Mickelle Elizabeth

Mickelle ElizabethSep 16, 2026

The longer I live outside my home country, the more I realize how much it has shaped how I work. It’s been 7 years since I left the U.S. Here are 3 lessons I keep coming back to: 1. There are no stupid questions. It doesn’t matter if you are with the CEO, the board, a client, or a team. There are no obvious questions. Being in places where I don’t always understand the context, and at times the language, has taught me it’s okay to be curious. It’s okay to point out when you don’t know what something means. That kind of honesty matters in business too. Because pretending you understand something doesn’t make you look smart. It just keeps you from learning. 2. There is a learning curve to everything. Even adapting to places like England or Australia, where the language is technically the same, there are still cultural differences. Different ways people communicate. Different expectations. Different context. Then you live somewhere like Spain, where the language and culture are totally different, and the learning curve is even bigger. This applies to work too. No matter the industry, client, or role, there will always be a learning curve to understanding every part of your career. But it does get easier. Eventually, you begin to find yourself within it. 3. The things you need most are usually the most uncomfortable in the beginning. I think about when I first moved to Spain. After a few months, I remember standing on the street crying between the language, the culture, and the feeling of being an outsider… It was becoming too much, and I questioned everything. Even though I had spent years traveling, living somewhere permanently was a totally different experience. Being nomadic was not the same as learning how to belong somewhere. This applies in work as well. The roles I was most nervous for… The ones where I questioned if I could handle them… The rooms that made me wonder if I was ready… Those were the roles where I saw the most growth and took me to the next level. Whether you’re in a meeting or walking the streets of Italy, there’s always something to be learned by putting yourself in a different environment. What environment has taught you the most about yourself?

Mickelle ElizabethSep 1, 2026

Chipotle just gave 100 creators full creative freedom instead of scripts. That is the clearest signal of where marketing is going. No rigid brand voice. No forcing everyone into the same polished format. Just people showing up as themselves. That’s the shift. The AI conversation is no longer just: AI vs. human. It’s becoming: What power do we give to AI? What power should stay with humans? Because as AI makes content easier to scale, the human layer becomes more valuable. Authenticity. Trust. Individuality. Taste. Perspective. The things that can’t be prompted into existence. This is something I’m interweaving more and more into my work: Pulling back the veil behind the brand. That can look like: → Employee features in emails → Personal Founder-led content → Introducing a person in retention flows → Showing the people, choices, and beliefs behind the business Not just to “be authentic.” Because connection gets stronger when people can feel there are real humans behind the brand. AI can help us move faster. It can organize ideas. It can support execution. But trust is still built through the human layer: Lived experience. Creative instinct. Emotional truth. A point of view. That’s what makes someone feel connected to your brand instead of just aware of it. The brands that win won’t be the ones asking: “How do we use AI for everything?” They’ll be the ones asking: “What should never leave human hands?” What part of marketing do you think should NEVER be handed to AI?

Mickelle ElizabethAug 4, 2026

The biggest myth about personal branding? That it's only for people selling something or running their own business. This is the mistake I see so many smart people making. I hear it constantly: "I work for a company and I don't want to start my own thing." "I'm already employed." "I don't need to post on LinkedIn." But what people miss is this: A personal brand isn't about entrepreneurship. It's about access. Access to better roles. Better conversations. Better rooms. Better opportunities before you desperately need them. Because if you ever get laid off, want a new role, or realize you're ready for a promotion you haven't been offered yet… Your LinkedIn presence becomes the insurance policy no one tells you to buy. If you've been applying with no response, look at your profile first. I see the same two mistakes constantly: 1. Your profile doesn't make a case for you. It lists what you've done, or is most of time blank. But it doesn't show what you're good at. It doesn't communicate your skill set clearly. It doesn't make someone think: "I need to talk to this person." Your profile should not read like a void. It should read like a reason to hire you. 2. You have no visible proof. No posts. No perspective. No presence. Nothing that backs up the resume. I get it. LinkedIn can feel like just another social platform. But whether you run a business or work for someone else, your personal brand is what helps you stand out before you enter the room. I've had clients tell me directly they chose me over other candidates because of my LinkedIn presence. Because they already felt how I think. They already understood my perspective. They already trusted my expertise before the first call. My unsolicited advice to people who feel "safely employed": Start posting. Or at the very least, optimize your profile. In this job market, everyone deserves their own security. Do you think LinkedIn matters more for employees now than it did 5 years ago?