“When you have clarity in your messaging, you have confidence. When you have confidence, you have conviction. When you have conviction, you have impact. When you have impact, your brand comes alive.” – Mary E. Maloney
Imagine this scenario…..George, a highly accomplished President of the healthcare division for an iconic Fortune 500 company, submitted his bonafides for a coveted, compensated board position.
He was thrilled to be shortlisted to one of two candidates who fit their ideal profile.
Originally from Mexico, George had risen through the ranks, earning promotions into new roles that resulted in moving his family all over the world. He speaks seven different languages and was the recipient of prestigious awards. He managed teams on health and wellbeing product lines that are now household brand names, garnering the respect of his team, CEO and peers. He created a marketing and sales legacy and an organizational culture model that other divisions were asked to emulate. Clearly, he was qualified to serve as a director on the board.
But he did not get selected.
When he asked for feedback from the Chairman, a mentor and friend, he heard this… (paraphrased) “George, when I asked both candidates the same question – what do you stand for – the other candidate’s answer was more convincing. She communicated why she exists to serve very well.” His friend recommended that he work on his personal brand messaging.
“Stories like this are tragic,” says Mary E. Maloney, Principal and Brand Strategist for Revealing Genius LLC., a woman-owned online education & training firm specializing in strategic brand messaging exclusively for healthcare executives. “In my experience, this is a persistent problem, more so the norm vs. the exception.”
Mary says most leaders are highly trained clinically and/or have become masters in their subject matter domain but have never been formally exposed to how to be on-brand nor to be deliberate about it. Many say they are uncomfortable talking about themselves or they suffer from imposter syndrome and therefore gloss over their achievements and core competencies.
As a result, advanced innovations or points of view that could change the world, particularly in healthcare, get overlooked or worse, cause confusion, because the messaging is too technical or verbose. Many clients come to Revealing Genius with stories about being passed over for dream jobs and board seats, seeing less qualified candidates cross the finish line amongst a highly competitive set; they lead healthcare tech companies that struggle to secure funding because their pitch deck narrative is too complex to understand; or their mission-critical speech misses the mark. Mary has listened to stories from CEOs who learned their top talent left the company to go with a competitor because the competitor’s team was perceived to be more passionate about a worthy cause.
These highly emotional misses have fueled Mary to parlay the hard-won wisdom she leveraged to reposition, message and brand healthcare organizations as a CEO and CMO to now help C-Suite executives purposefully articulate their brand value including their extraordinary why. The results of her trademarked E.T.A. approach – Excavate-Tell-Affirm™ have been rewarding.
Some real-life examples are:
- A CEO emeritus of one of the largest payers in the nation repositioned himself to become a mentor and investor to innovative healthcare technology firms in the behavioral health space, an area he is passionate about.
- A neurosurgeon who dedicated his life’s work to documenting rare brain surgery procedures is training the next generation of brain surgeons, even in third world countries.
- The President of one of the largest health systems in the nation, at the apogee of his career, strategically remessaged to attract a 7-figure role where he could impact millions of lives with one of the largest healthcare companies in the world
- A physician executive prepared carefully for the first 90 days in a CEO leadership role for a telemedicine company and is making her mark specializing in #hyperlocalhealthcare and the revitalization of rural communities.
- A nurse, who moved up the ranks to the C-Suite, serving at the same prestigious health system for 41 years, pivoted into a private consulting practice and now has a waiting list of top tier clients in need of her unique leadership development approach for large multi-location healthcare organizations
- A scientist from one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world rekindled her passion for medicine and secured funding for a moonshot project she masterminded to help underserved communities in her native South Africa
- Founders of a health and wellness app in Australia amplified their “why” in their pitch deck to investors which enabled them to stand out in a crowded market to raise millions to expand to the UK and the USA
- A tech genius started a radiology scheduling company after his father experienced issues and delays during his radiology visit – a narrative that has earned his team the trust of the largest practices in the nation
What’s the common thread for successful branding? #brandonpurpose
“Messaging matters,” says Maloney. It is her manifesto. Research from Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute says that 82% of people make buying decisions based on emotion. Therefore she implores that it’s not enough to talk about what you do; executives must be able to authentically articulate why they exist to serve as evidenced by Simon Sinek’s TEDTalk, “Start with why.” It is one of the top five most viewed TEDTalks ever.
