Naming the Fear

"For purpose-driven communicators and association leaders across Canada, executive visibility is often a hurdle. Acting as a strategic media partner requires balancing behind-the-scenes content strategy with an active public presence to build institutional trust within the membership sector."

Recently, Dan — he's a business coach and runs Dare2Grow — asked me to name my fear.

Not the things I don't like doing in the business. Everyone has those. But the things I actually avoid because they scare me. His point was that for most entrepreneurs, what's truly holding the business back is sitting right there in that list.

Mine? The spotlight.

The irony isn't lost on me. I spend my days making the case for why professional associations and member-based organizations need to show up, share their stories, and put their voice out there. And every argument I make for them applies directly to me.

I'm not naturally a spotlight seeker. Most of my work happens behind the scenes; in building the structure of a series, in the conversations before recording starts, in helping someone else find what they're actually trying to say. That's where I'm comfortable. That's where it feels like the real work is happening.

And honestly? That instinct isn't wrong. The behind-the-scenes work is where a lot of the value lives. Strategy before content. Clarity before recording. Structure before story. I believe that deeply, and it shapes how we work with every client.

But there's a difference between preferring the background and hiding in it.

Building a business asks something different than doing the work. It asks you to step into rooms, have conversations with people who don't know you yet, and make yourself visible in ways that don't come without some hesitation. It asks you to be the case study, not just the person building them for others.

That tension — between doing meaningful work quietly and being visible enough that the right people find you — is something I suspect a lot of impact-driven communicators and association leaders feel. You got into this because you care about the work, not the platform. The idea of "building your brand" can feel at odds with why you started.

But here's what I keep coming back to: the organizations I partner with across Canada aren't showing up to be famous. They're showing up because their audience needs to hear from them. Because trust is built through presence, not just competence. Because staying quiet isn't neutral, it just means someone else fills the space.

That logic doesn't stop applying when it's you.

I'm doing the same. Turning the same lens I use as a strategic media partner back on myself — figuring out what stepping into the spotlight actually looks like for me.

The hardest client to work with might be yourself. I'm taking the project anyway.

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If any of this resonates, the tension between doing the work and being seen for it, I'd love to hear where you are with it. You can follow along here as I figure it out, or get in touch if you're working through something similar in your own organization.