Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Help You Redefine Your Personal Brand
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, there's this idea that your reputation inside a company is basically set after your first year. People put you in a box, and that box is really hard to climb out of. Luna: Right — the 'oh, you're the person who does X' label. And once it sticks, it's like you're typecast. Lucas: Exactly. I was talking to a friend at Procter & Gamble — she spent five years in brand management for laundry detergent. She was known as the brand person. Sharp, creative, great at consumer insights. Luna: And that's a strong brand. So why would she want to change it? Lucas: Because she realized the brand was limiting her. Every project she got pulled into was brand-related. She wanted to understand how products actually got made, how supply chains worked — but no one saw her as a supply chain person. They saw her as the brand person. Luna: So she did an internal transfer into supply chain. Lucas: She did a lateral move — same level, different function. And she told me the hardest part wasn't learning the new job. It was convincing people that she was serious about leaving brand behind. For the first six months, people in supply chain treated her like a tourist. Luna: A tourist — I love that. They expected her to go back to brand once she'd 'had her experience.' Lucas: Exactly. That's the core challenge of a brand-changing internal transfer. Your old reputation follows you. It doesn't reset the way it would if you left for a new company. Luna: Which is actually an advantage, if you think about it. At a new company, you're starting from zero — no one knows you. But internally, you have a foundation. People already trust you. The trick is redirecting that trust. Lucas: Right. She had to be intentional. She stopped attending brand department meetings, even as a guest. She volunteered for the ugliest supply chain projects — the ones no one wanted. She made sure her name was on emails that had nothing to do with marketing. Luna: So she was actively unpicking the brand anchor. Lucas: That's a great term. Brand anchor — the default association people have with you. And it's not just about function. It's about style too. Maybe you're seen as the 'safe' person, or the 'creative' person, or the 'detail-oriented' person. An internal transfer lets you deliberately change that signal. Luna: But there's a risk, right? If you try to change your brand too abruptly, people might think you're inconsistent, or that you didn't like your old role. Lucas: That's why the narrative matters. My friend framed her move as a natural evolution. She'd say things like, 'After five years understanding what consumers want, I want to understand how we deliver it.' That's not a rejection of her old brand — it's an extension. Luna: And that framing works because it's true. It's not a pivot, it's a progression. Lucas: So here's the concrete takeaway: before you initiate an internal transfer for brand reasons, audit your current brand. Ask five colleagues to describe you in three words. You'll be surprised what you hear. Luna: And then ask yourself: does that brand help me get where I want to go? If not, what's the minimum viable transfer that would change the perception? Lucas: Exactly. My friend could have moved to a different brand team in a different category. That would have been a lateral that kept her brand anchored in marketing. She chose supply chain because that was a true signal change. Luna: And she had to accept that for a while, she'd be less competent in the new role. That's the ego hit. You go from being the expert to being the rookie. Lucas: But the payoff is long-term. Within 18 months, she wasn't just 'the former brand person in supply chain' — she was 'the supply chain person who brings consumer insight.' That hybrid brand became more valuable than either identity alone. Luna: And that's something you can't get by leaving the company. Because at P&G, she still had the relationships. She still understood the culture. She just redirected them. Lucas: That's the theme of this whole series, really. Internal moves let you keep your institutional capital while shifting your trajectory. Luna: Speaking of capital — and this is sincere — we keep this show ad-free because we think these conversations shouldn't be interrupted by spots for mattress companies or meal kits. If you find value in that approach, the simplest way to support it is at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small gesture, but it directly helps us keep the focus on practical career advice, not on selling you something. We appreciate everyone who's contributed. Luna: So back to the brand shift — one thing I want to dig into is timing. When is the right moment to make this kind of move? Lucas: Great question. The best time is when you've built enough credibility in your current role that the move looks like exploration, not escape. If you're mid-disaster, transferring looks like you're bailing. But if you just closed a big project or hit a milestone, it feels like you're expanding. Luna: So you want to leave from a position of strength. Lucas: Exactly. And you want to pick a receiving team that has a gap you can fill. If they're desperate for someone with your old skills, they'll value you more than if they see you as a burden. Luna: That's where the internal network comes in. You need to have coffee conversations with people in the target department before you even apply. You need to understand their pain points. Lucas: And frame your brand change as a solution to their problem. 'You need someone who can translate consumer data into supply chain decisions? That's me now.' Luna: It's almost like you're launching a new product — you. And your internal transfer is the go to market strategy. Lucas: Exactly. You have to do the market research, position yourself, and then deliver on the promise. Otherwise, people will say, 'Oh, she's just the brand person playing in supply chain.' Luna: And that's a brand you don't want. Lucas: Right. So let's talk about the mechanics. Once you've made the move, you need to actively manage the narrative. Don't assume people will notice your new identity on their own. Luna: How do you do that without being obnoxious? Lucas: You update your LinkedIn and internal profile immediately. You change your email signature. You start posting about your new projects in internal channels. But the most powerful thing is to deliver a visible win early. Something that clearly belongs to your new role. Luna: A win that your old network sees and thinks, 'Wow, she's really doing that now.' Lucas: Exactly. My friend's win was a cost-saving initiative that also improved shelf availability — a classic supply chain metric. But she framed it using consumer language. That's what made people sit up. Luna: She used her old brand to enhance her new brand. That's the power of staying at the same company. Lucas: And that's the closing thought, really. An internal transfer isn't just about changing your job. It's a deliberate act of personal brand engineering. And if you do it right, you don't lose your old identity — you build on it. Luna: So the question for anyone listening is: what do you want people to say about you a year from now? And is there a move inside your current company that could start that conversation? Lucas: That's the challenge. Thanks for being here.