Be a Thought Leader (It's Not What You Thought)
(Walks up to podium.)
(Adjusts microphone.)
(Clears throat.)
Today, I want to talk about ... thought leaders.
(Dives for cover.)
(Peeks out from behind podium.)
(Stands and brushes shirt off.)
Cool, thanks for not throwing stuff at me. Glad you're open to today's idea.
Let's cook this turkey.
Just the thought of "thought leaders" triggers a quick reaction in most people. Some hear the term and merely shrug. Sure. What about thought leadership? Others hear the term and shake their head. Not my goal. Not who I trust, either. Still others react with a bit more, let's say, spice? Not the sweet-and-mellow pumpkin currently permeating my home area of Boston, either. Some people have a real spicy-spice takes over just hearing the term "thought leader."
For years, I was one of them. A lot of "thought leaders" clash with my values. Many seem to trade in the grimy tactics purely used to get attention, without much genuine substance behind it. Others seem to be outright charlatans—hucksters hucking their simple secrets and pushing their overly polished personal brands our way. Blah. Not my style. Not for me.
However, if we can look past the perception that causes some dry-heaving and instead redefine the term, maybe it becomes more useful. I'd like to try that today because (deep breath) I think YOU should be a thought leader.
(Covers face with hands.)
(Peeks out from between two fingers.)
(Let's arms drop again.)
Alright. Thanks for keeping the rotten tomatoes squarely in their crate for a minute longer.
To reclaim the meaning of the term thought leader, let's start in a safe place with something you and I both love: storytelling.
* * *
We tell a rather specific kind of story in our line of work. They're kinda like Trojan horses. Our goal isn't just to tell our story but rather deliver our message, impart an insight, and help others. At the end of doing so, we want to see an action from them: subscribe, listen, read, watch, buy, share.
When we teach others, we naturally face friction and resistance. Others have competing priorities or existing head trash or objections that flare up to defend the status quo of their work or lives. It's hard to convince others to change something. We bump up against their defenses as we do. That's when we decide to wheel up this carefully carved Trojan horse to their tightly guarded gates. We can't force our way in. We need them to volunteer to receive what we have to offer.
"I'm here with a gift!" you say, giant wooden horse nuzzling at the stone gates.
"I love gifts!" they say. BOOM, CLANG, CREAAAAAK. The gates start to open. We can hear their internal gears turning as they begin to drop their defenses. The gates swing open. No more resistance. No more objections.
We're in.
My Creator Kitchen cofounder Melanie Deziel sometimes calls this approach "veggie chicken nuggets." When your kid doesn't want to eat vegetables, fine, give them a nugget. Little do they know, this one comes with nutrition inside.
Gimme.
The thing is, unlike the examples of Trojan horses and veggie chicken nuggets, our stories aren't trickery. Sorcery, sure. Magic, absolutely. But our stories are not bait-and-switch (though I would argue the people tarnishing the notion of "thought leader" are very clickbait-and-switchy. Instead, our stories are meant to open people up to new possibilities, clearing away limiting beliefs and other head trash so something better can take its place.
This, my friend, is the role of a thought leader. Whereas others push-push-push, you're invited in. While others demand, you inspire. Your competitors and peers spend all their time trying to influence how people buy, but you understand how to influence something more powerful: how people think.
In doing so, you're better equipped to get past their defenses to deliver something that sticks and stays. In this way, a (good) thought leader combines genuine value (insights they impart) with a more memorable, original communication approach (stories capable of connecting personally, so that others accept those insights).
What a thought leader knows matters, but it's really what they say and how they say which makes that fact clear to others.
I want people with substance and a desire to serve others to become today's most trusted voices. I want YOU to be a thought leader (covers face with hands briefly). But that damn term and the perception it triggers.
Even if we can get beyond the smug, self-aggrandizing voices online, what even IS a thought leader? One who leads through thoughts? Isn't that all leaders? How does anyone lead WITHOUT thoughts? (Come to think of it, I've had a few bosses...)
