Do you have thought leadership or just a lone thought leader?

Thought leadership is much more than just having a thought leader.

THINK ON IT: Do you have thought leadership or just a lone thought leader? 

I previously shared research that establishing yourself as an expert thought leader is not nearly as effective as presenting your prospect with a “commercial insight” —  a novel insight or approach that could transform their business.  

To be sure, developing commercial insights are important, especially for businesses selling high-ticket offerings, but that’s not to say that thought leadership has no value. In fact, thought leadership has never been more important to gain trust. It’s become so pervasive that it’s now an expected indicator of competence.

But thought leadership is much more than just having a thought leader. 

Quite often, the founder of a company becomes the thought leader of the company. It makes sense: it was their idea, their initial execution, they’ve got the original credentials. Their company may even bear their name, and people trust them. Ask any industry or subject matter expert and they’ll tell you, it can be quite rewarding, psychologically and financially, to be the one people listen to.

As personally rewarding as it is to be a thought leader, companies that are built around one personality as the thought leader become vulnerable, especially if that leader is at the top of the organization and is critical to the sales effort. That company may have a thought leader, but they don’t have thought leadership.

Thought leadership is scalable and not vulnerable to the availability of a finite resource, their whims, and the risks of whether the thought leader would soon be hit by a bus.

Strategic CEOs, even if thought leaders themselves, develop thought leadership in their organization. They know the economic value of their time and they’re building an organization that is not dependent on them to grow. Instead, they are creating cultures of learning and ambassadors to carry on without them.

Where does the expertise reside in your organization? Are you developing a strategy to grow your thought leadership capabilities?

Paid subscribers, read on to learn how you can develop a strategy to cultivate thought leadership in your organization. (Become a paid subscriber.)

“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.” — Walter Lippmann

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