The Difference Between Leadership And Thought Leadership
Thought leadership – it’s a big term.
One that is often overused, used in the wrong context or with the wrong association. But it’s a status that is powerful and if you’re serious about building your Personal Brand, stepping in or up to leadership roles and impacting people with your message, then building your thought leadership brand is part of this.
This is why it is a big part in my 1:1 coaching programs as I’ve seen over and over that especially technical experts, the left brainers as I always call them struggle with making the impact they wanted to make because they couldn’t articulate their message in a way that it landed and with that, they don’t pit themselves out there. And if you can’t be seen, you can’t be considered
If that sounds like something you may have experienced and you’re interested in turning your expert ability into global visibility- then listen up!
I have a brand spanking new free training for you! It’s a 28min on demand masterclass where I walk you through the steps you need to take to build your Brand and become visible For the details, hop over to https://www.personalbrandingclass.online – the link will also be in the shownotes.
Now if you aren’t sure yet if your message has the potential for you to become a thought leader- then this episode is for you! Because I share with you not only what the difference is of those 2 types of leadership in terms of traits but also the 6 criteria a thought leadership topic needs to cover.
Let’s set the scene and define once and for all what thought leadership actually is and what separates a leader from a thought leader?.
If you have listened to last week’s episode, you’d have heard that I wouldn’t claim to be an amazing people leader but instead a thought leader. Whilst I do think those types of leaderships are connected, there are certain traits that separates thought leaders from ‘regular’ people leaders.
The main difference between leadership and thought leadership is the reach, impact and influence you have.
Thought leadership is about inspiring people how they perceive the world and their thoughts around certain topics. See, one of my strengths is that I’m very visionary and can see what others can’t. Attention to detail and following a protocol and all the admin that comes with it … well, is not my forte. And this is already a big indication what type of leadership is more suited to you. If you think that you don’t have what it takes to be a thought leader because you’re lacking the expertise or experience or both – then let me stop you right there
One of the biggest misconceptions about thought leadership is that it has to be something that has never been there or done before. It’s actually not true.
Thought leadership is about connecting the dots between ideas, interpreting results, insights and data and communicate it in a unique, aka original way that resonates with a certain audience, not everyone.
Thought leadership comes from a unique combination of your personal and professional experiences as your story plays a massive part of your message and makes it memorable and of course unique which is what makes you top of mind for your decision maker and audience you want to build and foster.
This is also an important message here: thought leadership is not about being famous nor being known by everyone.
It’s about being known by the right people, decision makers, authorities in your field, peers and those who want to learn more from what you specialise in.
And that also leads us in the platform of choice – where you actually build your thought leadership on because that depends on your goals and of course, your audience.
I always say that LinkedIn is my weapon of choice, simply because my sweet spot is working with corporate professionals, people and business leaders and not so much with small businesses or entrepreneurs.
Many of my counter parts on the other hand, have made Instagram their platform of choice. Some focus mainly on podcasts whereas the video wizards go all in on YouTube. There is no right or wrong- it comes down to your goals and of course your personality.
Thought leadership involves creating content and more importantly- consistent content so if the format you choose isn’t something you enjoy and/or are already good at, it’s going to be hard to keep up.
Now with that said, let’s see what it actually takes to build your thought leadership status and test if your message has the potential to make an IMPACT looking at the 6 criteria which should be the centre stone of all the content you produce.
Start with an original insight that has stems from your personal and professional background.
The insight needs to be meaningful.
Your insight needs to be profound.
That insight must be aspirational, something people actually want to work towards.
The insight needs to have a clear message
Lastly, the message needs to be able to trigger people to take action.
I. Insights
No one has the exact experience, expertise and background than you have. And this is your power. This means that based on your professional and personal background, you have insights. Often the way to define your Brand story is to go through situations in your life that has impacted you.
You’ve heard me saying- you can make your mess your message and this is usually also where you gain clarity on your insights.
For example- for me it was that I neglected to build my Personal Brand. Not just neglected but didn’t do it all for the first 10 years of my career. Until it bit me in my backside and made me realise that no matter your role, title or status, no one is as interested in your progression and success as you are. If you don’t take it in your control, someone else will and this has led me into personal branding because I experienced the power of it myself and more important, the results that now over 300 of my clients got. From job opportunities to speaking engagements to board roles… you name it.
II. Meaningful
Insights are only valuable when they are meaningful, aka when they are significant to others.
Whilst Personal Branding has always been important and the concept is nothing new, it has never been more critical to learn and practice it since the world of work is changing so fast and we not only change jobs but careers more often. We have to reinvent ourselves more often and also more significantly and being able to tell your story and market yourself the right way is key to stand out and future-proof yourself.
So there is now a sense of urgency which leads us in the next point: insights need to be profound.
III. Profound
Insights are also worthless if they aren’t built on a profound baseline and have a solid back up in terms of research and results.
As I mentioned at the beginning, thought leadership doesn’t necessarily mean you have to reinvent the wheel. Your take on topics actually gets more credibility when there is existing research and results available that you highlight and curate in a new way or with a different spin on it or use it in a different context.
Personal Branding isn’t anything new and it has been a known concept, especially for entrepreneurs. However, given the world of work is changing so much and I mean entire industries and professions are changing massively, the only way to future-proof yourself is by being known by the right people for personality traits, characteristics and your story that no one can compete with.
So whilst majority of personal brand experts hone in on the benefits of Personal Branding in terms of lead generation, more sales, etc, this is not my take on it as I mainly work with corporate professionals who don’t necessarily want to run their own business but they still want to not only make an income but an impact.
IV. Aspirational
Insights are valuable when they are aspirational and motivate people to listen to then eventually act. If the message doesn’t move and doesn’t excite people, the likelihood of support is … well, let’s just say, minimal.
Thought leadership is about challenging the status quo and raise awareness of topics that are relevant now but also in the future. It needs to connect to a bigger picture because it is a process and evolves overtime. Tackling a topic that is only relevant in the moment and needs more of a practical solution rather than being aspirational requires more leadership. For me, my vision would be to make Personal Branding part of every school’s curriculum because this is what no one teaches yet it is what makes professionals equipped for the future.
V. Clear message is the key for buy in.
There is the saying; confused minds don’t buy and the same applies to thought leadership. You may have the most revolutionary insight that can absolutely change the world but if the message isn’t clear, it won’t land.
Thought leadership is about making the complex simple. So being able to go trough research and translating knowledge into actionable steps can absolutely make you a thought leader in this field. Take John Maxwell as an example: he actually didn’t do that much original research but more so curated content from others.
Same applies to Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner. he gained his thought leadership status in social media by interviewing authorities in their field and because he was the curator of those top influencers, he became known as the Go-to-Person in social media
VI. Transformational is the baseline for taking action. Without true change and transformation of their situation to the better, the best insights won’t get people motivated to follow,
Thought leadership is about translating the insights into a story that makes the followers connect with it and helps them see themselves benefiting from it when taking action. It’s about sharing the journey and roadmap how to get where they are to where they want to be with the help of [your area of expertise/ method/system/ whatever it is that you want to be known for]
If people don’t see the transformation, they won’t take action and without actions, there are no results which makes thought leadership unsustainable.
So you want your insight to be truly transformational and be able to back up with results so your thought leadership is validated.
These 6 steps will help you clarify the message you want to share if you want to establish yourself as thought leader.
They are the driver of change and if you’re anything like me (and you definitely are, otherwise, you wouldn’t be tuning in to especially this episode and share your fascination for the future of work with me), then this is your motivation: you want to make an impact with your story and change the status quo.
I’d love to hear from you! What are your insights that you want to use to make your thought leadership?