Reframing thought leadership as "lived leadership"

If you’re ready to build a platform to break down the way things have always been in your field, industry, or community, it all starts with imagining a new future.  

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I develop a Thought Leadership Clarity Course, dropping on June 7th. It’s a slow study. It’s a go-at-your-own-pace deep dive into your own foundational personal brand message. It’s an interactive love letter to your deeper why and the world you're working to build. 

It contains the questions and exercises I go through with my 1:1 clients to craft their message to stand out as they stand up for their mission. 

Click here to join the waitlist, and I’ll send you the first episode of this audio course ahead of time, at no cost.  ❤️

How do you start a thought leadership journey?

Many of you have reached out to say, “OK I’m ready to start sharing my story and perspective. It’s scary AF. But I need and want to do this. I’ve been through some stuff, and came out the other side of it, and I think if I start building a platform around this, I can really make a difference.” 

I love to hear that because you CAN. And you will. But it’s hard to know where to even start. 

I want to re-imagine and re-frame thought leadership, not just as a marketing strategy but really a way of being, where we consistently use our passion, lived experience, and credibility as FUEL to build trust and community as we imagine and shape the future together, for the better. 

It’s about being of service to others and freely giving away the information we have learned through our lived experience. Rather than ‘thought leadership’, I like to think of it as “lived leadership”.  You become a walking manifestation of the change you’re working towards. 

If you have been in the trenches, working close to the problem you are trying to solve, or if you personally have gone through the thing that you’re working on eradicating,  you can lean into lived leadership to educate people about your cause and unique solution. 

How to dream your vision statement, or north star

Dreaming is a human impulse that drifts us towards a creative new future. By sharing your fresh and innovative ideas, you can envision something new, rather than recycling ideas of “how we’ve always done it.”

Your vision statement, or north star, is so important because it illuminates your pathway forward. It can inform how you communicate, where you spend your time, who you spend it with, and even the channels you use to become a trusted, go-to person in your niche.  

Once that vision statement materializes from the wispy vibes you have in your brain or your gut into an articulated, written down phrase, it’s like making a commitment. And one of my dear mentors, Faith Strong, told me this quote by Goethe that I think about all the time. 

“At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires to assist you.”

When I work with my clients, the vision statement is the first thing we work on. Occasionally, there’s some resistance there because a vision is so damn big. People wonder if they can go down a different, quicker route to get more visible, like just running a paid ad campaign. 

If you don’t know where you’re going, what message are you even going to put out there? You’re essentially just buying attention, but you can’t buy trust.  Again, the outcome of thought leadership is trust. 

I want to share some incredible visions by some incredible humans: 

Kari Ginsburg, CCMP, PCC - I’m committed to inspiring a new generation of unapologetic glitterbombs ready to reclaim what makes them “too much.”

LaTresse Snead - I’m committed to re-imagining nonprofit workplaces that work for everyone.

Jordan Gill - I’m committed to a world where underestimated business owners can build highly successful companies while prioritizing a work life balance

Amee Gray - I’m committed to detangling the web of addiction treatment access so every family can find hope and heal.

Vanina Hochman, MA, LMFT - I’m committed to a world where adolescents are fully connected with themselves, their families, and their cultures.

Keshia Dorsey (Adeniyi) - I’m committed to a world where “broken families” don’t exist, because the violent systems that shatter biological families have been abolished - leading to healthy, whole, thriving communities and bonded bloodlines. 

Laura Mae Lindo, M.Ed, PhD - I’m committed to creating a future where we imagine big dreams and build them piece by piece, inch by inch, as we move the world forward towards a more loving and caring space. 

Your vision can serve as a filtration system

Maybe there’s a method or tactic that you’ve always done, but in actuality, it’s at odds with your vision. 

Like – maybe you’re the leader of a nonprofit organization with a vision of ending food waste. Is a frivolous gala, where dozens dinners go to waste, the right method? 

Or maybe you’re the leader of a coalition promoting equality. Is a tiered sponsorship for your conference the right method?  

Or maybe you’re an advocate for fair wages. Is speaking on a paid conference panel where you’re only paid in exposure, the right method? 

Or would that method not even exist, if your vision that you’re working towards, came true?   

This was such an a-ha moment for me. Do your actions reflect the new world you’re building, or are they remnants from the current, broken world that will keep you in the exact same place? 

Or on the other hand, maybe there’s a method that you’re not engaging with because it makes you nervous. For me, it was always going Live or doing videos. I mean, there’s a reason I started a podcast and not a YouTube channel. LOL. 

But then my friend Rachel Bearbower 🌱 asked me to do an Insta live with her. My friend Ché Elizaga Castro asked me to do a video for her platform. And my immediate reaction is always NO to videos, because I really hate doing them! Love these women, hate being on camera. 

But then, pause. I wait. And I realize this method, or activity, is leading our world closer to our shared visions for the future.  They are literally asking me to build community with them and inviting me into their circle. Where there’s room for me.

OK, I guess I’ll suck it up. Growing through that discomfort is part of the work. The new world you’re building can't be born without contractions. When you change, it all changes with you. 

Your vision is ALSO a filtration system because the people who just aren’t for you, about you, and for the world you’re trying to make will filter out.  

There are plenty of people I’m connected with who are AGAINST my vision. They don’t want the boardroom table to be dismantled. And of course when I say boardroom table, I’m really conjuring up the imagery of – competition and exclusion. Overwork, urgency, perfectionism, quantity over quality.  Burnout. 

Some people have a different experience of that table because it currently works great for them. And I can bless and release them.  

But a powerful vision will help bring the right friends, fans, and followers onboard to help create this new future with you. When you put your vision out there, people show up to invest and make it happen together. They invite you to their podcast, refer clients, ask to collaborate on summits, and it all starts happening exponentially over time.  

Your vision will evolve, and flow, and change, and transform. That’s OK – that’s life. And I noticed a change in my own work when I pulled it out of the ephemeral and onto paper.  

Mapping out your constellation

Your vision is a north star. It guides your path.  But your star fits into a greater constellation. Constellations and sky maps have helped people navigate the world for thousands of years. By putting bright stars together in recognizable patterns, those stars are more easily found in the night's sky. Assigning meaning and mythology to them makes them even more recognizable. 

Your constellation is made up of your adjacent community (with aligned visions) and the bigger galaxy of those you have not yet met, but can actually make your vision shine even brighter. By knowing where you are aligned in relationship to this greater constellation (your potential community and strategic partners), you can further your work, amplify your voice, and shine brighter. 

And lastly, on a daily basis, hourly basis, sometimes second by second basis, take the brave action of embodying your vision together – especially when it’s hard or goes against how we’ve always done things – because that what it takes to build trust as we imagine and shape the future together, for the better. 

This blog was originally published on the Lumos Marketing website.

P.S. Are you on the waitlist for the Thought Leadership Clarity Course? Click here to join the waitlist, and I’ll send you the first episode of this audio course ahead of time, at no cost.