S7E5: How to Build Your Brand Foundation Kalia Waits-Smith, VP, Employee Communications, Freshworks

Описание: In this episode of the Lead With Your Brand! podcast, Jayzen Patria continues his five-step framework by diving deeper into Step 3: Refining Who You Want to Be and Building Your Brand Foundation. If the previous episode focused on identifying your brand attributes, this installment challenges listeners to move from descriptive words to bold, declarative statements — clarifying what you believe, what you promise, and why you should be chosen.
Building Your Brand Foundation. Moving beyond adjectives, Jayzen explains that powerful personal brands are rooted in three core elements: your belief, your promise, and your positioning. It’s not enough to say you are “collaborative” or “strategic.” SuperPremium professionals articulate the emotional belief that drives them, the value-driven promise they make to their audience, and the competitive edge that differentiates them from others with similar skills.
Tune in to hear how moving from generic descriptors to clear declarations can sharpen your narrative, attract the right opportunities, and clarify when you are — and are not — the right fit.
Key Takeaways:
Your brand foundation is built on three pillars: belief, promise, and position
Declarative statements are more powerful than generic descriptors
Your core belief should be emotional and enduring — not tied to a job title
A strong brand promise builds trust with your career audience
Positioning clarifies your competitive edge and differentiates you from others
You are not meant to be a corporate clone — you are meant to be distinct
The episode then transitions into an energizing and candid conversation with Kalia Waits-Smith, Vice President of Employee Communications and Engagement at Freshworks, exploring storytelling, authenticity, reinvention, and what it truly means to fill your career toolbox. With more than 15 years of experience across television, nonprofit operations, tech, and executive leadership, Kalia shares how uncovering her identity as a storyteller transformed the way she shows up as a leader.
Guest Bio
Kalia Waits-Smith
VP, Employee Communications and Engagement
Freshworks

With over 15 years of leadership experience in tech, Kalia combines expertise in change management and employee comms/engagement to shape how employees feel at work and drive businesses forward. A writer and storyteller at heart, she blends empathy and operations to build teams, partnerships, and systems to co-create change and bring company strategy and culture to life.

In her most recent role at Zuora, Kalia led a team of communicators that launched their first-ever company values, steered employee comms for multiple M&A transactions, and stood up an Employee Experience cohort of cross-functional leads that scaled engagement globally. Prior to Zuora, she held similar roles at Visa and Cornerstone OnDemand, partnering with leaders to build cultures of communication as they navigated times of change.

Kalia grew up in Southern California, but has lived in the Bay Area since 2018. She's living her best snack-filled life in Oakland with her husband, four-year-old daughter, mom, and mom's dog, Buddy. Whenever she's not writing on LinkedIn, which she does A LOT, she's taking Orange Theory classes and trying new wines, cheeses and champagnes.

Links
To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop, visit Jayzenpatria.com