I’m nearing three years of running a thought leadership consultancy. And as I reflect on what I’ve learned, I came up with one major epiphany from my work with leaders: if you want to make a big impact with your ideas, don’t focus on one-off projects and posts. Instead, build
When you hear “BIG, BOLD IDEAS,” what do you picture? I think of a writer smiling at her computer screen, typing out her masterpiece with conviction and confidence. Or a trailblazer cresting a mountain peak. Or someone standing on stage, power pose activated, lit by a spotlight. You know what
Bet you’ve never heard this description used on a podcast: “We interview CEOs from various backgrounds.” Or on a blog: “We share actionable insights.” Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. If your content is promising something this vague and general, you might need to develop a more specific premise for your content. The word “premise”
One thing we don’t do enough as humans? Reflect. We don’t pause to think about what’s happening, as it happens. We don’t take enough time to learn and wonder and grow. And reflection is definitely missing at work. Especially if your work is busy or high-pressure, it’s easy to just
What is a thought leader? Where does thought leadership happen? When the phrase “thought leadership” comes up, people almost always make a face. “No, I’m not trying to be a thought leader (yuck)”. Or “I’ll leave that to the LinkedIn bros.” People always assume that “thought leadership” starts and ends
One of the most common misconceptions about thought leadership is that the ideas have to be big, bold, and immaculately produced. People stay in the shadows and keep their heads down because they’re too busy doing the work to cook up some big, fancy thought leadership campaign. Imposter syndrome takes
Have you ever called a therapist to help you sort through a tough problem? I don’t mean the usual kind of therapist — I’m talking about a thought leadership therapist. I get emails that read something like: “Help! We have an important launch/rebrand/campaign, but we can’t get the words right.
“I don’t need a process. I just come up with ideas.” “No need to waste time on strategy. Let’s dive in and we’ll figure it out as we go.” “I don’t want to be pinned down to one idea. It will change over time.” After working in thought leadership for
Do you have spaghetti brain? “Spaghetti brain” is a term that came to me from a client (hi, Chris). When we were first introduced, he told me he needed help “twirling the spaghetti” of his company’s marketing and communication challenges. He attached this picture to his email: Amazing, right? You
CURIOUS is my word of the year for 2022. After the fear and worry of 2020, and the roller coaster of 2021, my only response to year 3 of pandemic work and pandemic parenting was to shift my perspective and try to get looser, more flexible, and open to what comes
