This is the last blog post I’ll write in 2020. When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about, I thought about what I’ve learned this year.
First, just like you and everyone else on the planet, as a human living through the most confusing and unpredictable year of my life, I’ve learned a lot about resilience, humility, and grace. This year has been hard. It’s called on us in new ways. And I’ve never felt more firmly like an adult than I do after this year.
But I’ve learned a lot through my work this year, too — both in my work with clients and in running my own business. And when I think about the lessons I’ve learned about thought leadership this year, there’s a lightbulb that flickered on for me.
Thought leadership is the long-term practice of building your perch.
You don’t become a thought leader overnight. You can’t just “turn on” some thought leadership machine or hire it out. There’s no instant switch. Instead, thought leadership by definition is a long-term practice of working through and testing your ideas. There’s discipline involved because it’s such a continuous, evolving process. You can’t fake it. You have to really earn it.
That makes thought leadership hard, but also extremely rewarding and effective.
Last week, I started a new strategy project with a client who I consider a bonafide thought leader in the graphic design world. He’s been practicing his craft, thinking in public, and mentoring others in his field for years, and his business is reaping the benefits. But he hired me because he wants to get more disciplined, more focused, and better at serving his audience and making sure his efforts are moving his business in the right direction. He’s all in on the discipline of thought leadership.
I’ve also seen the benefits of a disciplined thought leadership practice in my own business. For more than a year now, I’ve forced myself to write about my work twice a month for this newsletter. This dedicated, no-excuses practice has forced me to reflect, articulate my ideas, chase after new ones, and organize patterns I’m seeing in my work. And it’s all documented online, where people can find me based on the way I think.
And when someone comes to me with big questions about how their thought leadership practice could work, I have those frameworks to point to. Several times in the past month, I’ve talked people through ideas that I’ve documented here. It’s so nice to tell someone, “I understand your challenge. Here’s how I think about it.” and send them a link.
I’ve built a perch. What do I mean by that? Think of every article, presentation, and Twitter thread as one stone, slowly stacking over time and building a mountain you sit on top of. From the top of your perch, you have the benefit of perspective — you can see things you couldn’t before. And you have the sturdy heft of a mountain below you, each stone representing ideas you’ve considered and expertise you’ve built. When you see a new challenge on the horizon, all you have to do is look down at your impressive collection of ideas to buoy you, give you inspiration, and help you keep climbing higher.
Other people can see your perch, too. That new client I mentioned? He told me that his perch — his collected body of work online — helps him go into client projects as a true partner, not a worker bee or a replaceable contractor. His clients know that he’s respected in the field, he has earned true expertise, and he’ll steer them in the right direction.
And, if you lead a team, your team can see your perch, too. Literally every marketing team I’ve ever worked with would love to have more insight into how the company’s senior leaders think. Building your perch is a gift to the people who are trying to help you spread your ideas.
So, as we all look ahead to 2021 with, hopefully, a glimmer of optimism, I wonder: How could you commit to a disciplined thought leadership practice next year? How could you start building your foundation? Could you build a higher perch?
I challenge you to commit to creating one new thing each month in 2021. Could you write one blog post, or make one podcast episode, or even one meaty LinkedIn post every month? Could you put it on your calendar now and commit to it? Could you start thinking in public, refining your own ideas, and building a perch that you’ll be grateful for this time next year?
You can do it!
