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The world of work is changing around us. Your role may change. Your company may change. Technology will change. But the skills, reputation, relationships and value you build are yours to take with you.
We are living and working in a VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. AI and technology are changing how work gets done. Businesses are restructuring, roles are evolving, client expectations are shifting and the skills organisations need are changing with them.
The World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of workers’ existing core skills will change by 2030, while LinkedIn predicts that 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030.¹ ²
Whether you are a professional building your career, a leader responsible for a team or a business owner responsible for your own future, there is one thing worth investing in that you take with you wherever you go: your personal brand.
Your personal brand is one of your greatest assets and, in a changing world, one of your greatest forms of protection. It is not your LinkedIn profile, logo or job title. Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room: your reputation, character, capability, relationships and, most importantly, the value you create and the meaningful problems you can solve.
Become a person of value
Many of us have been conditioned to chase success: the next promotion, the bigger title, the higher salary, the bigger business or the next KPI. There is nothing wrong with success, but in a changing world, a title provides very little protection on its own.
To paraphrase Albert Einstein, ‘try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value.’³
That distinction matters. A title tells people what position you hold today. Your value is what you can contribute tomorrow.
Businesses will always have problems to solve, and clients will always have needs. They will need people who can lead, communicate, build relationships, think critically, adapt and get things done.
So instead of only asking, “What is my next role?”, ask “What is the meaningful problem I want to become known for solving?”
That is a very different career and business conversation.
Collect skills, not titles
If the skills required for work are changing this quickly, our response cannot be to stand still. Collect transferable skills, not titles. Become a lifelong learner. Build skills that can move across roles, organisations, industries and even careers.
Build your ability to communicate, lead, influence, negotiate, think strategically and solve problems. Understand technology and AI, develop commercial acumen and remain adaptable and curious.
Technical knowledge matters, but some of the greatest opportunities comes from combining technical expertise with the human and commercial skills that allow us to apply that knowledge and create value for others.
Think about the 3 Es: Exposure, Experience and Education. What do you need to learn? What experiences do you need to seek out? Who do you need to spend more time around?
Do not outsource responsibility for your development to your employer. Own it.
From KPI to Key Person of Influence
Daniel Priestley explores another useful way of thinking about this in his book Key Person of Influence.⁴ The concept is not simply about becoming well known. It is about developing the expertise, ideas, relationships and reputation that make you valuable within your market or field.
So, while we all have KPIs to achieve, there is another KPI worth considering: How are you becoming a Key Person of Influence?
What do people come to you for? What are you particularly good at? What problem do people trust you to solve?
This is not about becoming famous or building thousands of followers. It is about becoming known, trusted and valued for something that matters, whether you are a business owner, leader or professional.
Become valuable and stay relevant.
Build your brand through four lenses
Your personal brand does not exist in isolation. It shows up through four interconnected lenses: Personal, Professional, Team and Company.
1. Personal: What do you stand for?
Start with your character and values. Choose three words you want to be known for, then ask yourself a harder question: Would the people around me use those same three words to describe me?
Every small action adds to your character and, over time, becomes your reputation.
2. Professional: What are you known for?
Think beyond your current job description.
What skills are you building, what problems can you solve and what relationships are you investing in?
Build your network before you need it. Share what you know. Seek mentors and people who challenge your thinking. Keep collecting exposure, experience and education. Your organisation may employ you, but you own your professional brand.
3. Team: How do you make others better?
Personal brand is not just about individual performance. It is also about your impact on the people around you.
Do you turn up prepared, do what you say you will do, take accountability, bring solutions and help other people succeed?
Ask yourself: What is one thing I could do 1% better that would help the people around me rise? Small behaviours compound.
4. Company: What do you leave better?
Whether you own the business or work within one, you contribute to its culture and reputation. You do not need a leadership title to have influence. How you treat clients, support colleagues, respond under pressure and behave when nobody is watching all matter.
James Kerr captures this beautifully in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.⁵ Leave the jersey better than you found it.
Whatever your role, ask yourself:
What am I doing to leave my team, business, profession or community better because I was part of it?
Your Personal Brand Action Card
Your personal brand is built through hundreds of small, intentional actions.
This month’s My Personal Brand Action Card uses the four lenses to help you identify:
- Personal: Three words you want to be known for.
- Professional: One relationship to build and one action to strengthen your professional reputation.
- Team: One action you can take to help your team be 1% better.
- Company: One thing you can do to leave the organisation better than you found it.
Then choose ONE action and do it over the next seven days.
We cannot control everything changing around us, but we can keep building our skills, relationships and reputation, remain curious and adaptable, and continue solving meaningful problems.
Your title may change. Your role may disappear. Your business may evolve. But the value you have built travels with you.
So collect skills, not titles. Become a lifelong learner. Become known for solving meaningful problems and, above all, become a person of value.
Bring your best. Elevate your brand. Leave the jersey better.
You can get in touch with Cate at Inspiration Cafe.
The Money & Life website is operated by the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA). The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not those of the FAAA. The FAAA does not endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial product advice which may be contained in the article. Nor does it endorse or assume responsibility for the information.
Sources
- World Economic Forum (2025), The Future of Jobs Report 2025. The report finds that employers expect 39% of workers’ existing core skills to change by 2030.
World Economic Forum – Future of Jobs Report 2025 - LinkedIn Economic Graph (2025), Work Change Report: AI Is Coming to Work. LinkedIn estimates that 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030.
LinkedIn – Work Change Report 2025 - Einstein, A. (1955), quoted in William Miller, “Death of a Genius”, LIFE, 2 May 1955. The original quotation uses “man”; it has been paraphrased in this article as “person”.
- Priestley, D., Key Person of Influence. Priestley explores how expertise, ideas, profile and relationships can help people become recognised and valued within their industry.
Daniel Priestley - Kerr, J. (2013), Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life. Kerr draws on the culture of the New Zealand All Blacks to explore leadership, character, responsibility, continuous improvement and legacy.
Legacy – Hachette Australia
