Why the Fear Around Building a Personal Brand Is Backward
There’s an old saying that used to make me roll my eyes in meetings: “What if we train them and they leave?” The classic response is “What if we don’t… and they stay?” And somehow, that always felt like a mic drop moment, but the people who needed to hear it the most never got the message.
That same outdated fear shows up today anytime the topic of a personal brand comes up. I’ve worked with leaders who clench up at the idea of their team sharing content on LinkedIn or speaking at events. “What if they build a personal brand and take it somewhere else?”
No one ever asks, “What if they don’t build one at all and just become irrelevant?”
Listen, if you’re terrified your team’s going to leave because they’re growing, you’ve got a bigger problem. The reality is this: helping someone grow their personal brand doesn’t push them out the door. It makes them better at their job, better in your company, and better in the industry.
I’ve had this argument in the boardroom and in one-on-ones. And now I’m putting it in writing. If you’re not encouraging your team to grow their personal brand, you’re holding them back. And worse, you’re holding your company back too.
Training vs. Retention: The Real Risk of Playing It Safe
Here’s the truth: the fear of someone “getting too good and leaving” is just lazy thinking disguised as strategy. If your business model only works when people stay small, stay quiet, and stay in their lane, you’re not building a business, you’re building a cage.
Let me break it down: a strong personal brand is the new résumé, the new network, and the new reputation, all rolled into one. When you invest in helping your team build theirs, you’re not just training them. You’re handing them tools that make them more valuable to your company right now.
But instead of doubling down on that, most companies play defense. They gatekeep. They worry someone might take what they learn and go elsewhere. And yeah, that might happen. But you know what happens way more often? People stagnate. They check out. They become clock-in-clock-out zombies. And you’re the one who trained them to do that.
I’ve seen it firsthand. In past roles, I’d suggest giving people time or resources to get better at marketing, content, automation, whatever their role needed. The response was usually a nervous shrug. “But what if they leave?” My response? “What if they stay and suck?”
That’s the real threat. Not people growing too fast, but not growing at all.
You want better output? You want stronger loyalty? You want people who actually give a damn about the work? Help them build a personal brand that they’re proud of. It creates pride, momentum, and yes, ROI you can actually see in your pipeline.
Action Item:
Take a hard look at your team today. Who’s already doing the work that deserves to be seen? Start by encouraging one person to write a LinkedIn post this week about what they’re learning, solving, or questioning. Bonus: reshare it from the company account and actually cheer them on.
Building a Personal Brand Isn’t a Threat, It’s an Asset
Let’s kill the myth right now: your team building a personal brand does not compete with your company’s brand. It complements it. Actually, it multiplies it.
You want people talking about your business? You want reach? You want trust in a noisy, skeptical market? Here’s a shortcut: let your people shine.
I live this daily. I’ve got a job I love at Canopy Connect. I post content regularly, about automation, marketing, AI, and guess what? Most of it has zero to do with Canopy Connect. And the company is totally good with that. Encourages it, even.
They didn’t hire me to be a parrot for press releases. They hired me because I bring value in the spaces where our audience actually hangs out. My personal brand opens doors that traditional sales content never could. Why? Because it’s not polished corporate noise. It’s real. It’s human. It’s mine.
And the craziest part? My posts, my brand, bring in conversations, leads, and even deals. Not because I’m pushing a product. But because people connect with people. They trust voices, not logos. So when your team shows up with their own voice, their own content, their own style… that’s a win for you, not a risk.
Let’s stop treating personal brand like some rogue side hustle. It’s a distribution channel you didn’t have to pay for. It’s built-in credibility. And it’s happening whether you support it or not. So you can either be part of it, or be left out of it.
Action Item:
Pick one member of your team who already has an audience, or wants to build one. Ask them what they’d love to talk about if they weren’t worried about “staying on brand.” Then tell them: go write it. Go record it. Go post it. No approvals needed. Watch what happens.
Why Companies Should Embrace Personal Brands
If you still think a company page is going to out-perform your people on social, you’re playing the wrong game. People scroll past company content without a second thought. But when a person with a face, a story, and an opinion shares something valuable? They stop. They read. They respond.
That’s the power of a personal brand.
Here’s what I’ve seen: when I share content that’s real, that teaches something, or that challenges conventional thinking, it gets engagement. Not fake likes, real comments, DMs, and conversations. And sometimes, those conversations turn into customers. Not because I pushed the product. But because I showed up with something useful.
And let me be super clear, 95% of what I post isn’t about Canopy Connect. It’s about what I know, what I’m learning, and what I think others can use. And you know what happens? People still associate that value with where I work. That’s brand building. That’s trust.
When your team builds a personal brand, your company’s brand gets exposure by default. You get relevance in the algorithm. You get presence at the table. And guess what, you didn’t pay a dime for it. No ad spend, no content bottlenecks, no gatekeepers.
The best part? It raises the bar internally. People see their teammates showing up, creating content, building a voice, and it lights a fire. Suddenly, showing up on social isn’t weird. It’s expected. And your brand gets carried into corners of the industry you couldn’t buy your way into if you tried.
Action Item:
Scroll through your LinkedIn feed today. Who’s showing up and earning attention? Send that post to your leadership team and ask, “Why don’t we have five people doing this?” Then pick one internal voice and ask them what they need to do more of it.
Letting Go of Control: The ROI of Authentic Voice
Here’s where most companies screw this up: they think control equals safety. They build policies, brand guides, and approval chains to keep everything polished and perfectly on-message. But polished doesn’t convert. People don’t engage with perfection, they engage with personality.
A personal brand thrives on voice, tone, perspective. It’s supposed to be different. And yeah, that can make old-school leadership twitch a little.
Ask me how I know.
Years ago, I changed my LinkedIn title to “World’s Okayest Marketer.” It was funny, self-aware, and totally on-brand for me. People loved it. I got messages, profile views, and more importantly attention because of that one line.
Until one day, the CEO of the company I was working for hit me up and said, “You need to change that, it makes the company look bad.”
Let me repeat that: a joke title on my personal brand was seen as a threat to the company image.
My LinkedIn headline.
That’s when I realized some leaders don’t actually want people to stand out, they want robots. They want spokespeople who stick to the script. But here’s the problem: that script isn’t getting clicks, comments, or calls.
When you let people be themselves online, they become more relatable. When you give them permission to speak in their own voice, they become more trusted. And when they’re trusted, your brand gets pulled into more conversations without lifting a finger.
That’s the ROI. That’s the win. Not control, connection.
If you’re still nervous about letting your team say what they actually think, here’s a hard truth: someone else is already out there doing it. And their content is eating your content’s lunch.
Action Item:
Audit your brand rules. Seriously. Look at your content guidelines and ask, “Would any normal human ever talk like this on LinkedIn?” If the answer’s no, burn it and start fresh. Then ask your team: “What do you actually want to say to the market?” Then let them say it.
The Smart Bet Is on Growth
Here’s the reality: people don’t stay where they’re controlled. They stay where they’re trusted. If you’re still worried about what happens when your team builds a personal brand, you’re asking the wrong question. The better one is: what happens when they don’t?
You can either support their growth or sit back and hope they don’t realize they have options.
I’ve had customers tell me they followed my content for months before they even realized what company I worked for. And by the time they did? The trust was already there. The conversation was easy.
This is the new playbook: support your people. Give them space to be themselves online. Let them teach, share, and connect. Your brand will grow faster by getting out of the way.
And if you want a system that helps you stay consistent while building your personal brand, check out Agency Content Engine. It’s the exact engine I use to keep showing up, adding value, and staying top of mind, without burning out.
Stop fearing growth. Start creating it.