Visibility Isn't Marketing. It's Audacity.
"Do you have someone running your LinkedIn?"
I get this question a lot.
I smile and respond the same each time.
It's me.
With a splash of bumps, learning the hard way, a few flubs, a grammar checker (because I hate commas), and an internal buddy-system proofreader.
But the real reason they ask is far more interesting.
They want to build their own brand, or encourage their team, and they don't know where to start.
So, I usually ask, "are you willing to build their audacity to be seen?"
Most executives in affordable housing were trained to be silent experts.
Let the work speak for itself.
But see, the work never does.
And it’s too abstract for people outside the industry to see themselves in ‘the story.’
My voice (and my audacity) shows up in four ways:
➡️ Authority: the problems I've actually rolled up my sleeves and helped solve.
➡️ Mission: what I believe about affordable housing, and what most people get wrong. P.S. ... I did a TEDxTalk on it.
➡️ People: the talent I hire who make the mission possible.
➡️ Personality: because business doesn't have to be boring.
There was a time in my life when no one asked what I thought or what I was building.
So, I don't treat visibility as marketing.
𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.
Affordable housing doesn't need more silent experts, so I'll keep grabbing the microphone.
Who wants to join me in stepping out there?
