How to Ask Better Questions
“That’s a good question.” How often do you hear that? When I hear, “That’s a good question,” it signals that the other person is pausing to think. Whatever I’m asking them is unexpected and is pushing them to reflect in a new way. In other words, I hit the jackpot. Whether I’m interviewing a leader […]
AI Can’t Do Your Most Important Thought Leadership Work for You
AI can’t write your thought leadership for you. If you’re looking for an Easy Button for thought leadership, I have bad news. It doesn’t exist. Sure, people are selling Easy Buttons: “Click here to generate your AI-powered story!” A recent example: One storytelling coach is developing a new AI tool that claims to “arm exceptional […]
Conversation Quick-Starters: How to Get People Talking About Their Work
At networking events, it’s not hard to get people talking. But what’s harder to master is how to get people talking about their work in a way that drives connection and understanding. When you meet someone new, how can you learn about their work quickly? How can you really get to know them and what […]
When the Idea Is Bigger Than You
What do you do when you have a big idea? How do you spread that idea to other people to create a movement? To build a platform that other people can climb onto? The true goal of thought leadership isn’t gaining fame or grabbing people’s attention. It’s about spreading your ideas and leading the way […]
How to Be a Thought Leader, Not Just an Instigator: Close the Circle
How do you feel about challengers — people who question everything and shake things up? I think this personality type can make a helpful thought leader, as long as they present solutions along with their critiques. I define “thought leaders” as people who think in public about their work. Thought leaders share what they know, […]
Thought Leadership Inspiration: Focus on the Hardest Part of the Problem
“Focus on the hardest part of the problem.” That’s advice that my client, technical teamwork expert Chris Danek, gives to teams working on complicated medical device problems. The advice applies to thought leadership, too, whether you’re talking about your work as a mechanical engineer or a management consultant. Hear me out. Go beyond the basic […]
How to Simplify the Way You Talk About Your Work (No Jargon Allowed)
How do you respond to the question “What do you do?” Can you answer it in a sentence? Is your answer as simple as “I do X for Y because Z”? Or do you have to take a deep breath before you wander down a long, winding road toward an inexact definition of your work? […]
How to Be More Interesting
What has your attention right now? What are you spending your time on, working on, thinking about, exploring? (No, I really want to know. I love this stuff.) I love talking to people about their work. I also love hearing about all the things on their mind that have nothing to do with work. The […]
Thought Leadership Isn’t About Ego — It’s About Generosity
Can I convince you that thought leadership is generous? When I lead workshops about thought leadership, the groups usually fall into one of two categories: people who are eager to improve their thought leadership; and people who are, frankly, not interested in thought leadership at all. Recently, I talked to a group that fell into […]
The Power of Play
This week, my eight-year-old went to surf camp (one of the very fun rites of passage of living in a beach town). On the first day of camp, I watched a team of coaches herd the huge crew of neon-rashguard-clad kids onto the beach, through a round of stretches and warmups, and then out into […]
