Trusted Authority Formula - Part 1: CAPABILITY
Go from unknown to known in the digital-first world: The Trusted Authority formula breakdown
How can you go from technical expert in your company to trusted authority in your industry (and why does it matter)? This is what we will cover over the next 3 episodes as the doors to my Trusted Authority program is launching today and I want to share with you, what we cover and what you can expect. So if you have been considering stepping up in your career, may it be to land a board role, to get the promotion, to build your portfolio career through speaking or teaching – this is the program for you.
It is a 12-weeks live course where you get access to weekly modules on the 3 elements that make someone a Trusted Authority. In this little 3-day bootcamp that we kick off with this episode, I will share some of the elements that we will cover in detail. Every week, we have live coaching calls where you can ask questions, address challenges you have faced but also get feedback and insights from a group of like-minded peers. If that’ snot enough, you also get 3x 1;1 coaching calls with your truly where we map out a tailored strategy for you to make sure you focus on the right activities and keep you on track over the 12-weeks. Plus- every 3 weeks, we have implementation calls to make sure that you don’t just gain knowledge but actual results by ticking off critical activities that you need to make part of your routine.
If that sounds like something right up your alley- all you need to do is to go to trusted-authority.co for more details or send me a DM for any questions you may have. I’d love to have you join us so you can rewrite your narrative for 2022!
Now with that said – let’s get straight into the formula:
I want to kick us off with a quote from Rachel Botsman, the first fellow at Oxford University who researches trusts. She says we live in a reputation economy where the currency is reputational capital. (13.50 – TedX Rachel Botsman: The currency of the new economy is trust)
Now whilst our reputation has always been our most valuable asset, it’s now more important than ever before. Why?
Because of the rise of technology in our everyday lives.
No longer can we rely on our decision makers to know us or our immediate circle. We live in a digital first world where more decisions are made about us without us actually being in the room (or now also on Zoom). Plus- the connected world we live in also means access to global talents pools which has increased the noise and competition.
Degrees and years of experience have become a commodity.
The only asset that makes us distinct and helps us to stand out for the right reasons is our reputational capital.
Now Botsman defined it as the sum of offline and online experience which is an important detail to highlight. With remote work having become the norm, that also means we have shorter timeframes to get our message across and to – of course – to build trust. Decisions about us are often made way before we actually meet the decision maker because they have done their research, aka: stalked us on google, checked out our LinkedIn profile, took a mental (sometimes probably also actual) screenshot of our digital footprint and what it says about us.
But this isn’t even it – what’s more is that in corporates, hierarchies are getting flatter which means we can’t necessarily rely on getting the senior role or the fancy title to influence where the company is going and what projects should be pursued. Being able to influence – also without title – is the key to making things happen. This is why becoming the Trusted Authority is so important because it means – being the Go-To and doing it by choice, not by official obligation.
And that’s the exciting part- everyone can become a Trusted Authority in their field. And even better news? I will share the formula and the 3 aspects that make up a Trusted Authority over the next 3 episodes. So make sure you hit the subscribe button and don’t miss part 2+ 3.
The three elements that make someone a Trusted Authority are: Capability - Credibility – Visibility.
Capability is all about your value creation, your brand promise, aka: the result you deliver and want to be known and recognised for. It is a combination of credentials like your education, experience, expertise but also your character. How you do what you do is more significant and distinct than what you do and why.
It is only the beginning but the one thing most over-index on in their career: they focus on getting more degrees, staying in a role for another couple of years, earning another fancy award…
It’s natural and in our wheelhouse, this is where we feel comfortable in as we have been doing it for so long. It is however only one piece to the big career success puzzle. Coleman found out, back in 1994 that performance contributes only 10% to career success.
The reason why we start with capability is because you need to define the positioning, meaning: identifying where we want to become the Trusted Authority in, for whom and by what.
Positioning is just a fancy word of the space you want to occupy in the mind of the right decision makers and is the sweet spot between You, the marketplace which could be your industry or profession and the actual decision maker which oculd be a hiring manager, a board chair, a senior executive but also an events manager or podcast host.
