points.
People who influenced you.
Things you came to believe.
Things you stopped believing.
But rarely do we get the opportunity to step away from the demands of our careers and ask what all of those experiences actually mean.
A job title can tell people what you do.
It doesn’t necessarily tell them who you are.
And as you become more senior, I believe that distinction becomes increasingly important.
Because your experience isn’t simply a record of where you’ve been.
It’s evidence.
There are patterns inside it.
Perspectives you’ve developed.
Strengths you’ve built.
Beliefs that influence the way you lead.
And potentially, the beginnings of the thing you should become known for next.
That’s why I increasingly believe the order matters:
Identity before story.
Story before direction.
Direction before personal brand.
Clarity before visibility.
The strongest personal brands aren’t manufactured from a content calendar.
They’re uncovered from the person behind it.
And sometimes, before developing the strategy, you simply need the space to work out what that strategy should be built upon.
In my latest edition of The Brand Build, I explore why your identity can become your compass, your story can become your strategy, and why looking backwards can sometimes be the most powerful way to work out where you should go next.
Read the Full Article on LinkedIn →
About Marc Maley
Marc Maley is an international personal brand identity strategist, storytelling expert and founder of My Brand Academy. He works with global stars, sports personalities, creators, talent, founders, CEOs and senior leaders to help them understand who they are, discover what makes them distinctive and build influential personal brands.
For more than twenty years, Marc helped build and tell some of the world's biggest stories. From Harry Potter to Disney and Marvel.
Drawing on his experience working with international brands and individuals, Marc is the Founder of My Brand Academy, a world leading platform that specialises in Identity Intelligence, personal brand strategy, leadership positioning and storytelling, helping people turn their experiences, strengths and perspectives into meaningful opportunities.
His philosophy: Understand who you are. Build who you become.