I have been doing a lot of that thinking myself.

As I embark on the next phase of our global expansion, I find myself reflecting on the people I employ and the qualities that will best suit our company as we move forward. Growth brings opportunity, but it also brings responsibility. Every new market requires people who understand not just what the company does, but why it exists and how it should be represented.

That is where the role of a brand custodian becomes so important.

Marketing is a fickle industry. In Australia, there are many marketing jobs available and, at the same time, not enough quality marketers to fill them. It is a shortage of skilled people, not unlike what we have seen across the technology sector.

That worries me more than I would like to admit.

As an entrepreneur, I have to think carefully about what we will do in the future to attract the best marketers to our company. It is not enough to find someone who can write a social media post, build a campaign or put together a report. Those skills are important, but they are only part of the role.

Our desire to achieve marketing excellence and be thought leaders in everything we do creates additional pressure. We are constantly asking ourselves whether our work is good enough, whether it is making a difference and whether we are setting the standard we want others to follow.

That pressure can be productive, but only if the people within the business know how to manage it.

The people working in offices where I am not always present have one of the biggest jobs of all. They carry some of the greatest expectations because they are the custodians of our brand in the markets where they work.

I cannot begin to explain how important that responsibility is.

Every interaction with every person is a representation of our brand. It does not matter whether the interaction is with a client, a prospective customer, a supplier, a journalist, a partner or someone they meet at an event. The way our people speak, listen, respond and conduct themselves communicates something about the company.

In many cases, the brand is being communicated before they have even opened their mouths.

It is reflected in how they arrive at a meeting, how prepared they are, whether they keep their promises, how they treat people who cannot immediately help them and whether they remain calm when something does not go according to plan.

People often talk about brand as if it is a logo, a colour palette or a clever tagline. Those things have their place, but the real brand is revealed through behaviour. It lives in the experience people have when they deal with your company.

That means the person representing your business in a new market is not simply an employee. They are a living expression of what your company believes.

It is easy to play when the boss is away. It is easy to become casual about deadlines, standards and accountability when nobody is checking every decision. However, it is in those moments that true leaders show who they are.

The leaders of the future see independence as an opportunity. They do not wait to be told what to do at every turn. They use the space they have been given to demonstrate their capabilities, solve problems and show where they fit within the wider company.

People who are proactive, self-starting and focused on a clear goal tend to be the ones who are successful. They do not necessarily have all the answers, but they know how to find them. They ask intelligent questions, seek advice when they need it and keep moving when circumstances change.

That is particularly important in a growing company.

When a business is expanding across cities, countries and time zones, the founder cannot be in every room. Decisions have to be made without constant supervision. Relationships need to be developed by people who understand the business well enough to act in its best interests.

Trust becomes essential.

Working remotely can be a huge advantage for employees who have the confidence to back their own skills and take responsibility for their accomplishments. It can provide freedom, flexibility and the chance to structure the working day in a way that supports both productivity and personal wellbeing.

But remote work also reveals character.

Some people need constant direction. Others become more capable when they are trusted. Some wait for instructions, while others identify what needs to be done and take action. Neither approach is necessarily a reflection of intelligence, but only one is likely to thrive in a business that is growing quickly.

For entrepreneurs, establishing the right mix of people and finding the right employee DNA is often one of the greatest challenges.

Skills can be taught. Systems can be explained. Processes can be documented. What is much harder to teach is integrity, resilience, ambition and genuine care for the outcome.

When I think about the qualities we need in someone who is responsible for representing our brand in a new market, I think about several things.

They need to have a can-do approach. They should be willing to look at a challenge and ask how it can be solved rather than explaining why it cannot be done.

They need to be hardworking and ambitious, with a desire to make a meaningful contribution and grow alongside the company.

They need to demonstrate integrity. This means doing the right thing when it would be easier to take a shortcut, being honest when something has gone wrong and being willing to roll up their sleeves when the work needs to be done.

They need to respect the brand, the company and its leaders. Respect does not mean agreeing with everything. It means understanding the responsibility that comes with representing something larger than yourself.

They need resilience. Business can be unpredictable. Campaigns do not always work, clients can change direction and opportunities can take longer than expected. The people who make the greatest difference are often those who keep going when others have lost interest.

They need to share the company’s values. Technical skill is not enough if someone’s personal approach is inconsistent with the culture we are trying to build.

They also need to communicate effectively. They should be able to explain what they need to do their job well, provide honest feedback, listen carefully and make sure people understand what is expected of them.

Most importantly, they need to understand that a brand is not something they simply work for. It is something they help shape every day.

As we grow, I know there will be new challenges, new markets and new people joining our company. I also know that the quality of our growth will depend heavily on the quality of the people representing us.

The future belongs to those who understand that leadership is not about waiting for a title. It is about taking ownership, acting with integrity and recognising the influence you have on the people around you.

So, what else would you add to the list of qualities required by someone who is the custodian of your brand?