How can employees develop their creativity to become thought leaders?

Every employee is a potential thought leader. Your team is made up of individuals who, collectively, create an ecosystem of interconnected ideas, perspectives, and insights. Leverage that ecosystem, and you’ll be running a company full of thought leaders. A solid, systematic workflow embeds creativity in your team’s daily lives. The terms creativity and systematic workflow may not sound compatible. But being creative on a regular basis demands discipline and time management. If the process of creating thought leadership content seems intimidating to your team, remind them that they’re inherently creative people. As key employees, they make critical decisions that shape the direction of your company.

I always encourage my team members to build in blocks on their calendar. Specifically - one block for doing deep work and one block for creative review. The second block encourages the team to reflect on the work done. Most of the times I have heard team members say they've had many an epiphany during reflection and have tackled problems creatively.

As important as it is to be a thought leader in areas that matter to your audience, it’s important first to have clarity on what matters most to you. Think through your top 3 values, what fuels you (your passion), and your superpower(s). The intersection of those three is where you’ll find your niche. Once you have it, read up and key in on topics of the moment and start sharing your relevant experiences and insights to engage and grow your audience. Be willing to adjust your focus areas based on what resonates with your audience. Invite perspectives from others and share content from other thought leaders. These steps will help you build credibility and establish yourself as an authentic thought leader!

Every person born in this earth, carries some hidden skills.We must find it through this life journey. Skill is called personal niche. If we find and pursue it, we will be champ in that aera. To find it is never easy, but we must experiment with many things which are curious to us. Then only we will be able to find what works best and what doesn't work. So I would say keep exploring about the thing, which we are more inclined towards to find that hidden niche in us.

Identifying a niche is vital for aspiring thought leaders. It's about leveraging passion, knowledge, and curiosity in an area that resonates with your audience. This niche not only distinguishes your voice but also defines the unique insights and solutions you offer, enhancing your impact and relevance in your chosen field.

Having a curious and open mind are imperative if you want to become a thought leader in your field of expertise. Being a lifelong learner, asking questions, challenging your thinking - and that of those around you - is needed for growth to occur. Asking your mentors, colleagues and friends for feedback on your personality, blind spots, areas for growth and things you need to work on is extremely important. The more work we do on ourselves and are open to improvement, the more grounded we will feel and the more and authentically our message can be shared.

Find your silly. You read that right. Inspiration is best received, and creativity is best released, when we are able to disconnect our cynic, stress, and rules. "Finding your silly" is really about removing barriers and getting a bit uncomfortable (only at first). Games based on the principles of Improv or playing with a young child and allowing them to lead the scenario (no matter how ridiculous it may seem) are two of my favorite ways to problem-solve, to be open to inspiration, or to have "ah-ha" moments. Either strategy requires that you consciously let go of rules. Once you are able to do so, you can unlock new thought patterns and discover a unique perspective. And you'll have the best fun doing it.

As a manager I was once working late having to send some ads urgently through courier. Waiting with me was an elderly colleague from the dispatch dept. This person was from humble background. As a staff member he could have left by 6:00 pm but had chosen to stay back with me till close to midnight. Impressed and moved, I asked him why. He told me that once this company was very badly off with salaried not paid for months, but the arrival of a dynamic Director, had changed its fortunes and that of all employees. The Director was now the company MD and this old colleague felt it was his duty to ensure that from his side, the reputation of the company so assiduously built by the MD doesn't suffer. A most beautiful lesson that I never forgot.

An example that I have seen is a marketing executive who actively sought inspiration from various disciplines outside of their field. They regularly attended diverse industry events, engaged with thought leaders through podcasts and blogs, and participated in cross-disciplinary courses. This exposure to diverse perspectives enriched their understanding, allowing them to infuse innovative strategies into their marketing campaigns. Moreover, this executive welcomed feedback from team members, clients, and industry experts, leveraging criticism to refine their ideas and continuously evolve their approach, ultimately establishing themselves as a respected thought leader within the industry.

You have to give employees- and yourself- the space and freedom to be creative. This means you have to stop trying so hard and disengage for a bit to unlock the creativity within. Have you ever noticed that your best ideas come when you’re doing something completely unrelated to the problem you’re trying to solve? Take time to do other things, allow your mind to roam and give room to employees to spend time talking about their ideas with no limits. It’s just human nature to be quick to edit or limit the flow of ideas in an effort to finish, but if you generate more ideas you have more material to work with and that’s where the magic lives.

For employees to experiment, they must feel that they do have licence to experiment to begin with. This can be tricky as there needs to be a balance between focusing on key role responsibilities and having the time, space and freedom to use creativity. The key is in establishing expectations from the outset and remaining consistent to those expectations.

In my perspective, experimentation and iteration are crucial in developing as a thought leader. Embracing failure as a learning tool and actively seeking feedback helps refine ideas, ensuring they resonate well with the audience. This process of continuous improvement and openness to critique is essential for innovation and thought leadership.

