So, you want to be a thought leader. You want your peers, your colleagues, current and would-be clients to look to you for inspiration, advice, insight.
You want to be an expert, a bona fide, recognized expert.
That’s all well and good. You probably deserve it. Just don’t think you can make your way onto the stage and draw a standing ovation, no matter how well you know your stuff — or how well you’re known to those in your immediate professional circle.
Thought leadership is more art than science, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t basic rules governing thought leadership strategy. Follow these do’s and don’ts and you’ll do well for yourself; ignore them at your peril.
Thought Leadership Do’s
These four things will make you a better, more influential thought leader.
1. Strive for Higher Visibility
You can publish unlimited thought leadership content on your company website, sure. But if your company website gets only 50 views a day (hey, you’re building!) then you’re just not going to get the engagement you deserve if it’s the only place you publish.
So strive for higher visibility from the outset. Use your LinkedIn page as a springboard, create a Medium account, launch a Substack newsletter.
That’s just for starters. You must also target high-visibility, high-authority platforms like Forbes and Inc: platforms that confer immediate cachet and credibility, for better or worse. And early on, the content you publish on these platforms is secondary to simply having a presence on them. Take the Inc profile for Asiaciti Trust, which provides fiduciary and trust services for high-net-worth families and their firms, shows why. It’s a succinct, high-visibility, high-credibility asset for a firm that isn’t a household name — one that primes readers to embrace the thought leadership content its experts produce.
2. Join Fellow Thought Leaders in Community
A little friendly competition is normal between thought leaders. But that’s how it needs to stay: friendly. You and your fellow subject matter experts are members of the same community s a complement, not islands of one striving for a bigger slice of a finite pie.
So join your fellow thought leaders wherever they’re to be found. The communities you join or establish can be private: members-only LinkedIn groups, IRL meetups, even group chats in encrypted messaging apps.
Leave some space for public communities as well, though. Network whenever and wherever you can; carve out time throughout the year to attend conferences and workshops and talks. Your reputation can only benefit (if you behave yourself) and think of all the ideas you’ll gain in the process.
3. Define Your Niche, But Tailor Your Content to Your Audience’s Interests & Needs
As a bona fide subject matter expert and an aspiring thought leader, you need a clearly defined niche. That much is clear.
You also need to think about who you’re trying to reach with your thought leadership content. What works for small, private or semi-private groups of professionals doesn’t always work for general audiences, and vice versa. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s delivery on his public YouTube channel is very different from his delivery at astrophysics conferences, for example.
4. Always Be Actionable
Thought leaders like Tyson know that truly valuable thought leadership is actionable. People are more likely to tune in (and stay tuned in) if you help them solve problems, or at least lead them to some sort of practical outcome. Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is great, and the prospect does engage many would-be followers, but it’s not enough on its own.
Thought Leadership Don’ts
Avoid these four thought leadership pitfalls at all costs.
1. Disparage Other Thought Leaders
You can disagree without being disagreeable.
It’s a fundamental rule of polite society and an absolute must for aspiring thought leaders. It goes back to the purpose (and importance) of thought leader communities, too: You’re there to support one another, to make one another better, rather than to outcompete your fellows.
So hew to a hard “no personal attacks” rule when interacting with other thought leaders and discussing their work. Even when a legitimate disagreement arises — and it will — you must keep it civil. People won’t soon forget otherwise.
2. Spread Yourself Too Thin
Just as your thought leadership itself focuses on what you know well, its distribution should focus on what’s best for you and your audience. You might prefer a weekly newsletter, or a LinkedIn followership, or YouTube channel, or an old-fashioned blog.
You can and should use multiple social channels to support these properties, but try to stick to one or at most two that work really well for you. Otherwise, you’ll spend more time thinking about how to repurpose content and how to manage your sprawling thought leadership empire than on actually creating.
3. Post Irregularly or Infrequently
This is often a side effect of spreading yourself too thin. It’s also a side effect of life, which we all know tends to get in the way. Do yourself and your followers a favor: Set a realistic publishing or performance schedule at the outset and hold yourself accountable for sticking to it. Monetizing right out of the gate usually isn’t advisable, but if that’s what’s needed for you to be accountable to yourself, so bet it.
4. Focus on Long-Term Projects at the Expense of Short-Term Opportunities
The classic example here is the thought leaders who’s so focused on writing a book or producing a documentary that they “go dark” for long stretches of time. There’s no better way to disappoint your followers than to get into a publishing or appearance rhythm and then dial it back after a few months. Always make time for shorter-term projects and opportunities to raise your profile, like content collaborations, podcast appearances, and media interviews.
The Work Is Never Done
Like many other worthwhile things in life, thought leadership requires continuous effort. Effort to gain yet more expertise and sharpen your delivery so that you come off as well as you possibly can — but also effort to avoid the all-too-common pitfalls that trip up other aspiring thought leaders. One serious slip can undo what took years to build.
