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 moments, ideas, and questions that make your brain stop and take notice. Most of our conversations about work are, frankly, boring. We’re talking about logistics, how to get things done, process, order, best practices. So when you hear something new, unexpected, or interesting, it feels like it’s blinking in big, bold letters.
Thought leadership is a practice of noticing those sparks, chasing them, sharing them with others, and in the process, uncovering more of them.
What happens when you start chasing sparks?
I’ve noticed that when I first start working with a client on their thought leadership, they’re unsure and a little murky in how they think about their work. They have plenty of ideas to reflect on – they can throw a lot of spaghetti at the wall – but they don’t feel especially pulled to explore any one idea more than the others. They’re missing the zing. They want to be known for their ideas, but they don’t know how to pull those ideas out of their head and share them with others.
But after a few months of working together, answering my questions on phone calls, following my prompts to dig up their best ideas and explore them deeply, something shifts in their behavior and their attitude. Their thinking isn’t cloudy anymore. They’re not bogged down, wading through a long list of potential thought starters. They find their zing. They start seeing and chasing their own sparks. They’ll say things like:
“Oh, I was just thinking about something else I want to write about – ”
“I had a dream that – “
“You know, this just came up in a conversation yesterday. We should explore it.”
“I read something – ”
“I heard something –”
“I wrote something –”
They realize that when you’re lost, and you can’t find the forest for the trees, the solution is to start looking for lights to guide you through. When you look around, you’ll realize that the forest is full of fireflies – little beacons begging you to chase them. And once you start seeing the sparks, suddenly you see them everywhere. Exciting ideas are around every corner, just waiting for you to explore.
A thought leadership exercise: Start chasing sparks
If you’re feeling bogged down by unclear thinking, unsure what you should be thinking about or how to position yourself, start chasing the sparks. Here’s how:
- When you hear/read/find something that makes you say “hmm,” WRITE IT DOWN. Keep a file full of ideas, words, links (or whatever) that made you pause. Revisit that list when you’re looking for inspiration.
- Put yourself in the way of new ideas. The easiest way to jumpstart your creativity is to go hunting for something NEW. Pick up a book you wouldn’t normally buy. Listen to a podcast you’ve never heard before. Read a magazine about something you don’t know much about. Soon you’ll be saying “hmm….,” your brain will start pinging in unexpected ways, and you’ll have new fodder for your inspiration file.
- Start connecting dots. Try this exercise: at the end of every work day, take 5 minutes to reflect. What was the theme of the day? What’s something that came up more than once? What’s something new you noticed today? What’s something that bugged you that you want to figure out later? What’s something you want to start or stop doing?
This simple practice of reflecting on your work and looking for connections will teach your brain to find and chase sparks as they come up. To be an effective thought leader, you have to start by understanding and digging deeper on your own thoughts. Think of yourself as a spark-chaser, and the practice of being a thought leader becomes less intimidating and much more fun.
