In the summer of 2022, I was a panel member during a discussion on thought leadership during one of my employer’s innovation fireside chats. I had been asked to join the panel a few weeks prior on the topic of “thought leadership”. At the time, I wasn’t even sure what thought leadership was. I assumed it was some new business buzzword that was being thrown around on LinkedIn and other social platforms.
What is Thought Leadership?
My first task in being a part of this panel was to figure out what thought leadership even meant, and how am I a thought leader. With a few strokes of the keyboard and some Google-Fu, I found a good definition of thought leaders from Denise Brosseau, CEO of Thought Leadership Labs.
“Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They become the trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas; turn ideas into reality, and know and show how to replicate their success.”
Denise Brosseau
What is a Thought Leader
Now that I know what thought leadership is, I need to figure out how I fit into that category. What did I do that helped me stand out in such a way that I was considered to be a thought leader in my field? I never sought out to be in this category, I just do what I do because I enjoy my work, have a good work ethic, and like to solve problems.
Thankfully, some of the panel questions were provided ahead of time so we would have some time to prepare answers and not fill the time with lots of “Um” and “Uhh” as we contemplated them. Below are the questions as well as the thoughts I shared with our company.
Panel Discussion Questions
What does it mean to you to be a Thought Leader?
A thought leader is an expert in a particular field or topic who is sought out as a trusted source for innovative ideas based upon their prior experiences and expertise. A thought leader also can serve as a coach or mentor to others in that field.
Note: glad I had Googled what a thought leader was before this question and could put that into my own words.
What habits do you personally have that help you build Thought Leadership?
I “tinker”. I try new things, whether it be the latest database application or learning a new programming language, I get my “hands dirty”. Whatever I tinker with may not have specific application to my day job at the time, but it could be in the future. By having a little experience with something new, I have another tool to pull out of the toolbox if the job needs it.
I read newsletters, LinkedIn articles, and other social platforms for what’s trending in tech or business. A couple of my favorites are IT Brew and TLDR.
Network inside and outside the company. Find others internally that you can connect with doing similar work or even polar opposite work. Connect with clients to see how they’re solving problems internally. Listen to how others describe what they do. How do they solve problems? What pain point are they describing that they’ve not quite figured out yet? How can I help them?
How is Thought Leadership different in a virtual world?
Even with all the technological advancements in meeting applications, there is still something about gathering the team in a room, and “whiteboarding” is a problem. In virtual meetings, even with video, there’s non-verbal interaction missing. We’re all very easily distracted – email notifications popping up, instant messages, other people at home, the dog barking at the delivery guy, and a plethora of other distractions in today’s remote work environment.
All of those make it harder to be a thought leader because we are more connected to technology, but more disconnected to people than ever before. A good thought leader not only replies on personal experience and expertise but also on their ability to listen to problems that others are trying to solve. Sitting in our homes all day and missing the “office chatter” makes being that helping hand or listening ear challenging. We have to proactively communicate with others – make the time for regular team meetings or informal coffee chats. Call the project manager you haven’t talked to in several weeks.
As managers, how do you encourage Thought Leadership in your teams?
As leaders, our job is not to always have the perfect answer to every problem. We serve as the coach of the team and get the team all moving in the same direction toward our common goal. To encourage thought leadership in our teams we have to facilitate the things that we do as thought leaders for our teams.
I frequently bring a problem or challenge to the team and get their ideas on how we could solve it. During the discussion, I push the team to stretch their ideas and see how we can move from a tactical solution to the challenge toward something “bigger”. What crazy, off-the-wall idea can we throw at this issue?
During our team meetings, team members present what they’ve worked on recently or what solution to a problem they’ve seen that’s cool. Facilitating communication between our team members and across teams goes a long way toward building up other Thought Leaders.
What are strategies that you use to integrate your new ideas into solving client problems?
Listen to them. Don’t stare at them while thinking of the next words that will come out of your mouth. Listen to your client. In the best-case scenario, they point-blank tell you the problem they need help with. More than likely they describe all the symptoms of the problem without identifying the true problem. Only when we truly listen to our clients can we understand their needs and then present our ideas in the context of how we can help them with their “pain points.”
Look around. My primary role is “the data guy” and right now that world is ever-changing and evolving. By staying up-to-date on what’s new, what’s trending, or what companies have merged, I can keep a pulse on the overall industry and how that impacts the clients I work with. How do these things help our clients? While the shiny new thing is super cool, does it help move the needle for our clients? If it could, how do I effectively share my vision with them so they can see it too?
How can you start today to build Thought Leadership?
The question answers itself – start. Simply start. Start reading articles in an area you are passionate about. Sign up for newsletters to keep up-to-date on your industry; however, be selective on how many, they can get out of hand with the emails!
Brainstorm solutions to current client problems. Pick something small and sketch out a solution to discuss with your manager.
Take a class, either in person or virtually. Udemy is a great resource for learning new things. YouTube has millions of hours of content; however, be selective here too.
Don’t wait for things to come to you to solve. Take initiative – always be on the lookout for ways to innovate or present new ideas.
Wrapping Up
Thought Leadership isn’t a certification or degree earned through hours of classes or passing an exam; however, it does take time to develop. Some of the great thought leaders I’ve worked with in my career didn’t have a million certifications or fancy degrees, they were looked upon as leaders because they drove innovation. Not innovation specifically in a technological sense, but they facilitated the growth of new ideas.
Becoming a Thought Leader is akin to building a snowball. Start small with a little idea and as you roll the snowball over, it picks up more snow and grows larger. Repeat. Before long a snowball has grown exponentially larger; however, unless you first start rolling the snowball, it never grows. Just start.
Eric Heilman 