“I got hooked on the power of corporate branding in my first role in public relations right out of college,” says Mary. Her mentor, who she still keeps in touch with, opened her eyes to the power of perceptions. Together, their team successfully rebranded a regional Rehabilitation facility specializing in treating children with disabilities, propelling it from virtually unknown to international recognition within one year. The key message was “Amazing Kids.” It was so impactful that the organization’s URL was changed to amazingkids.org which is still being used after three decades.
“The brand stories we told exponentially helped more families around the world to receive necessary healthcare. This is why I’m effusive about branding. It’s become my life’s work.”
Throughout her 30+-year career serving as CEO and Chief Marketing Officer on the client and agency side, Mary has successfully led repositioning, messaging and rebranding initiatives for hundreds of brands including Mercy Health System, Penn Medicine, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Intuit, Center for Creative Leadership. She has guided companies through mergers, acquisitions, crisis, capital raises, new product launches on multiple continents, turnarounds and major milestones including centennial celebrations. She sold her first business, a Marketing & Communications agency specializing in promoting medical practices and healthcare tech companies at age 32.
Her education includes Duquesne University, Villanova University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She’s also served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer for multiple colleges and universities. What she learned along the way and continues to teach is that company cultures do not soar without powerful messaging that resonates internally and externally. “Get the messaging right and it creates tremendous momentum for the brand.”
She is the recipient of the ATHENA leadership award for actively assisting others, particularly women, in realizing their full potential. She joins nearly 8,000 leaders spanning +500 regions representing 48 states and 11 countries. Recipients include C-level executives of major corporations, Presidents of Universities and Foundations, a NASA astronaut, Human Rights and Social Justice Activists, Philanthropists, Actors and Celebrities, Athletes and Olympic Gold medalists, Ambassadors, Members of Congress, Highest ranking military professionals, a US Supreme Court Justice and Secretary of State and Medical and Public Health Advocates.
Passionate about paying it forward to empower leaders in healthcare
It was an ophthalmologist who believed in Mary, recognized her talent for messaging and helped her get her first business started. She therefore feels duty bound to pay it forward. She knows first-hand how raising capital can make or break a business. Having pitched and raised millions from Angel investors, VCs and private equity firms, she proactively sponsors healthcare industry entrepreneurs through her involvement as a trusted advisor and keynote speaker with organizations like Springboard Enterprises, the Caregiver Accelerator and the Florida Blue Pitch Competition. By participating in these initiatives, she ensures that game-changing companies and their founders receive the necessary guidance to develop effective messaging to gain the support they need to enter competitive markets swiftly and make their mark.
Active with ACHE, she serves on the Regent Advisory Committee (RAC) for Northern & Western Florida. Her big goal for this year is to sit for the exam to earn the distinction of board certification and become a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
About Revealing Genius
For healthcare executives who want to powerfully and authentically communicate their personal brand value, Revealing Genius is the online education hub that delivers positioning, messaging and brand strategy direction so leaders can swiftly achieve what they desire and deserve most in their careers.
The flagship “Excavate Your Brand Genius” Summit introduces a structured, proven, trademarked ETA Process (Excavate-Tell-Affirm™) to create clear, compelling brand narratives that resonate with target audiences.
Clients benefit from:
- Self-paced, online courses and education for medical, allied health and nursing colleges, universities, associations,
- Live facilitated cohort training, bespoke board retreats for healthcare executives and their leadership teams, longitudinal studies of the impact of #brandonpurpose
- 1:1 confidential private “next act” coaching directly with individuals and consultants or via hospital/health system outplacement services
- Keynote speech/Series A investor pitch deck preparation
- Trusted fractional advisement for corporate rebrand strategy, organizational change management, brand positioning/messaging/brand identity alignment
Revealing Genius chooses to focus on distinguishing brands in the healthcare industry to serve as a force-multiplier for good health and wellbeing, a company core value and our greatest asset.
#brandonpurpose
