Thought Leadership – Random Thoughts

Corporate leadership is not about motivation and incentives, but it’s about thought leadership and mentorship. Who is a thought leader? A thought leader is an influencer who offers unique guidance, inspires innovation, and influences others. Thought leadership is not a corporate buzz word, and I hope it doesn’t slip into the hands of tiresome people talking from insincere and narrow knowledge. Jake Dunlap, Founder CEO of Skaled Consulting, held that thought leaders draw on the past, analyze the present and illuminate the future to create a comprehensive, unique, and impactful view of their area of expertise. This summarizes thought leadership well enough. A thought leader brings a point of view to the forefront that cannot be got from anywhere else. A thought will not only have great ideas but also the conviction to express them. Thought leaderships are not produced overnight, and it's a lot more than one or two blogs or musings posted on social media networks. Knowledge, insight, and valued perception are the bases of thought leadership. After all, experience comes with time, patience, hard work, and willingness to learn and absorb information and knowledge. Leaders who observe and connect information from several sources are generally well-positioned to create ideas that are informed guidance. 

Content on any topic can be easily found from millions of knowledge papers published on the web. By re-hashing and re-producing available content, you can produce an informative blog but cannot become a thought leader. Only innovative, educating, visible, and credible content makes a genuine thought leader. Thought leaders are forerunners who are at the top of their game and eminently in a position to inspire and influence those around them. Now let’s talk about what is innovative, educating, visible, and credible content in thought leadership. 

So, what is innovative in thought leadership? As I had said, it’s not about reproducing already published content. But it is about a deep dive into the knowledge available and to make inquest and validation by research and discussion to come out with an unexplored idea. Being innovative should not be confused with being unique in unexplored areas but coming out with the best answers. 

The aim of a thought leader is mostly not sales or lead generation, it is mostly about the product and services and the people. Their engagement with the product is more forceful than engaging with customers. This is achieved by the consistent open sharing of high-quality content. It means engaging and educating in knowledge share and ideas. A thought should carefully avoid self-promotion as this can lead to loss of audiences. 

To be a thought leader it’s important to be seen, heard, and read. Visibility is therefore a dominant feature of thought leadership. To be visible as an influencer, you have to present and big forums and be in constant touch with audiences too.

Being credible is also very central to be a thought leader. Therefore, be sure that all your content is backed by valid data and verifiable information. Even you have a point of view it must be reinforced by verifiable data.

Thought leaders are trail-blazers who are un-matched in their profession and are in a convincing and credible position. They earn goodwill for themselves and the company, the product, or the cause they serve. The goodwill brings trust to their companies for more businesses and facilities.

To conclude let me quote Dr. William Edwards Deming who was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant, and had said, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion”.