Thought Leadership’s Post

I have bad news... You can't copy and paste someone else's thought leadership. No one else on the internet has a foolproof model for how YOU should talk about YOUR own work. When I start working with a new client, they're usually pretty focused on other people. They crave examples of how everyone else is showing up online. They send me a ton of links and screenshots: "I want to sound like THIS person." But when we focus our attention outside of ourselves, we're avoiding the true work of thought leadership: reflection. "What are you working on and thinking about? And who knows about it?" ^^This is the prompt I've been using lately to help people think about their thought leadership. "Thought leadership" is really just a puffed-up way of saying "talking about your work." Take a break from watching everyone else, and spend your time examining your own ideas. #thoughtleadership #reflection

Thought Leadership. It's a term that we've heard a LOT, but what does it actually mean? Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia defines it as an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded. Put simply, thought leadership is adding value to your network by sharing your unique experience or viewpoint. Hatch has empowered our colleagues to identify and take action on what thought leadership is to them. Today, I was given the opportunity to speak on the topic to 132 of my teammates from around the globe on how to harness their own unique personality and perspective as a thought leader. In fact, this post is part of their homework. My call to action for my colleagues and my network is to use this post as a jumping off point or addition to your thought leader journey. Comment below or repost with your answer to the following and hopefully you will find like-minded people who you were not previously connected with! Question: What is the subject you would like to share with your network and what makes your perspective unique? I'll add my answer in the comments. Sorry I couldn't get all of you in a picture!

This is a terrific article. If you think you know what it takes to build a meaningful thought leadership platform, think again.

The Rise of Thought Leadership or Thoughtless Leadership? In today’s digital age, the term “thought leadership” has become ubiquitous. Every day, we see countless posts aiming to inspire, challenge, or reshape our thinking. But as we scroll through our feeds, it’s worth asking: Are we truly witnessing the rise of thought leadership, or has it evolved into thoughtless leadership? Real thought leadership is about more than just sharing opinions or repackaging popular ideas. It’s about providing genuine insights, challenging conventional wisdom, and offering solutions that drive meaningful progress. It requires depth, research, and a clear understanding of the topics at hand. However, there’s a growing trend where content is driven more by the desire for visibility than by the pursuit of value. The focus shifts from delivering substantial insights to gaining likes, shares, and comments. This shift can dilute the quality of discourse and lead to the spread of superficial ideas dressed up as profound wisdom. As professionals, it’s our responsibility to contribute to the conversation thoughtfully. Whether we’re creating content or engaging with it, let’s prioritize quality over quantity. Let’s ensure that our contributions are rooted in knowledge, experience, and a genuine desire to lead positive change in our industries. True thought leadership isn’t just about being heard—it’s about making a difference. What are your thoughts? How do you distinguish between genuine thought leadership and content that’s simply designed to attract attention? Let’s discuss. #Leadership #ThoughtLeadership #ProfessionalGrowth #QualityContent

What’s the opposite of thought leadership? I've come to believe it's manipulation, fear-mongering, and shaming. Yesterday, I shared how Dr David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness explains the development of thought leadership practices I've seen in authentic experts who want to serve their audience It also explains why some attempts at thought leadership feel arrogant, presumptuous, empty, or icky. 😑🙈🤢😖💔 For example, I recently encountered two thoughtful posts, one by Flavia Barbat, the other by Noah Lekas, about what thought leadership is and isn’t, and why they love it. (Links in the comments). But in the comments on their posts, some folks reacted strongly AGAINST the idea of thought leadership. 'Who are these people who are trying to lead our thoughts?!' 'People don’t want to be led anymore—they want to be inspired!!' I believe these reactions are in response to the proliferation of self-proclaimed "thought leaders" who aren’t practicing thought leadership at all. Thought leadership comes from the state of reason (blue). But most self-proclaimed "thought leaders" are operating in pride (yellow). And even worse, they often lower levels of consciousness like anger, desire, fear, guilt, and even shame to manipulate their audience for their own gain. They're practicing power over.🫳 Thought leadership is the exact opposite. It’s servant leadership using reason. You’re providing your audience with meaningful insights and empowering them to decide for themselves what to do. It’s power to. 🫴 That’s why I don’t like to refer to thought leaders. We’re all people, and some days we show up at the lower levels of consciousness. I prefer to focus on thought leadership practices—the things anyone can do to keep themselves accountable to showing up at higher levels of consciousness in service of society.

