When you’re talking about your work, how do you finish the sentence “The way I see it….” ? How do you see your work? What has your unique experience taught you? From your specific vantage point, what do you see? What’s your perspective? I’m going to get real with you:
If you’re an expert in your field, you know a lot. You have deep knowledge about your industry. But just having that knowledge doesn’t make you a thought leader. Thought leaders are experts who share their knowledge by breaking it down, presenting it in interesting ways, and neatly packaging distinct
Do you know what sets thought leaders apart? It’s not that they’re smarter than other people. They’re not more intuitive. They’re not even necessarily better at their jobs. But they have trained themselves to do one specific thing: They chase the sparks. What is a spark? Sparks are the little
If you are fascinated by your work — all the juicy details and new things to learn and exciting developments — then why do other people’s eyes glaze over when you go into Work Talk mode? How can you help people who don’t work with you, or who don’t know
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“I feel stuck. I’m not sure what to say, so I won’t say anything.” Do you know that feeling? So many of the people I work want to develop big, exciting ideas. But the process to get to those ideas can be long and frustrating. Sometimes, even the most prolific
“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.
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
Are you a thought leader? Yes, you. (Hi! 👋) If you’re thinking, “No way” or “Who me?” this is for you. If you’re doing good work, it’s not a huge leap to start reflecting on that work and sharing your insights. Thought leadership is helpful for your own learning —
Thought leadership is about expertise. Being the smartest person in the room. Being the boss and making sure everyone knows why. Right? My answer: Not really. At least not the thought leadership I’m interested in. I think the best thought leadership is about learning, growing, stretching, and staying curious. What
ME ME ME ME ME ME. Oh, sorry. Just warming up my vocal cords before I step up on my soapbox. How often do we start by talking about ourselves? Especially when we’re communicating our big goals and most important ideas — the ideas we’re really proud of and excited