Experiment with different platforms and mediums to determine what works best when expressing your POV. You may find that you do better on film than writing posts, or vice versa, or you may decide you enjoy both. Experimentation is crucial for determining what works for you and your audience. Seeking advice is also extremely helpful as you want to hear from diverse perspectives.

I heard it explained once that "creation begins with imitation." An effective way to develop expertise is to start out following in the footsteps of experienced people who have mastered an area of expertise. At first, we imitate them in adopting their approaches and methods. As we become familiar with what has worked for them, and can replicate it, we then can enter the innovation and creation stage. Here we start adding nuances and fine tuning to their foundation and build further - or see opportunities to apply new science and technology to the area and create a new "best practices" approach.

If you’re not sharing your thoughts, you’re not influencing anyone. You can have the most brilliant ideas and be able to articulate your point of view convincingly, but if you’re not sharing your insights, you’re speaking in a vacuum. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to share your thought leadership. Podcasts, webinars and speaking engagements are another way to get your voice out there. The key is to start. Share your brilliance!

This is where, I believe, one develops as a thought leader. Once we've developed our own best practices approaches, and trained others on them and seen them successful in execution, it's time to share in a wider audience such as is here with LinkedIn. Becoming a regular publisher of your own original content, as well as a curator of best practices shared by others via electronic publishing, enables you to become seen as an authority of specific topics. Benjamin Franklin is often misquoted, though what he said seems applicable here: "Become a jack of all trades and a master of one." Sharing insights allows others to benefit along the way...

As you continue your journey, you constantly show up for yourself and others. You're learning, growing, and thriving in areas where you once were a novice. Now, you are able to tackle challenges, overcome fears, and step into the unknown with confidence. Your newfound sense of confidence and security is reinforced with consistently positive results. You feel passionate about life and helping others change theirs. You feel called to share your message and mission with the world, whether that means creating your own platform or leveraging existing ones. You've discovered your purpose and gift; now it's time to step fully into your calling with courage and confidence. You want to give back to others who needed someone like you in the past.

Collaboration with others is a wonderful way to expand your influence, reach a new audience, and form new relationships. You can be a guest on someone’s podcast, you can guest blog on someone’s website. You can contribute to articles together, co-host LinkedIn live events…. the possibilities are endless.

Participate in other thought leader's podcasts, join their webinars, and co-host events. You can do much to co-collaborate, such as creating groups and speaking opportunities that help to expand your network and build a community.

To continue the learning process, we must develop a structured learning plan that includes regular time for reading, attending courses, and engaging in educational activities related to our field. Second, we must set specific learning goals to guide our efforts and measure our progress. In between the process, bring out diverse perspectives to broaden our understanding and stimulate a creative mindset. Third, exchange ideas, challenges, and insights with a diverse group of individuals to further develop our creative thinking towards a thought leader in that industry.

Empower your team to transcend conventional boundaries and ascend to thought leadership by igniting a culture of curiosity, disrupting routines, fostering dynamic collaboration, championing continuous learning, embracing failure as a catalyst for innovation, carving out reflective moments, and celebrating the vibrant tapestry of creative contributions. Elevate your organization by strategically investing in the alchemy of creativity, unlocking unparalleled innovation, and securing a competitive advantage. Celebrate the talent in your team, putting them in the driver's seat of their creative journey, and watch as they navigate towards thought leadership with a competitive edge that sets your organization apart.

Warren Bennis: "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." What's their vision? Can they articulate how they see the world? (Good) Thought Leadership is being a few steps in front of everyone else. And when everyone else is frightened or confused or worried - the Thought Leader steps in and shows the way out.

?? From Creative Minds to Thought Leaders ??? Continuous Learning: Stay curious. Read, research, and explore new ideas. Nurture Originality: Challenge conventional thinking. Dare to be different. Collaborate and Network: Exchange ideas with diverse minds. Share Knowledge: Write articles, speak at events, or start a blog. Embrace Failure: View setbacks as learning opportunities. Seek Feedback: Constructive criticism can refine your thoughts. Stay Informed: Keep up with industry trends and insights. ?? Cultivating creativity is the first step in becoming a thought leader. #Creativity #ThoughtLeadership #ProfessionalGrowth

The topic has 3 aspects, and a few assumptions. 1. It defines a workplace situation - “employees” 2. It wants to explore ways to develop creativity 3. It sees that creativity leading to thought leadership Assumptions: 1. Organisations should enhance employee creativity 2. Enhancing creativity leads to thought leadership. As the reader can see, breaking it down leads to questions that can have both yes and no answers - depending on who is asking. To my mind, the best way to enhance creativity is by cross referencing - which comes from reading on a variety of subjects - which in turn is possible only when there is enough curiosity. Thought leadership is a combination of several aspects of development - not just creativity.

One thing that I've found that's worth noting is that as you embark on a journey of self-discovery, you will gain a fresh perspective on life that will allow you to explore new things, generate creative ideas, and find happiness in the simple things. This newfound sense of fulfillment is a gift that you can share with others by empowering them to be their best selves. When we know and accept ourselves, we are able to live freely, and this is the ultimate gift we can give ourselves.