What is it that makes you special as a professional? Predictable results, efficiency, and a customer-centric approach are each important. At the same time, colleagues and clients are looking for unique ideas and approaches to solving problems. Thought leadership, so to speak. There are obvious reasons to create thought leadership, but perhaps the most impactful ones are the least visible.
As head of the Infosys Knowledge Institute, I have seen many examples of thought leadership. While there are many fancy definitions, thought leadership is essentially the recognition that comes from developing and sharing exceptional expertise that solves a particular problem. It depends on your ability to communicate your insights, experiences, results and approaches. Simply put, you need a strategy to climb the thought leadership ladder.
The 3 F’s of Thought Leadership
A more obvious reason to create thought leadership content can be boiled down to the 3 F’s: fame, fortune, and friends.
fame
This is the reputation and respect you get from peers and influencers in your industry or domain. Job sites and his LinkedIn are flooded with exaggerated resumes, so thought leadership will make your story more compelling. Your point of view is your demonstration and proof of your claim. In the world of prototypes, that’s the modern resume.
Do you claim to be an expert? Forget eloquent cover letters and share your point of view. By creating and sharing perspectives, you can improve the standing of your network as a whole and potentially grow that network as well.
luck
This is a pursuit to monetize your expertise. If you are in the business of selling professional services, this is not only valuable. It is vital to your financial well-being. Based on the previous point about fame, what happens when great content is applied to a powerful network? A platform is created. A platform is your ability to project influence because of who you are or who you can reach.
The term is often applied to writers and consultants, but if you work outside of these fields, don’t think this doesn’t apply to you. You need to show off, and even if you’re focused on your current company, your career progression may depend on the scope of your platform. may produce
friend
Friends are relevant to everyone, whether at home or at work. We are social animals and, as professionals, we spend a lot of time in our craft. We want to connect with current colleagues at the company across industries and domains. Thought leadership starts with respect for your expertise and is a great way to open new doors and relationships. In fact, thought leadership is also a great way to use persuasive content as a door opener at networking events to move you into new circles inside and outside your company.
Self-enlightenment
Fame, wealth, and friends are all great reasons for thought leadership. But there are also strong underlying reasons. Creating thought leadership helps you grow as a professional. Integrate knowledge and experience into a clear perspective to further strengthen your expertise.
The process of gaining expertise usually involves some form of scientific method. Over time, facts, thoughts, and actions accumulate through deductive reasoning and become knowledge. After all, that’s the basic approach to problem solving. But it turns out that the average subject matter expert stops there. They can communicate what they know, but not in a well-structured way.
Thought leadership goes a step further to impart this expertise to others. In the traditional form, the written paper, this means using inductive thinking to concisely state your main points and support them with facts and rationale to reinforce your points.
The process of transforming deductive thinking into inductive thinking refines expertise as the expert moves from a collection of facts to an orderly sequence that helps the audience to clearly understand the expertise. Just as it fosters learning, thought leadership takes subject understanding to the next level.
This is why personal development is the hidden and overlooked value of thought leadership. Grow yourself while building your reputation.
how to get started If you’re thinking, “This is a great story, but I don’t know how to publish it,” that’s not a valid excuse. Beyond corporate marketing teams, which are likely content-hungry, and trade publications that accept unsolicited contributions, LinkedIn is the ultimate open platform.
Anyone with an account can publish articles and promote them across the network. At the very least, when others search you, they will find your personal work of art—a perspective that showcases your expertise. And it may open the door to opportunities that can change your life.