Now you might be thinking that your competitive advantage is data analytics, your industry is FinTech and your decision makers are CFOs.
If so- let me stop you right there. Whilst this ‘specialisation’ might have worked years ago with less competitors playing in the field, it now is way too broad to be able to cut through.
In this case I just mentioned, you’d be competing with Fintech media giants.
However, if you go further down the rabbit hole and get more specific in both aspects, the industry and decision maker, you will be able to carve out a niche. Let’s give it a try: Fintech could be applied to lean starts ups as well as to legacy banking infrastructure.
The type of organisation in this industry is already a big differentiator since they require different approaches and solutions.
Next- let’s look at your decision maker, let’s say it’s the CFO: it could be the numbers expert who is very well versed with the overall company strategy. However, they might be struggling with seeing the bigger picture and isn’t as familiar (aka confident) with digital transformation if that is your sweet spot that you can bring to the table.
It could be more the strategic CFO who’s worked across multiple departments prior and who focuses on optimising customer experience whilst optimising a tight operation but isn’t as well versed in the technical and legal details if that’s what your strength suit is.
See the difference?
Other factors you can look at are:
Maturity level of a business, start-up vs ASX listed company or level of knowledge in the organisation based on their growth strategy
Regulation level of the industry (highly regulated like Government entities, law and finance vs not regulated like marketing, coaching or recruitment)
Delivery of your expertise (eg strategic vs operational, tailored vs unique program etc)
This exercise will help you with your value proposition, aka your message that you wan tto get across. This is the concept behind being the Trusted Authority: being able to act as the translator of 2 worlds, aka your area of expertise and the world your decision maker lives in. That means that you need to not only be fluent in your own language aka your expertise but also in your ideal decision maker’s. Trust comes from commonality and in the second we see or experience something that is familiar (and that includes hearing or reading familiar words), we have more trust.
Think of everyday decisions let’s say you want to hire a website developer for your own website and have had nothing to do with tech prior. When the most qualified, experienced, and professional developer asks if you prefer CSS, java or NodeJS – how would you feel? You probably think they speak another language … because they actually do.
Whereas if someone says ‘how much interactivity do you want on your site? Do you want to sell easily and safely as well or is it more to rank high on google?’ Now this is simple language and addresses the real topics that are interesting and relevant for decision making.
One aspect of the specialisation and positioning that you choose is viability, meaning: is there enough demand for what you offer. This comes down to doing some market research – ideally a combination of desk research and you physically asking people.
I go in depth how to conduct market research and validate your idea in my Trusted Authority program because it’s an important factor to consider when you want to build your reputation around it. When no-one cares about it, you won’t get far.
Two of my all-time fav sources for research are: Amazon (I always check the top 50 books and see what their angle is on a topic) and Online Courses (incl LinkedIn learning, Udemy and Co). If there is nothing out there, it can be a sign that there isn’t any demand for it. Remember- people don’t necessarily want something completely new. They want something that is familiar to them but has a new twist on it. Take the iPhone when it launched first: whilst the concept was new, the icons used to showcase the functions were familiar: we use the bin for deleted items, the camera for the camera, note pad for the notes section and so on.
However, this requires a lot more time to cover all the bases, but it is part of your positioning exercises to also research the market.
So here’s your homework:
Draw a cross with 4 equal quadrants and select two relevant parameters. Where on the chart would you sit?
Next step is to conduct a competitor analysis and identify how different your positioning and offer is in the first place and also define what makes it even more distinct.
What is your competitive advantage that you can now leverage?
It might be a certain tool you use, a certain delivery method that is unique, maybe a distinct approach you have to solve a problem or a unique insight based on your background that not many would have.
In my program, the Trusted Authority I actually share 21 ways how you can differentiate yourself. I might do a stand-alone episode on those as I’m sure, it will spark even more ideas how you can set yourself apart.
Biggest take out is: there are gazzilion ways to be different because in the end- every topic, every method, every ‘secret system’ has been discussed before. However, it hasn’t been discussed and covered in the way you do it, so that’s already what makes it unique.
In our next session, we will discuss credibility and how you can heighten it quickly to add more trust in your capabilities.