The Visibility Shift with Ellie Steinbrink
Welcome to The Visibility Shift, the podcast where style becomes your most powerful strategy for being seen, standing out, and leading boldly. I'm Ellie Steinbrink, stylist and personal brand coach, and if you've ever thought, "My style just isn't working anymore," take this as your sign. You're ready for your next level.
Instead of launching into a panicked shopping spree, what you really need is a strategy. A style strategy that reflects where you're headed, not who you used to be or who you think you need to be to fit in.
I'm here for the ambitious woman who's evolving. Maybe you're a founder, a speaker, a leader, or someone who's becoming more visible in your role. The opportunities are getting more exciting, the stages are getting bigger, but when you walk into your closet, you suddenly feel off, like you've outgrown it, like it represents a past version of you.
We go beyond outfits and dive into the real strategies that elevate your presence, so your outer image reflects your inner power. Style from the inside out. Self-leadership through style. What it takes to create a strategy that's unique to you without losing yourself along the way.
When your style aligns with your brand and your vision, everything shifts. You lead with more presence, you attract the right opportunities and clients, and you fully step into the woman you're becoming. Showing up as yourself is the most strategic thing you can do.
New episodes drop twice weekly. Ready to stop second-guessing and start showing up as the leader you are? Let's get visible.
The Visibility Shift with Ellie Steinbrink
When Executive Presence Stops You From Showing Up Authentically
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For many women, getting dressed used to be simple. Not because it was easy, but because the rules were clear. There was a template, a uniform, a version of “professional” that promised safety, credibility, and belonging if you followed it closely enough. But somewhere between leaving corporate roles, starting businesses, working from home, and stepping into leadership on our own terms, those rules quietly disappeared. And in their place came this vague, unsettling directive to “just be authentic.”
In this episode of The Visibility Shift, I explore why that instruction feels so confusing (and sometimes downright unsafe), especially for women who were trained early in their careers to prioritize executive presence over individuality. I unpack the tension between performative style and authentic style, ask where you might still be dressing to appease, fit in, or avoid risk, and define what it would mean to choose alignment instead.
2:25 - The unspoken rules many women are still following long after the workplace that created them is gone
4:06 - Why authenticity feels liberating in theory but terrifying in practice
6:53 – The meaning of executive presence in today’s work environment
8:08 - The hidden comfort of templates (and the quiet cost of relying on them)
10:48 – What makes authentic style so hard to nail down and what it takes to find yours
14:44 - How to bridge the gap between performative, dress-for-success style and authentic style
16:41 - Why being seen clearly matters more than being universally approved
18:57 - A reminder you may want to return to the next time playing it safe feels tempting
Mentioned In When Executive Presence Stops You From Showing Up Authentically
Stop Dressing to Fit In and Start Showing Up Authentically
Are You Dressing Like the Face of Your Brand or Who You Used to Be?
Why Playing It Safe With Style Keeps You Invisible as a Personal Brand
The Hidden Style Rules Holding You Back (and How to Break Them)
The Compliment Trap and How to Reclaim Your Personal Style