The 60-Second Intro That Instantly Positions You Like A VP

Maya Grossman
Oct 30
4 min read

Do you know how to introduce yourself to leave a lasting impact?

Most people don’t. They either read a résumé out loud… or play it so safe they sound like an intern.

I’ve watched it happen in rooms full of brilliant leaders. And I’ve done it, too. Years ago, at a leadership offsite, I gave the most forgettable intro of my career. With a low voice, I shared my title, team. Done. Everyone nodded politely. Then the VP after me said, “I build the systems that make $50M look like $5M, last quarter we cut churn by 18% and now we’re rolling that playbook across EMEA.” The energy shifted. He claimed his lane. I realized I’d missed a moment.

Here’s the truth: at the executive level, your introduction isn’t chit-chat, it’s positioning.

It tells the room how to think about you. If you’re not intentional, people fill in the blanks (and those assumptions rarely help your career).

Let’s fix that.

Why Most Intros Fall Flat

A title alone doesn’t communicate value.

“I’m a Director of Product” is accurate but not strategic. It doesn’t show how you think, what you drive, or why you’re different. People don’t promote titles. They promote impact. And impact sounds like outcomes, momentum, and a clear point of view.

Let me explain the logic here. We all make quick judgments about the people we meet. It’s how our brains work. We collect the information we have, connect the dots, compare to past examples, and decide. “Smart”, “Impressive”, “shy”, “Junior”.

When you introduce yourself, your goal is not to tell them what you do. Your goal is to shape how they see you.

Once it’s formed, that perception sticks. So instead of leaving it to chance, influence their judgment with a strategic introduction.

The power introduction is a technique I teach inside of Success Builders to help our students position themselves for senior roles, and it’s a game changer.

What a Powerful Intro Sounds Like

Basic:

“I’m Alex, Director of Marketing at Corplab.”

Strategic:

“I’m Alex, Director of Marketing at Corplab. Over the past year, my team rebuilt our demand gen engine from the ground up, increasing qualified pipeline by 30%. Now we’re scaling that motion globally.”

See the difference?

You sound like a leader.
You frame the business problem.
You show proof and momentum.

No fluff. Just clarity and credibility in less than 60 seconds that screams “leader”.

The VP-Level Intro: 4-Part Formula

Want to create your own introduction to shape perception?

Use this in meetings, off-sites, interviews, and exec roundtables.

1. Start with basics

Name + title. Calm, steady, two beats.

2. Add strategic context

Explain the business value you drive (not your task list).

→ “I lead our digital operations team to automate revenue-critical workflows across product, marketing, and sales.”

3. Show one outcome

Pick a result that signals scale, impact, or velocity.

→ “Last quarter our rev-ops overhaul cut sales cycle time by 18%.”

4. (Optional) Add a one-liner of personality

A light touch makes you memorable—without turning it into a TED Talk.

→ “I’m leading our finance transformation… aka ‘spreadsheet therapy.’”

The 60-Second Script (Steal This)

Copy, personalize, and practice:

“I’m [Name], [Title] at [Company]. I [lead/own] [scope] to [business outcome]. In [timeframe], we [proof: metric/result]. This quarter, we’re focused on [next strategic priority]. [Optional personality line].”

Examples across functions

Product: “I’m Priya, Director of Product at Dogdash. I lead our collaboration suite to accelerate cross-team delivery. In the last two releases, we increased active teams by 22%. This quarter, we’re simplifying enterprise onboarding to cut time-to-value in half.”
Engineering: “I’m Marco, Senior Eng Manager at Shoplist. I own checkout performance. Over six months, we reduced p95 latency by 31%, unlocking +7% conversion. Now we’re rolling out edge rendering globally.”
Operations: “I’m Lina, Head of BizOps at Datalane. I centralize forecasting and planning to improve capital efficiency. Our new model cut variance by 40%. Next up: automating quarterly scenario planning.”

Pick the Right Proof Point

Your metric should be:

Business-relevant: Revenue, margin, retention, adoption, cycle time, cost to serve, incident rate, not vanity metrics.
Time-bound: “In Q2” or “over the last six months.”
Directional: Up or dow,n and by how much.
At your altitude: Team-level if you lead a team; portfolio-level if you lead a function.

If you can’t share a number (NDA, early project), use concrete proxies: “launched across three regions,” “adopted by top 10 enterprise customers,” “cut approval steps from 7 to 3.”

Won’t This Sound Like Bragging?

Only if you deliver it like you’re campaigning for Best Actor. Stating outcomes is not bragging, it’s leadership. You’re giving people the information they need to place you correctly. Keep the balance:

Credit the team (“my team,” “with our partners”).
Own the result (don’t hide behind “we” to avoid accountability).
Stay fact-based (numbers, timeframes, outcomes).

If people don’t understand the value you bring, they won’t think of you when it’s time to promote someone. The most effective executives do the work and ensure the right people understand the impact.

Your Next Steps

You’ve got 60 seconds to shape how people see you. Next time someone says, “Tell us about yourself,” don’t wing it. Don’t play small. Don’t list your job duties.

Instead: