Build Your Personal Brand with Victoria Pelletier

Your personal brand is already out there. The real question is whether you are shaping it on purpose or letting it form by accident. We sit down with corporate executive, board member, author, and speaker Victoria Peltier to unpack what personal branding actually means in real life and why “I’m a finance person at Company X” is the smallest possible version of your story.

We walk through Victoria’s practical framework for a complete personal brand: your expertise, what makes you you, what makes you different, and the impact and legacy you want to leave. From LinkedIn presence and relationship-building to thought leadership content that feels human, we dig into how to make your narrative clear, consistent, and aligned with your goals, whether that’s getting hired, earning a promotion, selling services, or attracting great people to your team. Victoria also shares how AI can speed up writing and repurposing so you can create more content with less friction while staying authentic.

Then we go deeper into leadership and mindset. We talk about gratitude as a real signal of respect and whole human leadership, plus the freedom that comes from saying no, delegating, and using small pockets of time with intention. We close with a challenge you can act on immediately: get comfortable being uncomfortable, because everything you want lives on the other side of fear. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a career reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Victoria

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hello there and welcome back to the next episode of Overcome Yourself the Podcast. As you know, my name is Nicole, and I'm so excited to be here today with Victoria. So, Victoria, please take it away and tell us a little bit about who you are and who you help.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Awesome. Well, I'm very happy to be here. Thank you, Nicole. So, Victoria, Victoria Peltier. I um I describe myself as a multi-potentialite, meaning I have lots of diverse interests and passions.

A Career Built On Many Lanes

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Uh professionally, I'm a longtime corporate executive in the world of professional services, having moved into my first executive role at a very early age. Yet I also have built and bought and sold companies myself personally as well as coaching others. I currently sit at the intersection of technology and transformation and all of the enabling pieces around that from change management, transformation of the workforce and reskilling, um, looking at value realization, et cetera. I um sit on multiple boards. Um I've always had a side hustle. Um the one I have now and have had for a long time uh is uh Unstoppable You, where I do public speaking. Anytime I do, you know, coaching or consulting on the side, not that I have time for that right now. Um my books that I'll go through there. I'm a wife, a mother to two adults, which makes me feel really old. Um, and I'm a dog mom as well, as well as being a fitness fanatic and a foodie. How's that?

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Fantastic. That sounds like so much fun, like everything you mentioned. So what do you want to dive into today? I know you mentioned personal branding. Um, so can you talk to us a little bit about that and what you do with that and what we can do with personal branding?

unknown 1:44

Sure, sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

I am when I look at like the career success that I've had, I think you know, there's a multitude of factors. One, I'm extremely resilient. Um, it, you know, it is helped me get where I

Why Personal Branding Matters

SPEAKER_00 1:56

am. I, you know, I've always been really focused on delivering great performance. But the one I started very early on, I think long before kind of the vernacular of calling it personal branding, was building a strong brand. I got recruited out of banking, which is where I worked at when I all throughout university and for a couple of years beyond, um, into the world of professional services. And um, all of a sudden I was leading sales and marketing teams, which was new to me because I'd come from a business to consumer side in operations to now leading it all. Um, but what I knew was people do business with people, right, that they like, that they trust. So as I was focused on building a brand for the company that I was leading, but also how do we build brands for those that people are going to buy from and do work with? So it started something like 25 years ago to start to consciously work on building that, um, to then much more intentionally doing so. In fact, um I worked for IBM a number of years ago, and LinkedIn had ranked me as the number one social seller, and that's what LinkedIn refers to it. And it's more than your brand, it's your network, it's how you engage, it's those things globally. And so they had asked me to develop training for its other executives. And in doing so, what I realized, even in assessing some of the colleagues at the time that I worked with, both in IBM, but also having then done some coaching externally on it, is people only focus on one aspect of what I believe a successful personal brand is about. And that is what they do and who they do it for, right? Like, oh, I'm an engineer or I'm a finance person and I work for this company, but we are more than our company and our job titles. Um, so the work that I do in coaching people is recognizing that there's multiple parts to being and building a successful personal brand, and then doing so with intention around connecting it to whatever goals or objectives you have for yourself. So it's not just about selling to others, it's about helping. I say you're the CEO of career, uh, of brand you. So from your own career perspective, do you want to get hired? Do you want to get promoted? Maybe you are client-facing, you're looking to sell or build relationships, or you know, um, or in my case, even I'm hiring people who I want them to understand who I am as a leader before they even come potentially to have a conversation with me.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah, that's no, that's amazing. Um talk to me about the personal brand a little bit more in what you're saying when it's beyond who you are and what you do. Can you dive a little bit more into well, how do I make myself stand out beyond, you know, like, oh, I can build a website for you. Um, you know, like in the prof in a professional sense, how does that come out? Or even if you have a job, how how do I make that come out? Like on LinkedIn, for example, because you gave the example of you being, you know, um mentioned, like highlighted by LinkedIn. So how do we do that?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Well, so for so there's I'm gonna say there's two parts to what how I'm gonna answer that. So the first is um, so when I say people only focus on one part, I'm gonna say that I think there's four parts that

The Four Parts Of A Brand

SPEAKER_00 5:10

make up a holistic, strong personal brand. So you do need to tell the story, the one that everyone does, you know, what do you do? Like, what's your expertise and where do where do you have expertise doing it? So get good at telling stories around um your subject matter expertise and the industries or the context in which you have it. That's important for sure. But the next is what makes you you? Like people are engaging with a human. So, what are your values? What are your passions and your interests? That builds connection to other people. Related to that, but different still, is what makes you different than others. So, in the world of professional services, think of consulting, all things being equal, you're gonna get a consultant with the same number of years experience in the same industry or function, price not a you know an issue. Why are they choosing you? What makes you unique and different? So learn to start telling that. And the last part of that, the fourth part, is talking about um impact and legacy. Like, what do you want to be known for? And so for me, I don't want people when I die to talk exclusively about what I did in business. You know, I've been a part of at this point 40 mergers and acquisitions and turnarounds. That's great, but I'd rather they talk about who I was as a human, right? That I'm I'm very committed to diversity and inclusion around a highly ethical, values-driven person that I raised to really good humans. So you also need to think about legacy and impact and what do you want to be known for. The second part in where you were asking is the how. And so um, first start with documenting that. You need to like develop the narrative that you want, like, what do you want people to know about you? It's not about

Turn Your Brand Into Content

SPEAKER_00 6:55

you're not a character or an actor, like it's not fake, but the stories that you tell. Then think about why you're doing it when I say connect it back to the goal you have for yourself. Are you trying to build your side hustle? Are you trying to get hired by a particular company? Are you trying to be promoted? Are you trying to sell more? And then think about the content strategy around that. Who's the audience? Right. So I mentioned LinkedIn, but I'm in a business-to-business environment. So LinkedIn's the best place, you know, for me to do that. But as it relates to my side hustles of being an author and a public speaker, people want to see me speak and see video in places like Instagram and Facebook. Now, the content I share generally is the same, but again, it's a different audience. And so you want to think about what is that goal? Do you want to be a thought leader? So start to write articles. And by the way, in the advent of AI, it's amazing in helping write that. If you're not a great writer, you can prompt it to help you on that journey to um, you know, uh images are really the algorithms, you know, these days, particularly even on LinkedIn, you know, favor the selfie. So doing that, but with something that's connected to it, or and or sharing content of others that connects back to your story, connects back to the work you do, to the values and the things that you're interested in. Um, but you need to be really consistent around doing it. It's not a set it and forget it. So you need to be very relevant for that audience, consistent in doing it, um, and showing all aspects of those four four areas. So I'm not always promoting what I do from a from a corporate perspective, but talking about the things that I I stand for, the values. I write a lot about values and culture. That's how I do what I do, but that's what I want to be known for. So again, being really consistent, I can't tell you how much time it takes. People ask me that all the time. It's just now innate for me, but you do need to make the commitment in time, particularly if you're just getting started.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Yeah, and the more you do it, the faster you get because you get used to it, you know, you learn how to repurpose things. And so, um, so yeah, it could take us an hour, but when we started, it did not take us an hour. It took us much longer. Um, as a matter of fact, the other day I was uh doing like a workshop um after after a talk that I did, and I was running through like a script that I do to create content from you know for my clients. And I was like, you guys, like it's usually take me entire days to do this. Like we're doing this in 20 minutes together right now because of AI. But the the time frames really do condense because even technology catches up and then we can do things faster, right? Um, so that's super cool. I love it. Um, I want to know because my my whole foundation of everything that I do is around gratitude. So when we're looking at

Gratitude As A Leadership Signal

SPEAKER_01 9:46

our personal brand, when we're even looking at maybe corporate spaces, can you talk to me about what role gratitude plays in all of this? Because it seems a little out of place, but I have a feeling that there's uh there's a there's some gratitude going on in here. So can you tell us about that?

SPEAKER_00 10:03

I um I mean, I think it's important in all aspects. Uh, but it when if I make this very personal for me, I said I want to be known to be a different kind of human, a different kind of leader. Uh, and so for me, that's gratitude is um, you know, I'm appreciative of the people that I've surrounded myself with for what they bring. The gaps that I have in skill or experience, they complement. And so I am grateful that they bring that, that I have the opportunity to learn from them. I would not be successful in delivering for clients or teams without them. And so for me, it's important to show gratitude because I genuinely appreciate, respect the, the, the people who contribute around. But it's also personal for me because that is the kind of leader. I one of the rooks books that I wrote is called The Power of Whole Human Leadership. And that means showing up very, very differently, you know, with empathy, um, with transparency, with authenticity, and showing gratitude is an excellent way of demonstrating that I'm that kind of person, that kind of human.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

I love it. And having enough gratitude, right? Because my whole thing is you practice gratitude and it shifts your perspective. Um, and then be appreciating what you do enough that you can let go and outsource certain things, right? And and that's that's a struggle as well. And even being able to appreciate work, even if it's not what you would do. Um, but there I think there's so many areas where it can come up. So I love that so much.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Thank you. Yeah. I uh on that, I'll just add a quick sort of anecdote. I jokingly, or not so jokingly, I'd say, you know, the things that I that do not bring me personal or professional joy or value, I say

Say No Delegate Outsource

SPEAKER_00 12:05

no, I delegate, or I outsource. That's how I do all that I do.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yes, I love it. Because you know what? When you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. And so I teach my clients saying no isn't automatically negative because when you say no, you're saying yes to something else. So if you say no to working overtime, you're saying yes to taking your kids to the movie, like you promised. Or when you know, when you say no to doing one thing, you get to do something you actually want to do. You get to say yes to rest. Um, and so yeah, I think there's like a beauty in that as well. Um that that balance and being able to see both sides of the coin, so to speak. I love that. So can you talk to us um a little bit about uh because the next step in my process is habits. So how can we incorporate these brand building um activities throughout our days as, you know, because it's not a one, like you said, it's not just set it and forget

Habits Time Blocks Consistency

SPEAKER_01 13:10

it. This is something we need to learn to do consistently, maybe not every day, but definitely on some kind of schedule. So the algorithm knows, you know, what to expect. So our people know to it to what to expect. So can you talk to us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yeah, I think you need to be um, I use this phrase for many things, but strategically intentional. So the you know, strategy behind building your brand, curating the narrative, but then also around who your audience is, where you're posting, how with what frequency. So build there's a strategy around it and then doing it with intention. And, you know, I were talking about like time. You know, I tell people where there's conviction, there is capacity. So don't tell me there's no time to do something. You don't have conviction around it, or you're not making time or not saying no to other things, as you said. And so um, you know, be strategic, be intentional. And that if that means you need to um, you know, set time aside. I've made a personal goal that I generally write some kind of short form um article, you know, twice a month. Well, so I make sure I make time for that. I set blocks in my calendar. I'm typically on back-to-back-to-back conference calls. I have blocks throughout my day for many things. One, catch up on emails, but also for me, I've got LinkedIn, that's my primary um channel. It's open as a tab consistently in the background. And so, yes, I'm multitasking, whatever. So I make a point. As I said, LinkedIn looks at your um social selling index. They talk about social selling, not just your brand, but that is about engagement. I'm also a big fan of you build, you're building your brand to build a network around it. So you must stay connected. So with intention means you're consistently on whatever the platform or platforms of your choice are and regularly engaging. So that then the more you do it, as he said, then just becomes a habit. So start with strategy, be intentional, embed the time, um, and and just be consistent and relevant always until at some point it becomes innate and that's just how you do it.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Love it. Um you said something where you were like, oh, maybe I'm multitasking. But I like to ask you, is it that you're multitasking

Using Small Pockets Of Time

SPEAKER_01 15:28

or is it that you're using pockets of time intentionally? Like something's uploading, and so you've got like three minutes, and so you make a post, or you know, you go to brew some coffee and you've got two minutes, so you wash a dish kind of thing. So um, do you think it's more of using pockets of time? And does that help you get more things done? Because I I think it does for me.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

It it does. I mean, I I recognize I couldn't do all that I do if I didn't use the time in the way that I do. Um, and and in some cases, it literally is multitasking. Like I am sitting on a conference call where I'm not actively engaged and responding to an email or quickly liking a post.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Yeah, that happens. Happens to the best of us. Yeah, and you know what? Moms, I've read that moms do have a higher capacity, they do develop a capacity to multitask. It's like a mom brain thing. So um, so you're kind of engaged. You're kind of engaged. That is awesome. So, can you talk to us a little bit about um how we can stay in touch with you? And you did mention that you had a a special gift uh available. So we'd love to hear about that.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yeah,

Where To Find Victoria’s Workbook

SPEAKER_00 16:47

definitely. So one stop place to make it easy for your listeners is just go to my website, which is victoria- or hyphenpeltier.com. I'm sure it's in your show notes. They don't need to figure out the spelling of that. They can link out to all of the other platforms that I'm on. But on my website, on the book page, so I wrote a personal branding book called Influence Unleashed. So find that page. And like halfway down the page, I have a free workbook that accompanies that that will help you with the framing as I describe those four elements. So being strategic and building the narrative, it'll help guide you through that. So that's a free download on the website.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

I love that because you know what? That is what I find people tend to need the most help with is implementation. So I really appreciate that. That's what you've given us here is something to help with actually implementing what we're talking about. Um, and then we can be accountable, right? Because once we write everything down, it's done. Um, so that's awesome. Well, thank you. And um, before we sign off, I would love to know. We usually sign off here with your big tip, like a final tip or like the best tip that your your clients are like, this was worth everything I paid you. Give it away to us here today. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Oh, well, so I don't know that this is the like they're gonna pay me to this, but it's a philosophy that I fundamentally believe like getting into your zone of discomfort. So

Growth Lives Past Fear

SPEAKER_00 18:14

I have um a quote on the on the wall. Um, and it's it goes, everything you've ever wanted lives on the other side of fear. Uh and I I believe that's true. I think growth and opportunity comes in the zone of discomfort. So as I coach people, as I'm giving people advice, I tell them to get very comfortable in their discomfort because that's where amazingness happens.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yes, I love it. And in my experience, I've seen fear as like a wall, and you get really scared and you back up, you go away. But then when you get brave and you go through the wall, you realize it's just a sheet. It was just it's an illusion, you know. Um, and and then you can keep going. There was no wall there. And so I love that. I love how you just like just keep going and being comfortable with being uncomfortable because it's so easy to get comfortable. Um, and a lot of people tell me, well, gratitude, I don't like gratitude because it's like you're settling. And gratitude helps you be in the uncomfortable while you're getting through it. I don't want you to settle there, I want you to keep going to get to the other side. So that was amazing, definitely worth it. Worth the big bucks. So thank you so much for sharing it with us. Yes, this has been an amazing episode, and thank you guys for joining us today. We will catch you next time on the next episode of Overcome Yourself the Podcast.