When senior leaders start looking for board roles, advisory work, consultancy opportunities or a different kind of senior position, they often assume they need to build an entirely new network.

But your existing network doesn’t need to contain your next client.

It may contain the person who knows your next client.

In this episode, I talk about the mistake I made when I wrote off my old network because those contacts weren’t my target market, and what happened when I started reconnecting with former colleagues and clients.

One of those conversations led to an introduction, which led to work with Airfield, then Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, and later another significant client engagement.

None of that came from meeting someone new.

It came through someone who already knew me, trusted my work and now understood what I was doing.

I also talk about why we can be too quick to dismiss former colleagues and clients because they’re in the wrong sector or aren’t potential buyers themselves, and why staying present in the minds of the people who already know you can matter when an opportunity appears.

One thing I’m assuming in this episode: before you start having these conversations, you’ve done the work to get clear on how you want to be positioned now.

If that part isn’t sorted yet, go back to Episode 3, where I talk about why old positioning keeps pulling old opportunities towards you, and start there.

Otherwise, you can have a great coffee with someone who genuinely wants to help you and still leave them unclear about what they should think of you for.

If that part isn’t sorted yet, go back to my earlier episode on positioning and start there.

Or, if you want help getting clear on how your experience should be positioned for what you want next, get in touch with me.

Connect with me on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

Valuable market information is already moving through your business every day.

But very little of it may be captured.

In this episode, Elaine explores how the questions prospects ask, the objections that keep appearing and the feedback clients give can sharpen positioning, sales conversations and external communication.

In many businesses, that information is answered in the moment and then lost.

So when the Managing Director writes a LinkedIn post, marketing updates the website, or sales needs a better way to explain the offer, everyone falls back on the same flat language.

High-quality service. Trusted partner. Tailored solutions. Experienced team.

Meanwhile, clients and prospects are already giving the business far more useful language.

In this episode:

• Why valuable client and prospect insight often disappears inside busy teams

• How repeated questions, objections and feedback reveal what the market is thinking

• Why sales, marketing and delivery need to share what they are hearing

• How client moments can become useful evidence when handled appropriately

• The simple habit leaders can introduce to capture better market intelligence

This episode is for leaders of established service-based businesses who know valuable information is entering the company every day, but suspect it is not being used properly.

Because this is not only content inspiration or testimonial gathering.

It is market intelligence.

The questions, concerns and language clients use can help the business understand what people value, where they hesitate and what they have not yet understood.

The positioning gold you need may already be sitting inside the company.

But until someone creates a habit of recognising it and bringing it back in, the business will keep inventing weaker language than the words its clients and prospects are already giving it.

Further thinking:

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

Some of the experience, trust and relationships that could help a business grow may already be sitting inside the team.

But the market may never see them.

In this episode, Elaine explores why established service-based businesses often rely too heavily on the Managing Director, sales team and company page to carry the company’s reputation.

Meanwhile, some of the strongest commercial insight is sitting with the people closest to the work.

They understand where clients get stuck, hear the questions that come up repeatedly and often explain the value of the work in language that is much closer to the real buying decision.

The problem is not always that the team is unwilling to be visible.

Often, nobody has shown them what useful external communication should look like.

In this episode:

• Why the market may only see a thin version of the business

• How vague pressure to “do more on LinkedIn” creates uncertainty

• Why the most useful material is already happening in the work

• The role leaders play in setting clear boundaries and direction

• How team visibility can support growth without turning employees into influencers

This episode is for leaders of established service-based businesses who know there is strong expertise across the company, but suspect too much of the external profile still depends on a small number of people.

Because trust does not only sit with the person at the top.

Clients build confidence through the people they actually work with.

When that experience stays behind the scenes, the business can appear smaller than it really is.

Your team may already be a growth asset.

But it takes clear direction, sensible boundaries and proper support to help that experience become visible.

Further thinking:

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

A company can have a clear message and still leave one important question unanswered.

Who is leading this?

And do I trust how they think?

In this episode, Elaine explores why the executive profile is not separate from the growth strategy.

For a service-based business, clients are not only buying a service.

They are buying judgement, relationships and confidence in the person leading the company.

That means the company profile and the executive profile have different jobs.

The company explains what the business does.

The leader shows the thinking behind it.

Using the example of a Managing Director growing through word of mouth and recommendation, Elaine looks at what happens when the company message, the leader’s profile and the opportunities being pursued are not all pointing in the same direction.

In this episode:

• Why the person leading the business matters to commercial growth

• The different jobs of the company message and the executive profile

• How a leader’s perspective helps build trust before a conversation begins

• Why broad positioning makes the right opportunities harder to recognise

• The commercial questions to answer before deciding what to post

This episode is for Managing Directors, CEOs and founders who want the business to move into bigger rooms, but whose public profile does not yet reflect the level at which they operate.

Because people do not invite a service page into the room.

They invite a person.

Your executive profile should help the right people understand why the business is relevant to them and why you are the right person to lead it.

The company creates clarity.

The leader creates confidence.

A business that wants to grow needs both pointing in the same direction.

Further thinking:

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

Here are the show notes for Episode 9.

Many executives are highly trusted in the room.

But the moment they write a bio, update LinkedIn or speak publicly, that authority can disappear.

In this episode, Elaine explores why senior leaders often edit themselves into a more polished, corporate and careful version that bears little resemblance to the person people already trust.

The problem is not a lack of credibility.

It is that their public presence fails to carry the judgement, directness and confidence that make them effective in the first place.

Using a CEO example, Elaine looks at why this is a translation problem rather than a personality problem.

Because being yourself professionally does not mean being exposed, casual or unfiltered.

It means knowing which parts of your leadership matter and allowing those qualities to remain visible.

In this episode:

• Why executives can sound completely different outside the room

• How corporate language can dilute authority and perspective

• The difference between showing personality and losing professional boundaries

• Why generic thought leadership makes senior leaders harder to place

• How to identify the qualities people already trust about you

This episode is for executives who feel confident in serious conversations, but struggle to sound like themselves on LinkedIn, in a bio, on a panel or in other public settings.

Because the public version of you should not feel like a manufactured character with your job title attached.

It should help people understand how you think and why they can trust you.

Being yourself is not the business risk.

The greater risk is editing yourself until the right people can no longer see what makes you worth listening to.

Further thinking:

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

A strong proof point can still be the wrong proof point.

Because the examples you use do more than show that you are capable.

They tell people what to consider you for.

In this episode, Elaine explores why experienced leaders can accidentally keep positioning themselves for work they are trying to move beyond.

A career may contain years of evidence: complex decisions, commercial pressure, board exposure, crisis management, growth, transformation and difficult stakeholder situations.

But not every example supports the next chapter.

Some prove that you were highly effective in a previous role while doing very little to show the judgement, perspective or contribution you now want to bring to NED, advisory or portfolio work.

Using examples from her own career and client work, Elaine looks at why a good success story can still be misaligned.

In this episode:

• Why an impressive example may still point people towards the wrong role

• How proof points shape what others remember and recommend you for

• The difference between showing delivery and showing board-level judgement

• Why old evidence can keep attracting work you no longer want

• How to choose examples that support the direction you are moving towards

This episode is for senior leaders whose experience is strong, but whose familiar examples may still be selling an earlier version of their career.

Because the proof that served your last chapter may not support the next one.

The right evidence helps people understand how you think, what you notice, what you challenge and where your experience belongs now.

Your success stories should not keep pulling you backwards.

They should help people see why you belong in the next conversation.

Further thinking

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

A serious career can become surprisingly difficult to understand when every part of it is brought forward at once.

The experience is impressive.

But the relevance gets lost.

In this episode, Elaine explores why senior leaders often make the next chapter harder to see by trying to include everything they have done.

Years of commercial responsibility, transformation, governance, growth, crisis and change all matter.

But a Chair, recruiter, CEO or referrer is usually trying to answer one specific question:

“Is this the right person for this?”

A long career history does not automatically make that clear.

In this episode, Elaine looks at why experience needs to be organised around where you want to go next, rather than presented as a complete record of where you have been.

Because your profile, board CV, bio and introductions should not read like a menu of every possible option.

They should make the most relevant parts of your experience easier to recognise.

In this episode:

• Why including everything can make senior experience harder to understand

• The difference between showing your career history and showing your relevance

• How to identify the thread connecting NED, advisory and consultancy work

• Why your positioning may keep attracting an older version of your career

• The practical test for whether your experience points towards the work you want next

This episode is for experienced leaders whose background is broad, substantial and credible, but whose next move may still be unclear to the people reading about them.

Because the issue is rarely whether you have enough experience.

It is whether that experience has been shaped around the contribution you want to make now.

You do not need to show everything you can do.

You need to make the right parts clear enough that someone understands why you belong in the next conversation.

Further thinking:

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

A board opportunity does not begin when the vacancy appears.

It begins much earlier.

In this episode, Elaine explores why senior leaders need a clear board strategy before they start applying for NED, advisory or portfolio roles.

Because by the time a position is advertised, the board has often already been discussing the gap, sounding out trusted contacts and deciding what kind of experience it needs.

If your thinking only starts when the advert appears, the application is being asked to do too much.

In this episode, Elaine looks at what changes when you become more specific about the boards, sectors and situations where your experience is most useful.

She also explores how a clearer direction improves the conversations you have with your network.

Because “I’m open to NED roles” gives people very little to work with.

A stronger board strategy helps others understand where you fit, who you should meet and what opportunities may be forming before they become formal vacancies.

In this episode:

• Why board opportunities often begin before a role is advertised

• The difference between applying for roles and having a board strategy

• Why senior leaders need to identify the boards and situations that suit their experience

• How greater specificity improves networking conversations

• The questions to ask before approaching your contacts

This episode is for senior leaders who are serious about NED, advisory or portfolio work, but have not yet decided where their experience is most relevant.

Because a strong network cannot help properly without a clear direction.

The more precise you are about the contribution you want to make, the easier it becomes for the right people to connect your experience to the right opportunity.

And that work starts before the vacancy.

Further thinking

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

A strong executive reputation does not automatically become a clear board reputation.

That distinction matters.

Because being respected is not the same as being considered.

In this episode, Elaine explores why senior leaders can have years of credibility, experience and sound judgement behind them, yet still struggle to make their board value clear.

Executive roles come with context.

Titles, organisations, responsibilities and track records help people understand the level at which someone operates.

But NED, advisory and portfolio opportunities often involve people who do not have that full picture.

They may only see a CV, a LinkedIn profile, a short introduction, or remember one brief conversation.

From that, they are trying to answer a different question.

Not, “Has this person had an impressive career?”

But, “What would this person bring to our board?”

In this episode:

• Why executive credibility does not automatically translate into board consideration

• The difference between career experience and board contribution

• Why “I’m open to NED roles” is not clear positioning

• How senior leaders can make their experience easier to place

• The sentence your network needs to be able to finish about you

This episode is for senior leaders who know they have the experience for NED, advisory or portfolio opportunities, but suspect their value is not landing clearly enough.

Because a long and successful career can still leave people uncertain about where you fit.

Your board reputation needs to show more than what you have led, managed or delivered.

It needs to make clear how you think, what you notice, where you challenge, and what kind of board would benefit from having you in the room.

Further thinking

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/

Most leaders think positioning is a marketing decision.

It isn’t.

It’s a commercial one.

In this episode, Elaine explores what happens when positioning creates expectations the business isn’t structured to support - and why the impact rarely shows up where people expect.

Because positioning doesn’t just influence perception.

It shapes commercial behaviour.

It affects what clients expect, how teams communicate, where boundaries are held, and how easy - or difficult - commercial conversations become.

Using a real business example, Elaine explores why positioning problems aren’t always caused by saying the wrong thing - but by putting the right message in the wrong place.

In this episode:

Why positioning influences far more than marketing outcomes

How expectations are created long before delivery begins

Why positioning and operations need to reinforce one another

Where businesses lose margin without realising why

How stronger positioning creates clearer commercial boundaries

This episode is for leaders who know the business has evolved - but suspect the expectations around it haven’t.

Because positioning only works when the business is built to support it.

And when those things fall out of alignment, the business absorbs the gap.

Further thinking

Elaine shares ongoing perspectives on executive visibility, positioning and commercial perception on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/