Branding Room Only with Paula T. Edgar

For years, I had wanted to visit the African continent, especially Egypt, but when the opportunity came to travel to both Kenya and Egypt with the National Bar Association, something in me immediately said, "Paula, you have to go." I had no idea just how much that decision would change me. In Part 1 of my Paula Out of Africa series, I'm taking you along on my journey through Kenya....

Your brand is your first audition. When someone hears you speak and starts imagining you at their conference, retreat, leadership program, or client event, the next thing they are going to do is look you up. Long before you speak with an event organizer, your LinkedIn profile, website, bio, content, and digital presence are helping people decide whether you are someone they can trust with their au...

What happens when the very things that make you different become your greatest strengths? For Fitzann “Fitz” Reid, showing up fully, taking calculated risks, and creating opportunities where none existed before have been defining themes throughout her career. A lawyer, investor, entrepreneur, sports owner, and leader, Fitz has built a career that defies traditional expectations. From growing up in...

We don’t know the faces or names of many enslaved Black people in American history. Some left a small mark of their existence in the very bricks of the buildings their hands built, yet they remain voiceless because their story has been hidden away. Historians like Annette Gordon-Reed know that through sharing the stories of enslaved people, we remember their humanity and preserve historical truth...

Your personal brand is not limited to your LinkedIn profile, your networking skills, or how you show up at work. It is how people experience you in every room you enter, including your relationships, your dating life, your confidence, your boundaries, and the stories you tell yourself about your own worth. In this episode of Branding Room Only, Paula T. Edgar sits down with love educator, coach, a...

Wanting the stage and being ready to serve an audience from it are two very different things. Speaking can be a visibility strategy, a business development tool, or a business in its own right, but each lane requires a different strategy. When you treat every speaking opportunity the same, you miss the chance to make intentional decisions about your time, your preparation, your pricing, and your f...

Sometimes, the best career and life advice you receive comes from your family. My guest can certainly relate since she has received pivotal advice from her dad that has helped her throughout her career! From Zabrina’s upbringing to her love for sports and spontaneity, we explore how her personal interests and family values have shaped her approach to leadership and personal branding. Zabrina’s fun...

The fight to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion has deep historical roots, marked by significant milestones and challenges, from the Civil Rights era to present-day initiatives, including the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. Robert J. Grey Jr., President of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and former President of the American Bar Association, has witnessed...

J. Kelly Hoey was the very first guest on Branding Room Only, and more than 100 episodes later, she's back. This time she's bringing a new book, a rabbit hole's worth of research, and a framework that challenges what most women have been told about how to build the relationships and the personal brand that move their careers forward. Kelly is a lawyer turned entrepreneur, networking...

There’s a narrative among some that when you become a mother, your ambition should get quieter, your goals should get smaller, and you move to the background of your own life. That was not my experience. Motherhood didn’t replace my purpose. It expanded it. Becoming a mother in the middle of law school meant navigating two major transformations at once. What came out of that season was a sharper,...

Confidence that shows up after a win or in a familiar room is real. But when something shifts, a new role, a new team, a new challenge, that confidence can feel a lot less stable. The professionals who sustain confidence over time are not waiting on motivation. They have built systems around it. Self-awareness, reinforcement, visibility, and environment. And they have connected those systems to so...

Doing excellent work is not enough. You can put your head down, deliver quality, and still be overlooked. That approach may feel comfortable, but it is not a strategy for growth. Capability alone does not create momentum. Visibility does. And what often gets framed as humility, caution, or professionalism is sometimes just hiding. That choice has consequences. It weakens your confidence, limits yo...

We often treat confidence like a purely internal project, something we must manufacture from scratch, alone. But while confidence is deeply personal, it's also profoundly relational. It's shaped by the rooms you enter, the voices you prioritize, and the way others reflect your value back to you long before you've claimed it yourself. This is what Paula calls borrowed confidence. Whe...

If you care about your personal brand, you should care about what happens after you’re gone. In this episode of Branding Room Only, I sit down with Carl Forbes Jr., founder of CFJ Law and a leader in estate planning, to talk about something too many professionals avoid. If your personal brand is about how people experience you and what you leave behind, then estate planning is not optional. It is...

You can be talented, prepared, and experienced and still feel uncertain. That does not mean you need more credentials or more time. Sometimes the issue is not building confidence. It is that your confidence is leaking. Most people try to fix confidence without first diagnosing where it is breaking down. When you apply the wrong solution to the wrong issue, you stay stuck. In this episode of Brandi...

Knowing AI exists is one thing. Knowing how to use it in a way that sounds like you, supports how you lead, and strengthens your personal brand is something else entirely. That gap is where a lot of professionals are stuck. Gabrielle Kohlmeier has spent years helping people move through that gap with more clarity and confidence. As a lawyer, tech leader, and transformation executive who led global...

Are you leaving your personal brand up to luck? Some professionals do, and they'll insist that the great opportunity or recommendation that appeared at the right moment proves it. But while luck certainly plays a role in life and careers, there's a clear distinction between welcoming luck and relying on it as a strategy. In this episode of Branding Room Only, Paula T. Edgar walks through...

After years of hard work, many professionals finally reach a point where things feel stable. The role fits. The team works. The urgency slows down. But that sense of comfort can quietly turn into complacency if you stop investing in your personal brand simply because things feel “fine.” In this episode of Branding Room Only , Paula T. Edgar explores the difference between comfort and complacency a...

Wanting to be on a board and being ready for board service are not the same thing. Some people spend years building relationships, understanding governance, and positioning themselves as trusted advisors. Others rush the process and undermine their credibility before a real conversation even begins. Sonya Olds Som, Global Managing Partner and leader of the Legal, Risk, and Compliance Practice at D...

Your inner voice can either talk you into your greatness or talk you out of it. That little voice shows up when you're about to take a risk, ask for something you want, or step into a room where you're not sure you belong. Most people either ignore it completely or let it run the show. Neither works. The real question is whether you know how to catch it, redirect it, and make it work for...

In Part Two of this conversation on Branding Room Only, Paula T. Edgar and Rhonda Joy McLean move from formation to practice, exploring what it means to live your personal brand once leadership responsibilities deepen and visibility increases. Rhonda Joy reflects on how her leadership style evolved over time, particularly as she navigated being “the only,” managing teams, and carrying significant...

In this episode of Branding Room Only, Paula T. Edgar is joined by Rhonda Joy McLean for a thoughtful and deeply personal conversation about where leadership and personal brand truly begin. Long before titles, platforms, or visibility, Rhonda Joy reflects on the experiences, values, and identity work that shaped how she shows up as a leader. Rhonda Joy shares stories from her upbringing in the Jim...

Think about the lessons that shaped you early, the voices that influenced how you see the world, and what it would mean to have those reflections preserved over time. Walter Pryor brings warmth, humor, and thoughtful vulnerability to every interaction. A public service leader, corporate executive, community advocate, and author of This Leaves Me Okay , his career reflects not just professional mil...

Your face is part of your personal brand whether you acknowledge it or not. People experience you visually before you say a word. Some dismiss makeup and skincare as vanity or assume it has nothing to do with their work. Others do it themselves without realizing how small missteps can distract from the impression they want to make. Either way, an important part of your brand is being left to chanc...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t just a leader—he was a master of personal branding. In honor of his birthday (January 15), we’re reflecting on his life and legacy and what they can teach us about building a meaningful and impactful personal brand. In this episode of Branding Room Only , I share eight powerful lessons inspired by Dr. King’s life and offer actionable tips to help you build your br...