With or Without You

With or Without You

Everything is changing - with or without you.

I’ll be honest: it took me some time to come to terms with this.

I worked hard. I earned two degrees. I worked for two Fortune 50 companies. For years, that was enough. Opportunities found me. My reputation traveled without me having to think too much about it.

And for a long time, that worked. I bet it worked for you too.

At a certain point, though, I felt like I stalled out. Your network can only take you so far in a world where visibility is increasingly digital.

When I visited AARP headquarters in November, we talked about how news and information sharing is changing. I had never thought of myself as a news source, but with 92,000+ followers on LinkedIn, that is essentially what I’ve built — a platform for sharing real information and insight.

Even if you don't think you have something to share, you likely have more to say than you realize. And there is an audience for clear, thoughtful expertise, especially in today's noisy world.

Recent research from Entrepreneur Magazine notes that CEO content receives four times more engagement than other content on LinkedIn. Even more interesting: CEOs see a 39% increase in followers when they increase their posting frequency.

You might not be a CEO, but your perspective still matters.

At the same time, analysis from TrustInsights.ai shows that LinkedIn’s algorithm now reads your profile as the foundational document for every ranking decision. Your headline, the top section of your profile, and your About section shape the AI’s understanding of who you are, what you know, what types of jobs you would be a fit for, and who should see your content.

If your profile isn’t clear, structured, and aligned with your expertise, even strong content won’t travel very far.

LinkedIn has quietly become more than a networking site: it influences recruiting, business development, and executive credibility.

And most leadership teams are under-leveraging it.

Over the past year, I’ve expanded more of my work behind the scenes with leadership teams on this exact issue.

That can look like building strong LinkedIn profiles for executives, aligning leadership messaging, or developing content strategies aligned with broader business goals.

In many cases, the company covers this investment because it directly supports recruiting, visibility, and growth — benefiting both the executive and the organization.

I’ve grown from 750 followers to 92,000+ in 4 years, so I get the apprehension around getting started. I’ve also seen firsthand what thoughtful LinkedIn strategy can do for a business and a career — including partnerships I never imagined.

If you're curious about what this looks like in practice, reply to this email or DM me on LinkedIn and we can talk it through.

FYI - I'll be talking about this more as a panelist at the American Marketing Association - AMA Pittsburgh's upcoming "Level Up Your LinkedIn Personal Brand" discussion.

We'll be at the National Aviary on Wed, Feb 25, from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM.