April 23, 2026

Last summer, I was on a call the CEO of one of the largest NGOs in the world. She admitted that she was on LinkedIn often and it was the only social media platform she actually used, but when it came to posting, there was no strategy.

A repost here and there from her organization's company page or an event highlight every few months. She told me that becoming more visible online was going to be very uncomfortable for her, but she had been seeing other NGO leaders gaining real traction on LinkedIn, and her board was starting to notice the gap.

She said: "I don't want this to feel like it's all about me. I want it to be about the mission."

I told her we can find that balance, but that her expertise is what will build trust with her audience. She said, "Let's give it a try."

Fast-forward to today (posting just 1x/week, not yet at full recommended cadence) she's seen:

• 103,000 impressions — up 891% year over year
• 3,500 engagements — up 1,440% YoY
• 1,300+ direct link visits to the org's website
• 5+ meetings booked with decision-makers

Within about a month posting, her comms manager messaged me in Slack: "We're already starting to see great results! She [CEO] even had a great call with a philanthropic advisor off a LinkedIn post, who will be reviewing some of our materials and referring clients to us."

And then she asked what smart leaders always ask when they see something working: "How do we multiply this?"

That's where Phase 2 came in.

How we structured the leadership team rollout

After seeing the CEO's success, we expanded the work to include eight additional global leaders across different regions and roles.

Here's what the 3-month project included for each of them:

• A personalized onboarding form to capture their voice, values, and goals before we ever got on a call.
• A 30-minute individual strategy session.
• A full LinkedIn audit and profile optimization.
• Five plug-and-play post templates calibrated to their target audience.
• And an optional group workshop for the full leadership cohort.

The common thread across all eight leaders: every single one shared the same core concern. They didn't want to look like a marketing mouthpiece. These are globally respected figures — experts with hard-earned credibility among policy officials, government partners, and major funders. Their question was always some version of: "Can I build a presence that doesn't feel like clickbait or like it's all about me?"

We repositioned visibility not as self-promotion, but as mission amplification. This reframe unlocks potential, and allows the leaders to show up authentically without risking rapport and credibility.

The whole point of the project was to build the foundation, find each leader's unique positioning, and then hand it back to their local teams to run with.

That means the deliverable isn't content — it's a system. Voice documentation, post frameworks, audience clarity, and profile positioning that their comms teams can actually pick up and use immediately. Leaders shouldn't have to start from scratch every time they want to post. They should have a clear sense of what they stand for, who they're talking to, and how to show up in a way that feels like them (not like a press release).

Why this matters beyond the metrics

Trust is in short supply right now.

Donors, advisors, and institutional partners aren't looking for polished messaging — they're looking for people they believe.

The organizations that will grow through the next decade aren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They're the ones activating the expertise already sitting inside their leadership teams and making it visible where the right audience can find it.

If you want to take a closer look at the project, you can view the case study here.

And if you've been sitting on the sidelines, hesitant to show up online because you don't want to come across as performative or promotional, you're not alone. Every leader in this project said the same thing. The discomfort doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or you're disqualified. It means you care about doing it right, and that's where true thoughtful leadership starts.

You already have the expertise. Now it's time to leverage it for greater impact.

You're more ready than you think,

Brynne

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