Reinventing Your Personal Brand After 15–20 Years of Experience
Nobody warns you about this part. You’ve spent fifteen-plus years becoming genuinely great at what you do — and then one day you realise the market doesn’t reward quiet competence. It rewards packaging. And suddenly, professionals half your age with half your depth are getting the stages, the board seats, the podcast invites. Frustrating? Absolutely. […]
Your expertise has compounded. Your positioning hasn't.
Think about it. Every framework you’ve built, every crisis you’ve navigated, every “let me handle this” moment — that’s intellectual property. But if it only lives inside your head or your company’s four walls, it has zero market value outside of your current role.
Three shifts that actually move the needle:
One — Name your thing. What’s the methodology only you bring to the table? If you can’t articulate it in one sentence, neither can anyone recommending you for an opportunity. Give your approach a name. Make it ownable.
Two — Stop trading time, start stacking assets. A keynote, a signature framework, a proprietary model — these work for you while you sleep. Posting daily on LinkedIn doesn’t. Build things that compound, not things that expire.
Three — Let your track record do the selling, differently. Nobody at your level needs to “prove” themselves. But most mid-career professionals undersell by listing achievements instead of demonstrating thinking. Share the “why behind the what” — that’s what separates a senior hire from a sought-after authority.
The bottom line?
Reinvention after fifteen years isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about finally building a vehicle worthy of everything you already are.
The coffee’s been brewing long enough. Time to serve it in the right cup.
