What is thought leadership?

If thought leadership is on your radar for this year, today’s post (and podcast episode) is just for you. 

The term “thought leadership” isn’t new, but it feels more like a buzzword than ever. And while I applaud and encourage people to engage in the practice of thought leadership, the term does seem to be getting a bit watered down. Does posting on social media count as thought leadership? What about commenting on other people’s posts? Or filling out those little automated questions that pop up on your LinkedIn feed?

How do you know when you’re actually growing as a thought leader, and when you’re just wasting time? 

For that matter, what does thought leadership actually mean? How do you do it? And how do you do it well? 

I believe the key to this lies in the phrase itself. 

Thought leadership involves two things: thoughts, and leadership. 

That might sound obvious but when you dig into this you realize there’s a bit more to it.

Consider leadership. If you want to lead — to make a difference and create change in the world — you should consider things like:

➡️ What are you trying to achieve, personally and professionally, through your leadership?
➡️ Who are you trying to lead, and in what way?
➡️ Why does this undertaking matter? What kind of change are you trying to cultivate through your leadership, and why do you care?
➡️ How are you uniquely positioned to make this change happen? What skills, strengths, and resources do you have at your disposal?

Now consider the “thoughts” part of the equation. If you want your thoughts and ideas to be part of your leadership, you should consider questions like:

➡️ What is the big idea you want to share through your leadership?
➡️ Who exactly is the message for? Is it the same people you want to lead? What do they already think and believe?
➡️ Why do your ideas/messages matter? How exactly will they make things better for the people you seek to serve?
➡️ How exactly do you want to communicate with this audience? What types of communication methods, places, and platforms will you use?

(Notice a pattern? The basic questions of What, Who, Why, and How are essential building blocks. Of course, when we get into planning and tactics we’ll consider even more details, including Where and When.)

These kinds of questions can require time and reflection, but in my experience they make the difference between random, sporadic posting — and an effective, meaningful, last thought leadership strategy. 

So, if thought leadership is a goal of yours, grab a pen and a notebook and dig into the questions above. See what sparks for you. 

Or, better yet, listen to the latest Coaching with Cam episode: What is Thought Leadership? In this exercise-style episode I walk you through these questions and more, including three key prompts that will serve as the foundation for your thought leadership strategy. 

Finally, if you REALLY want to go-big on thought leadership this year, become recognized and respected in your field, and make a bigger impact both personally and professionally, let me know. I provide soup-to-nuts guidance and hands-on support for thought leaders, including strategy, planning, development and execution. Together, we can build a concerted thought leadership campaign that will help you grow leaps and bounds in your field this year. 

Curious about how I can help or whether we’d be a good fit? Just hit reply and say hi. Or sign up for my wait list and get a free consultation.

Meanwhile, let me leave you with this final thought —

I share the above questions with you because I want to encourage you to think (and plan) strategically and intentionally. When we start with strategy, we are more likely to hit the targets we actually want. And, when that strategy aligns with a message we really care about, AND we create a strong, executable plan, then we’re really onto something.

But don’t let reflection or strategic thinking stop you from taking action. Or worse yet, having fun. You don’t have to wait to have everything figured out to get started. So, do your best with the questions above, and then keep going.

In the words of punk legend Ian Mackaye, “start today.”