personal brand vs thought leadership

Personal Branding vs. Thought Leadership

In this post: Who gets to be a thought leader? How is thought leadership different than personal branding? And who pays for thought leadership? This week, I was chatting with an executive coach. I told her that I help business leaders build thought leadership platforms. Her response: “But how do

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ideas taking off from a central platform

How to Build a Thought Leadership Platform

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

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too many cooks in the kitchen

How to Avoid “Creativity by Committee”

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

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back to school

Back to School

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

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paper airplanes going in a circle

What’s Your Premise?

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”

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reflection for thought leaders

Reflection: A Thought Leader’s Superpower

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

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compass over thought bubbles in jungle

Where Does “Thought Leadership” Happen?

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

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messy string with simple bow in front

Don’t Overthink It

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

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thought leadership abortion rights

Abortion Rights: It’s Time to Stand Up and Start Talking

Does this script ever play in your head? Don’t get political. Don’t say anything you’ll regret. The internet lives forever. These are the old rules of the “professional workplace.” I talk to a lot of people who worry about what they’re allowed to say, what feathers they’ll ruffle, and the

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origami butterfly emerging from crowded page of words

Lessons from Thought Leadership Therapy

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.

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