The First Rule Of Thought Leadership

The internet is full of self-proclaimed thought leaders who share their views on just about anything. However, how do you actually become a thought leader and can you call yourself a thought leader? We’ll get back to the answer to those questions later but first let me direct your attention to a post by Bruce Kasanoff titled “Are You A Visionary Guru Thought Leader?”. If you simply ask yourself the question in the title I think you know the answer already. This leads me to “the first rule of thought leadership” which is… 

"You Do Not Talk About Thought Leadership"

Being a thought leader is when other people say here is someone with something on his or her mind which is worth listening to and which brings new insights to a topic, a trend, an industry etc. This could lead to a few more rules when describing thought leadership. 

1. You DO NOT talk about thought leadership
2. You DO NOT proclaim yourself as a thought leader
3. If someone else calls you a thought leader you DO NOT proclaim yourself as a thought leader
4. If everyone calls you a thought leader you nod and smile and continue doing what you’re doing
5. If you want to become a thought leader you need to start putting others ahead of yourself 

This post is not intended to be a manifesto of thought leadership as no one person can claim to write that but rather I invite everyone to vet above rules and suggest new ones so we together can co-create a shared understanding of what thought leadership is. 

Being a thought leader is never a goal

People, who by others are called thought leaders, never stated this as their goal. Rather their goal was to help other people be more successful or escape miserable situations like being out of a job, being poor etc. History is filled with thought leaders but there is no one list where you can find them all because as much as a thought leader is someone who has been recognized by the many, thought leadership is also something personal. Two people reading or hearing the same thing might not draw the same conclusions and one will accept and find wisdom whereas the other will reject and move on. We see this in many aspects of our lives such as religion, politics, business etc. Especially on LinkedIn, you will find thought leaders in bundles and in particular when it comes to job searching. I try myself to give advice based on my experience but I always put a disclaimer  on my advice because I know finding a job is not like math where there is one correct answer. So you can either accept or reject the advice or use in conjunction with different advice that you have received. Even people like Liz Ryan or J.T. O’Donnell whom I would consider as thought leaders within job searching might have their opponents who believe in different ways of securing a job. 

“Thought Leader” is not a protected title 

Everyone cannot call themselves a doctor because you need to have a certain education and experience but there’s no one protecting the title of being a “Thought Leader”. Therefore, I think it’s important that we set some rules to guide us in determining who we think are thought leaders and to guide us to the best advice available. Who do you see as thought leaders and do you think we need rules? 

I hope this gave you some food for thought in terms of how you see yourself and how you will read advice shared on LinkedIn or other platforms in the future. Of course, someone doesn’t have to be a thought leader to give good advice but there are those who consistently give good advice and help people to a better life. They deserve to be called thought leaders but if you ask them they would always deny this title! As always like, comment or share to let me know what you think! You can also continue reading below for some of, what I think, is the best advice I have shared in 2015. 

Transform Or Be Disrupted And Die

Whatever You Do, Don’t Innovate

Who Should You Connect With And Who To Follow?

Why You Need To Land A Job Before You Graduate

Do This And Double Your Interview Invitations

How To Become A Better Public Speaker

How To Use Social Media For Career Building

Hi, My Name Is. The Powerful Self-Introduction 

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the Regional Finance Business Partner for Maersk Line North Europe and is working with the transformation of Finance and business on a daily basis. Anders has participated in several transformation processes amongst others helping Maersk Drilling to go Beyond Budgeting and transformed a finance team from Bean-counters to Business Partners. He would love the chance to collaborate with you on your own transformation processes to help you stay out of disruption. If you are looking for more advice on how to get the most of LinkedIn Anders also has a few tips to share as well as if you want help in your job search. Don’t be shy! Let’s get in touch and start helping each other.