7 ways to become a brilliant thought leader, Mindy Gibbins-Klein

By Mindy Gibbins-Klein

Thought leadership is more important than ever, but it is rarer than ever. More content is being churned out and called thought leadership, when in reality it doesn’t say anything new. I understand why this is happening. The current situation is making some people panic and feel they have to be posting every thought and feeling that comes into their head.

7 ways to become a brilliant thought leader

You may have noticed an abundance of mediocre, boring, copycat content online, in the form of articles, blogs, videos and even books. If you have noticed, then others will be looking and noticing what you are putting out there. Don’t add to the noise. There are many clever ways of raising your level of thought leadership, so let me share seven of my favourites.

Make the decision. True thought leadership is not for the faint-hearted. First, you have to put time and effort into coming up with truly exciting and original ideas. The best ideas are disruptive and possibly controversial, but if you have a strong belief, you want to share it. Then you have to post or publish your thinking, and the bolder it is, the more you will have critics and haters appearing to argue and undermine you. So, decide if you are up for this.

Stop reading and listening to everyone else, especially your so-called peers or competitors. You will be more original when you are not just putting a slightly different spin on what’s already being said.

Get away! It has been proven that peace and quiet is conducive to your best thinking. Go somewhere new to do your thinking, a place you don’t often spend time.

Capture it. If you get into good habits and start coming up with more ideas, you need to be able to capture them. So ensure you have a notebook with you or at least type it up or record your thoughts into your phone. There are lots of good apps for this, but don’t get distracted; simple Notes or voice recording is fine.

Partner with complementary companies and experts. You will discover ways to promote each other’s thought leadership and services through posts, podcast interviews, live streams and articles. I’m sure you agree that having someone else rave about you and your ideas is always preferable to blatant self-promotion.

Stay humble. Many people in tech are good at this (maybe too good if they never promote themselves). Once you start gaining traction and attention and creating a buzz, it can be tempting to shout about it. Always look to bring other people into the spotlight with you: team members, clients, partners. Even if you think you and your ideas are amazing, find the right way to talk about yourself.

Always be listening and learning. What you tried last month may not work this month. And taking a risk with a new unproven concept, idea or service may require various adaptations and iterations. You know this from your work. Apply it to your thought leadership and you will shine.

That’s definitely enough to start sharing your best ideas and become known as a thought leader. One caveat: Never call yourself one! Do the work and others will recognise you and bestow that term on you. Have fun!

Mindy Gibbins-Klein MBA FRSA FPSA is a global thought leadership expert and founder of Panoma Press, REAL Thought Leaders and The Book Midwife®. Her latest book The Thoughtful Leader is available from Amazon and all good bookstores. Find out more at www.mindygk.com

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