Establishing yourself as a thought leader can be a powerful way to build credibility, attract new clients, and make a meaningful impact in your industry. However, becoming a thought leader is no easy feat, and it’s easy to make mistakes along the way.
There are many things that could go wrong when you try to establish yourself as a thought leader, such as making promises you can’t keep or being inconsistent in your messages and actions. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to become thought leaders and provide practical tips on how to avoid them.
What is Thought Leadership?
“Thought leadership” is a concept used to describe individuals or organizations who are recognized as experts and influencers in their respective fields. These thought leaders are usually considered to be ahead of the curve and are often the first to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
Thought leadership is not just about being knowledgeable; it’s also about having the ability to communicate that knowledge and inspire others to think differently. This can be achieved through writing books, blog posts, and articles, hosting and/or appearing on podcasts, establishing video channels, or giving speeches at conferences or events.
The overall goal of thought leadership is to become a trusted source of information and to shape the conversation in a particular industry or field. It can even boost the SEO of any businesses and web properties you are associated with, as well, of course, your own personal brand.
Why Bother with Thought Leadership?
You’re busy. You are probably trying to run a business or help build one, so all this extra effort needs to be worth something good. But is it?
If done right, absolutely. These are just some of the potential benefits waiting for you and your business if you do find the time to make thought leadership a priority:
Build Credibility and Trust
If you are in business doing ANYTHING (and we’ll assume if you are reading this that you are) then you know that people prefer to business with brands and people they consider trustworthy and credible. That has always been the case, but in the age of the Internet it’s even more so,
Being recognized as a thought leader can help you build that credibility and trust with your target audience, clients, and colleagues. By sharing your insights and expertise, you can demonstrate your knowledge and experience and position yourself as a go-to source of information and advice.
Differentiate Yourself from Competitors
In today’s competitive business landscape, establishing yourself as a thought leader can help you stand out from your competitors. People also prefer to do business with those they think are likeable and engaging. But if you haven’t met them yet, how are you going to dazzle them with all that charm?
By offering unique insights and perspectives, and showcasing who you are in a significant way, you can do just that while at the same time differentiating yourself and your brand and establishing a serious competitive advantage.
Increase Your Industry Impact
As a thought leader, you can have a significant impact on your whole industry or field. By sharing your insights and opinions, you can shape the conversation and influence the direction of your industry. This can lead to new opportunities and collaborations, as well as increased visibility and recognition.
Foster Personal Growth and Development
Finally, establishing yourself as a thought leader can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience on its own. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you can contribute to the growth and development of others, and learn from their insights and experiences. This can help you develop new skills and perspectives, deepen your understanding of your field, and maybe even—and while it’s important to stand behind your ideas and opinions, it’s also important to be open to feedback and constructive criticism. Thought leaders who dismiss feedback or respond defensively can come across as arrogant and may quickly lose the respect of their audience.
Focusing on Self-Promotion
People who want to be thought leaders but only talk about themselves tend to lose their audience and hurt their reputation. While it’s important to build a personal brand and establish yourself as an expert, it’s equally important to focus on providing value to your audience.
Those who only talk about themselves or their accomplishments come across as self-centred and will struggle to build a loyal following.
Not Staying Current
If you fail to stay current with the latest trends and developments in your industry, you will quickly become irrelevant, however engaging you are.
As new technologies and trends emerge, thought leaders need to stay up-to-date and adapt their perspectives and strategies accordingly. Thought leaders who cling to outdated ideas or refuse to change with the times struggle to maintain their influence and relevance.
Being Inconsistent
Thought leaders who are inconsistent in their messaging or behaviour can harm their reputation. If you say one thing but do another, or if your behaviour doesn’t align with your values or beliefs, your audience will lose trust in you. Thought leaders must be consistent in what they say and how they act if they want to build trust and keep their influence over time.
Displaying a Lack of Authenticity
Another potential pitfall is a lack of authenticity. To establish yourself as a thought leader, it’s important to be genuine and authentic in your approach. If you try to be something you’re not or adopt a persona that isn’t true to your personality or values, people will see through it and will question your credibility.
Keeping a Narrow Focus
While it’s important to establish yourself as an expert in a specific area, being too narrowly focused can be hugely limiting. By only focusing on one area, you may miss out on broader industry trends and developments, which can limit your ability to provide valuable insights and solutions.
One of the things we do as thought leadership consultants help clients discover just the right balance between limiting themselves and spreading themselves too thin.
Lacking Diversity and Inclusion
Finally, thought leaders can fall into the trap of lacking diversity and inclusion in their perspectives and approaches, which these days can, to be frank, be a real problem.
By only relying on their own experiences and perspectives, thought leaders may miss out on valuable insights and solutions from people with different backgrounds and experiences. This can limit their ability to connect with a wider audience and may harm their reputation in the long run. Have you heard of cancel culture? It’s real.
For those who haven’t, the industry definition of “cancel culture” refers to the practice of publicly criticizing and boycotting individuals or companies for perceived problematic behaviour or statements. While it can serve as a tool for accountability and social justice, it can also lead to the silencing of individuals and ideas, especially those who are deemed controversial or unpopular.
To avoid being subject to cancel culture, thought leaders should be careful about the language they use in public forums, such as social media or public speeches. They shouldn’t use words that are offensive, hurtful, or make people feel bad, especially when talking about marginalized groups.
If you aspire to thought leadership, you will also need to be ready to take responsibility for your actions and decisions. You should be willing to apologize if necessary but also to stand by your principles and values, even when faced with criticism or opposition. This requires courage and a willingness to be vulnerable, but it builds huge trust and respect with followers.
By prioritizing authenticity, empathy, and transparency, thought leaders can create meaningful connections with their followers and build both a personal and business brand that makes a real difference.
It takes effort, and getting expert help in the form of a thought leadership consultancy along the way can never be a bad idea, but done right, the time you spend developing yourself as a thought leader in your niche can be one of the best investments of your time ever.
