Building Your Leader Brand · 31st August, 2026

Your brand needs to put identity first, with Julie Diver

54:20 · Episode 353

Episode 353 · 2026-08-31

0:00 / 0:00

If you've ever commissioned a website or a rebrand and felt like something was off - that it didn't quite land with the right people - this episode gets into why. Julie Diver has been running her creative and growth agency, 39 Steps, since 2003. What she's learned in that time is something most business owners never hear from their designers or web developers: the output is rarely the problem.

This episode matters to you because whether you're a consultant, a founder, or a senior leader building authority, your brand is either working for you or against you. And if you haven't done the deeper work first, no amount of beautiful design will fix that.

Three things we got into:

✳️ Clarity on who you're actually for has to come before any creative work begins - commissioning design without it is putting money into the wrong place, every time.

✳️ Julie's Market Street methodology - a three-part framework covering discovery, definition, and recommendations - helps leadership teams understand where they really are before deciding what to change.

✳️ Internal buy-in matters as much as external identity - when your team understands and believes in the brand, they become your most credible advocates in the marketplace.

Julie's Amplifiers - three things to do straight away:

✳️ Read StoryBrand by Donald Miller alongside They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan - Julie's two go-to books for anyone serious about messaging and marketing.

✳️ Look at the Brick - a physical device that lets you schedule when you can access apps on your phone. A simple tool for recovering attention and cutting procrastination.

✳️ Pick up The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna - a beautifully made book about the gap between what we feel we ought to do and what we're actually called to do. Worth it at any stage of business or life.

If this episode gave you something to think about, hit the subscribe or follow button wherever you're listening. There's a new conversation every week, and you won't want to miss one.

About Julie : https://39steps.co.uk/

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction
00:38 - Welcome and episode overview
02:26 - Introducing Julie Diver and 39 Steps
04:05 - Why identity has to come before growth
04:56 - How the Market Street methodology was born
08:19 - The real problem behind "we need a new website"
11:25 - Common mistakes clients and agencies both make
16:20 - Getting really clear on your target persona
17:22 - Why frameworks foster freedom
18:33 - Inside the Market Street process - discovery, definition, recommendations
24:41 - Discovering a brand rather than creating one
28:59 - How internal culture and external brand are connected
32:54 - How Julie has sustained and grown a business for over 20 years
34:43 - The origin of networking - and why it still works
38:21 - Referrals, content, outreach - what actually drives growth
42:31 - Why discomfort is worth leaning into
43:16 - Julie's three amplifiers
50:20 - Where to find Julie and 39 Steps
52:35 - Closing thoughts