A common mistake with thought leaders is to produce a single piece of content and say, “Voila! We’re done!” Thought leadership requires a regular cadence. Like any marketing program, consistency is critical. Some people never start because they feel they lack a winning formula or their organization is reducing investment in tough economic times (even though now is the best time to double down). There are better and worse ways to produce thought leadership. The best ways are to: 🔹 Be thoughtful and purposeful about it 🔹 Consider your audience 🔹 Pay attention to what others in your competitive landscape are saying about the topic, so you have the context to add something new to the conversation 🔹 Focus on issues and trends instead of products 🔹 Provide others with meaningful observations or advice they can apply in their daily lives What doesn't work is the opposite of the above. Thought leadership is about advancing or starting a conversation, not writing an advertisement. Learn more with this great primer: https://loom.ly/5Ou2wIc

What is a thought leader (and are you one)? A new client said something interesting the other day: “I have internal resistance to being a ‘thought leader.’ I struggle with including myself in that group.” The first thing I said (with love) was, “Get over it.” We laughed. 😂 Then, “Okay, it’s time to own your thought leadership because: 1. “It’s taking what you know, who you serve, and your “special sauce”—and expressing it—because it will help people with their business and in their lives. 2. “Your thought leadership is based on YOUR years of experience, education, failures, triumphs, insights, investment, wisdom, time, energy, effort, talents—and everything in between. (It’s your “special sauce.”) 3. “It exemplifies your expertise, authority, capability, wisdom, and leadership. 4. “Thought leadership will help you create a community that’s committed to your vision because they trust you and you’re serving them. 5. “It helps people to take action because you’re offering them new insights and perspectives while providing a path to success. 6. “Those you serve will become the voice of your business and bring a flood of new and repeat business to your door. 7. “Thought leadership will help you cultivate powerful relationships so you can move new ideas and possibilities from person to person, throughout organizations, around the world, and into the future.” (The conversation wrapped up with two big smiles.) 😃 😃 Do you consider yourself a thought leader? If you’re not sure, then I invite you to take this 40-second quiz: → Do people understand your “special sauce”? → Do you inspire new ways of thinking? → Do you create relationships based on trust? → Do you turn my ideas into success and show others how to replicate that success? → Are you inspiring change and creating a legacy of positive influence? So... are you a thought leader? (I would say yes!) ↙️↘ ♻️ If this resonates, please comment and repost. ♻️ 🧡 Heads up! A big part of thought leadership is your story, so make sure to join our masterclass October 15th. See my FEATURED section for details. 🧡 📚 🧡 🙂 Photo by Yamon Figurs on Unsplash

🌟 Unlock the power of thought leadership and inspire new heights in your business or field! 💡 Become a trusted resource, influence your market, and lead your industry with innovative ideas and valuable insights. Learn how to build credibility, authority, and influence through the content you create and share. Start your journey towards thought leadership today! 🚀 #ThoughtLeadership #Innovation #IndustryLeader #BusinessSuccess #Inspiration

👉 Thought Leadership is quite a widely used term though not well-defined in practitioner literature. We found an article that helps us all understand: 1️⃣ What is Thought Leadership? 2️⃣ What tensions will we encounter when building a thought leading organizational profile? 3️⃣ What research should we know of? 📖 We encourage you to read the article: https://lnkd.in/dcaVK5i

Thought Leadership is a frequently used term but what does it really mean, what do thought leaders do and what are the expectations you need to meet you make an impact? #ThoughtLeadership #CompetitiveDifferentiation https://lnkd.in/gRz9tuFs