I come across a lot of people that I consider would be great Thought Leaders. These people have expertise in a certain subject matter …so they know their stuff. What’s more, they have a passion for the topic combined with valuable experiences that would be worth sharing.

Common Hesitations

When the subject of Thought Leadership comes up however, I hear the following common hesitations.

“I don’t want to be one of those people that just post crap on social media.”

Great! Don’t be, as they are not Thought Leaders.

“I don’t want to be someone that just calls themselves a Thought Leader.”

Even better. You don’t get to decide if you are a Thought Leader, other people do.

“I don’t want to be seen as a self-promoter”.

This one is a bit trickier because I truly believe that if you are adding value to others then it is not self-promotion. But even though you are adding value, some people may see it as self-promotion.

For example, last year on world Gratitude day I gave away my latest eBook for free to honour my Dad. I had someone respond asking me to unsubscribe as it was not about gratitude. They believed it was purely self-promotion. Did that hurt a bit? No… it hurt a lot. I spent way too many hours swearing out loud and fuming over it. But the one quote I have lived my life by is:

‘I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.’

Another common hesitation is:

“I’m not sure if what I have to say about my area of expertise is good enough.”

This is a valid point because the realty is unless you have done a lot of work on developing and thinking about your ideas, then potentially your content is not good enough.

Becoming a Thought Leader

I read a lot of articles about “The 5 factors of Thought Leadership” or “Three easy ways to be a Thought Leader”. First of all, there is no easy way to be a Thought Leader. I find these articles misleading because they advise the reader to post articles on social media, speak at events, share relevant content, etc. These are all valid aspects, but it feels very much like putting the cart before the horse.

What these articles often miss is that you need to do a lot of work developing your ideas and concepts before they will be ready for you to share. This ensures that they won’t be purely about self-promotion. You won’t be one of those people just posting crap and calling yourself a Thought Leader. If your content and ideas are well developed, others will see this and label you as a Thought Leader.

Thought Leadership is not for everyone. But if you have some expertise combined with a good amount of passion, courage to share your ideas and energy to do some hard thinking, then maybe Thought Leadership is for you. Besides adding value to others, it can also open up some amazing opportunities for you.

If you are interested in developing the thinking and ideas behind your Thought Leadership, the following options may appeal to you.

2-Day Thought Leadership Intensive – Melbourne 28^th and 29^th April

This is ideal for people still working in a company who want to raise their profile and influence. It is also suitable for those who are thinking about or have just started their own practice. You can download the brochure to find out more about the program.

Thought Leaders Business school – Australia and New Zealand.

This is a 12-month program ideal for people already running their own practice but who really want to take it up a few levels. As a faculty member, I cannot recommend it highly enough. To find out more and receive an information pack head here.

Thought Leaders Business School – America and Canada

I am really excited to be part of the launch of business school in America. After the success of the program in Australia, we are kicking off the USA program in Boston on 7^th to 9^th May. Click here to find out more and join the foundation program before May.

If you want to discuss any of the above programs to see what is right for you, feel free to contact Elise to set up a 15-minute call with me.