The Reputational Risk of Premature Exposure: When Your Private Process Becomes Public

Alignment Before Visibility® is a phrase I coined to describe my framework for developing media strategies for businesses and entrepreneurs. However, I also apply it personally in my own life. In 2022, I earned my master’s degree in psychology with a focus on media psychology. My studies deepened my understanding of how people interact with media, interpret information, and navigate the risks associated with media exposure, including reputational risks.

Today, the digital world is available at our fingertips, yet we are not necessarily taught how to navigate it strategically. Media literacy refers to the ability to access, evaluate, navigate, and create media, while media intelligence involves analyzing and deconstructing media to derive strategic insights. However, media intelligence is not necessarily something everyday social media users prioritize. Let’s be honest: a funny video or TikTok dance is often more entertaining than a conversation about media intelligence. My academic and professional experience, however, has made understanding these concepts an integral part of my work.

Still, no amount of education or professional experience could fully prepare me for what it felt like to experience the reputational risks of media exposure firsthand.

I have been navigating an intense battle with depression, and I had not intended to make that part of my experience public. Yet information about my personal circumstances became publicly accessible before I was ready to share it.

I felt that an intimate part of my life had been placed on public display without my choosing. I was—and still am—navigating the circumstances that led to that moment, and I had not finished processing them privately. Emotionally, I felt vulnerable and exposed.

After taking a beat to process my emotions, I acted swiftly and chose to share my latest vlog, Battling Depression, Choosing to Stay and Fight, with one caveat: I would share only what I was comfortable making public while keeping my private details private. Because I had already developed a media strategy for myself, I could acknowledge my emotional response while making a deliberate decision about what I was willing to share publicly.

Looking back, I am one hell of a media strategist. What can I say? I am a natural. I live with depression, and this episode is difficult, but neither takes away my power to tell my story my way and on my terms. As a leader who believes in and embodies what I teach, coach, and consult on, I model my framework in my own life. A strong media strategy assesses the risks associated with what you share. Just because I am comfortable sharing my lived experience with depression does not mean I am comfortable disclosing the intimate details of my battle. In my very first vlog, I mentioned that there is a difference between vulnerability and privacy. I can be vulnerable without sharing the most intimate details of my life. The difference is I do not mind what I share being repeated.

https://youtu.be/mZwaZIKJF5c?si=lCguZ18LqQVD9Who

A Moment with Cha Season 2 Promo Video

Mental health resource

If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in the United States to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

I'm Still Here.

When I started my vlog series A Moment with Cha, my intent was to create again. I wanted to tap into my creativity and do what I love the most. I also wanted to document my journey as a builder and the founder of Savvy Cha, keeping things raw and authentic. In every vlog I recorded, I opened up up on my personal journey towards my goals, mental health, passions and ambitions; documenting my process along the way.

My first vlog, Coming Back to Myself, was the beginning of that creative journey. Since then I have recorded 6 more vlogs highlighting the ups and downs of my creative journey as an entrepreneur. In Failing, I spoke about my life changing events and how it took self determination for me to navigate those unique challenges. Once I got my feet wet I was on a roll recording The Importance of Rest from a PhD Candidate, Remember Who You Are, I Quit! Invisible Disabilities, Depressed Leaders and my most recent vlog Returning to My First Love.

Still from Depressed Leaders | A Moment with Cha

Vlogging is a vulnerable medium. I can share as little or as much as I would like in my personal journey as a leader, visionary, and creative. I choose to be vulnerable because I know I am not the only one, however, I also know that there are people out there just like me that may believe they are the only one trying to make it through life. These past couple years and recent months has been a challenge for me. I have faced mental and physical health challenges that I have never experienced before, or at least not with this frequency or intensity. But when I look back at what I have created; A blueprint, a framework with proven success, and a tangible, authentic story. I am inspired by who I am, what I've endured and who I am becoming. Life has been what it is, my challenges are real, but look at what I have created. Look at what I'm building. Savvy Cha.

Now I'ma let this sit here while I rest from an exhausting and trying week.

With Love,

Cha

https://youtu.be/eiHYiIDCJsQ?si=RQi-DFxMV2dvqvbU

Self Reflection: Returning to My First Love | 10.16.26

People rarely talk about the repair after a mental health crisis. I don't remember ever seeing a program or video covering the relational and personal repair one has to go through after a major depressive episode. I'm not saying that type of conversation doesn't exist in media, but it is not common.

In my recent vlog, "Returning to My First Love", I spoke about reconnecting to that passion and dream I had as a child to be a film director. I spoke about my very first video camcorder. While editing this vlog, however, I noticed my face light up as I shared my experiences of expanding that dream beyond filmmaking into media consultancy. I appeared giddy and excited sharing how I convinced my parents to buy me that camera and how it was my "safe place."

By the end of the vlog, not only did I feel reconnected with my childhood self, but I also had an overwhelming feeling of wholeness. It can be easy to get stuck in our everyday routine of adulthood or to get caught up in the chaos and challenges of life. But thinking about that passion you had and where it's taken you is a blessing. It's the little things that mean the most to me. The simple things give me so much joy. Little things like my old camcorder.

https://youtu.be/dZUFfj-jna0?si=Pe7LCpsU8lDovSJQ