Dr. HUME (Hume Johnson)
Leadership coach and professor emphasizing professional sovereignty, executive communication, and leader identity.
Own Your Value, Not Just Social Media Visibility
One of the biggest mistakes professionals make is to confuse building a #PersonalLeadership brand with social media visibility. In an attention economy, this is understandable. The goal of building a personal brand is not for higher visibility. The goal is to Own Your Value™️ by defining your personal and professional assets and leveraging them across sectors so you can assert #ProfessionalSovereignty™️ #leadershipdevelopment #Sovereignty #careertips
Own Your Skills, Not Just Your Job Title
Your job title is borrowed space.The company owns it. They can revoke it tomorrow. But your expertise, human skills, your lived experience, your core values belong to you. When did you last treat your professional currency like the asset it actually is?
Tell Them Who You Are, Not What You Can Do
When an interview asks "tell me about yourself". Tell them about who you are, not what you can do. Who you are fully shows up in what you do.
Detach Your Reputation From Corporate Titles and Brands
For decades we were taught that professional power lived in the institution. Your job title. The company brand name. Your corner office. So we tethered our reputations to organizations that could revoke our access overnight. What would you have built or done differently...
Your Identity Shouldn't Hinge on a Job Title
Losing a position is not the worst thing that can happen to you as a professional. Discovering you don't know who you are without it: that is the harder thing. What would be left of your professional authority if your organization closes...
Education Is Kindness, Not Just Credentials
Let's be mindful that credentials don't make you educated. Knowing how to interact and engage with other humans is a mark of the educated. Being kind, to be able to consider a perspective even without agreement is the mark of...
Student Rebranding Projects Align Mission, Values, DEI
Today, I had the privilege of listening to students present exceptional organizational rebranding projects. Each framework was anchored in the organization's core mission and values, with deliberate attention to brand identity- reimagining logos, fonts, and slogans; alongside a critical examination...
Leadership Starts with Defining Your Own Value
Honored to be featured for Women’s History Month. My work sits at the intersection of personal branding, leadership, and global identity but at its core, it is about one thing: #ProfessionalSovereignty™. The belief that leadership begins with who you are; that you...
Own Your Expertise, Claim Professional Sovereignty
Hi, I’m a leadership coach and professor of communication + media studies. I am a strong believer in people development, personal leadership and professional sovereignty. I help mid-career professionals “mint their currency” i.e their expertise, intellectual capital, human skills and core...
True Value Lies Beyond Credentials, Embrace Vulnerable Differentiation
Answering questions for a profile piece being done on me for Women's History Month. Pleased to have the opportunity to be reflective about the value I bring to the table beyond credentials. Credentials are safe; they exist outside us. But to demonstrate...
Empathy Beats Résumé: Memorable Leadership over Credentials
Two candidates, same role. Same question Candidate A: “I have five years of management experience and I’ve led teams of ten people.” Candidate B: “I learned early that people don’t work harder just because you tell them to. They work harder when they feel...
True Leadership Thrives on Relentless Coachability and Self‑honesty
Being coachable means you're willing to be honest with yourself. It means receiving feedback without defensiveness, sitting with discomfort, and staying open to seeing your blind spots. It means trading your ego for growth. The best leaders I know never stopped...
Credentials Open Doors; Personality Lands the Job
Your credentials got you in the room. They were never going to get you the job. Everyone in the final round has credentials. Stop leading with credentials. Your credentials are table stakes, not a differentiator. The interview starts where the resume...
Prioritizing Stakeholders Shapes Trustful Communication Strategies
What does it mean to prioritize stakeholders in your communication strategy? Today students in my COMM 360: Communication in Organizations class at RWU will explore that question with Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies, Esq., Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Progress Institute. Weayonnoh will...
True Leadership Begins with Confronting Your Own Self
We talk a lot about leading others - teams, organizations, movements, nations. But the most complex leadership challenge is far more intimate. It demands character, honest and deep self-reflection, and a willingness to confront who you are before you try to...