Forget the self-aggrandizing idea that "my thoughts are brilliant and therefore I will use my thoughts to lead." Instead, consider a new use for the term "thought" in thought leader: your job is to improve the thoughts of others. You don't "lead others with my thoughts." Your job is to help others think differently and better. Your job is to influence thinking, which in turn influences action. Most people struggle to influence action precisely because they don't, won't, or can't influence anyone's thoughts first.
A true thought leader doesn't wait until the last few steps in the buyer's journey to serve the audience. They don't just leap out and shout, "Pick me!" at the last mile. Instead, they run the whole race, which yes, makes their own cause easier to grow. The fact that very few experts, entrepreneurs, and execs seem to realize that is causing marketing to break down for so many people right now. I've called this the road race problem.
As a thought leader, part of your role is to improve how others think. Help them think differently. Help them see things better. The rest gets easier—for them and for you.
Let's use a simple example involving a friend of mine who talks about content marketing and writing in her work. Let's call this friend Ann.
Because that's her real name.
My friend Ann Handley is a thought leader. She's the author of Everybody Writes, and also an amazing repeat guest on my podcast where we worked out new writing and stories together.
Ann focuses her work upstream. She tells stories, she imparts insights, and she informs and improves how we as content creators and marketers think about writing (among other things). To earn a living, Ann sells keynote speeches. That's an offer capable of monetizing thought leadership.
But now imagine if she coached execs on their writing. She'd have a much easier time of winning highly qualified and very aligned clients because, first, those clients were influenced by the way Ann sees writing. They now see it the same way, and by the time they hire Ann for this (fictional, for this example only) service, they're a perfect fit—and likely don't even vet other competitors. They just hire Ann.
Now imagine Ann offers freelance writing services. She writes pieces for her clients (again, in this fictional example). She'd similarly have an easier time of finding leads and clients, all of whom would be better to work with. Because she focuses upstream, on how people think, not just "how to write real good: 17 tips for executives."
Almost every freelancer who sells deliverables fails to focus on the thinking of their buyers. Coaches are a little better, as they advise and think in strategies or philosophies, but they often get stuck narrowly focusing their marketing on the choice few topics surrounding their service, i.e. the last mile of their buyers' journey to hire a coach.
Ann does not. Your favorite keynote speaker or author does not. In my work, I try really hard to NOT focus on "6 steps to design a stronger speech" or "how to create a premise" until I've first colored your thinking on the ideas of speeches and premises—whether inside those two pieces or because much more of my content leading you there is meant to improve how you think first.
The thing is, this is NOT about audience size. Thought leadership is not about reach. It's about resonance. It's not about how many see your work but rather how effective you are at improving their thinking. That's what I hope I've made clear: this is an ability, a craft, an area of focus. This is not dependent on giant reach, nor an air of self-seriousness or ego, nor an obsession with personal brand and pristine social media account design.
Thought leaders help others think differently and better.
Do you? Maybe you should.
I think you should.
Ann Handley is an effective thought leader because she influences how we think about writing. If she chose to sell other things behind that, she'd have an easier time than her peers of finding and closing good clients. Whether or not she offers those "how-to" offers is beside the point of this piece. Every business is easier to grow when buyers think the way you do. So what are you waiting for? Start helping them think better. Consider that the alternative is allowing your competitors to do that work instead, or worse, those grimy "thought leaders" we dislike.
As you craft your IP, consider the tipping point between smart expert sharing content and thought leader inspiring action. It's right in the middle. You likely share lots of methodology-focused content. That's your advice. But how much of that is meant to improve how someone thinks? THAT will then improve how they act.
I still cringe hearing the phrase, but am I a "thought leader" in my work? Are you a thought leader in yours? Maybe. But now I'm convinced:
The label doesn't matter. The actions do.
I am very much trying to help my audience think differently and think better. Happily, this also makes marketing and sales easier. By the time you arrive at that point with me, we're already running buddies in the race you're trying to win.
No more holding back. No more cringing at the term. Take it back from the hucksters and the self-centered social media avatars out there.
You're already capable of improving how your audience thinks. You're already doing work to shift their perspectives, stir hearts, and engage minds. If we understand the term, then we can only arrive at one conclusion: you're already a thought leader.
Very well.
So be a thought leader.