How can you develop thought leadership skills while performing operational duties?

Prepare 3 topics where you see yourself as an expert. Each topic should be supported by real-life examples, your learnings, data (if possible) and concrete takeaways. Talk to your friend as he/she is your target audience. Is your message clear? Is there something to learn out of it? Try to avoid buzz words, very generic sentences and too old examples. What you are sharing- should be relevant for your audience to apply.

Thought leaders are key assets for any organization They’re the ones who always motivate and inspire others to grow and succeed They challenge status quo, they challenge ideas not people They encourage delegation to drive development of others Good listeners

Finding out your topic and your audience is hard work. And you won't get it right the first time. This is more about your audience: what do they respond to? Sometimes my posts fail spectacularly, and it's usually because I write about an interesting development, but it's outside the scope of my audience. And that's ok. Don't be too focused on likes. Over time, you'll learn what your audience is looking for. You should also not be too fixed on your niche - keep evolving and adjusting as that keeps it interesting. Try to remain a few steps ahead of the audience, so you can challenge their curiosity. They will follow you as long as you deliver value.

If you are a generalist, it will be very difficult because you can’t be expert in any industry and niches. You need to find one. And focus on it. For example, I am good at many things but I love and I am passionate about marketing for SaaS. And when I talk about it people listen to me like they watch an interesting movie. But when I talk about something I am not an expert…people spend time on the phone. Find your niche!

If you are focused on the people you are serving with your leadership you will be able to narrow down what resonates most and build from that. Thought leadership is about ‘them’ not you. The only way to know what resonates most is to start with topics at the intersection of your expertise, passion and impact. You can then build from what your audience and community are responding to most and home in from that point on.

Choose Your channel. You don’t need to be present everywhere and you don’t need to write content every day just for having it out there. Ideally you have your content-plan, where you focus on specific dates (might be connected to your speaking on the events) and topics-ancors. There should be a mix between educational, analytical and engaging content. Put yourself in a position where it’s not only you - who shares expertise but a lot you can learn from your audience.

Having a mix of both curated and original content is key. If you focus only on creating content, you miss out on the potential to build community. Sharing curated content lets people know you read and appreciate the work of others and are willing to promote good ideas from wherever they originate. It is a signal to other content creators that if they share your content, there is a possibility you will reciprocate. Curated content alone is not sufficient. To build your reputation as a thought leader, when you share content from others, you should include your original thoughts on the pieces as a start. This can be a good way to begin establishing your voice and providing insights that can be synthesized into their own original pieces.

To develop thought leadership during operational duties, stay informed on industry trends, network, and share insights internally and externally. Engage in mentorship, collaborate across departments, and prioritize continuous learning. Approach challenges strategically, foster a learning culture, and enhance communication skills. Seek feedback, establish an online presence, and participate in leadership training for skills like strategic thinking. Integrating these practices will not only boost personal and professional growth but also contribute to team and organizational success.

It can be hard to see the forest through the trees here, meaning you go about your day-to-day and think “I have nothing of interest to share”. Remember: even a simple daily task that seems basic to you might be interesting to others! Look at your day and your work from an outsider’s perspective: what do you do individually or as a team that’s different, or challenging? What interesting things are you working on? What are some real team or customer stories? There’s nothing worse than feeling a pressure to contribute but having nothing to write about, so start keeping a list of topics that you can cherry pick from at any time ?? and pop a post-it on your desk to remind yourself to keep adding to the list every week!

Some ways to get started: 1. Building a pipeline of thought leadership ideas overnight is not possible. In fact, ideas will come to you when you are going through your day-to-day affairs. When that happens, make a note, use the various digital scribbling apps to cultivate a habit. 2. It's important that you are being authentic. If NFTs are not something you are interested in, chances are you won't have anything original to contribute on this topic. But you can always draw parallels between the topic at hand and something you are genuinely interested in and have a lot to talk about. 3. 80% of the job is 'showing up'. It requires discipline to build your niche overtime. The key is to post, even when no one is reading.

Engagement with the audience is 80% success. Source new topics from audience questions, track ongoing discussions, and incorporate examples from your audience into your narrative. Your followers are keen on relatable stories, positioning you as a facilitator between them. Encourage dialogue, foster exchange, and remember, thought leadership holds value when it contributes to people's development. It's not about you—it's about enabling others.

I often have conversations with people who reach out based on my content. I ask them why they downloaded it, and how I can improve it. Sometimes I just have a chat about their work. These one-on-one convo's are always insightful, and typically give me new ideas. Especially when an article unexpectedly takes off: why did people find it interesting? The reasons are often quite different from what I assumed. And you never know how such a chat leads to something else. When you are an independent, you don't have a boss who gives you feedback, so use the wisdom of the crowd!

From my point of view, you need to be authentic and other leaders will come to meet you. They will be interested about your personality. At the beginning yes, respect what is written in this article but be so good they can’t ignore you!

Always continue to grow, learn and experiment! Remain curious about other areas and opportunities, challenge your own beliefs and search for opposing views. This will spark many more ideas and create more value for you and for your audience!

Learn every single day. But don’t try to learn only from successful people and companies. try to learn from everyone. Talk with poor people on the street, read old books, find who you are and what your role in this world. Do something that make you happy because if you do something that will make you successful and unhappy, you are not a succesul person

Mindfulness is a surprisingly helpful tool in building thought leadership muscles. Every time you have a conversation with someone and they ask you a question or have an "ah-ha" moment based on something you share that is a topic worthy of sharing with others. Sometimes, we are not aware of the value our current knowledge has to others. Paying attention to what others find interesting is critical to fully leveraging in our thought leadership work the things we research, the skills we develop, and the experiences we encounter.

Nowadays, people crave authentic leaders more than ever. People need leaders who are genuine, transparent, and true to their values and beliefs. This authenticity builds trust and inspires genuine respect and loyalty from teams and followers. And one more thing to remember - it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice ??

When I am on stage, the best connections with the audience happen when I tell personal stories. I often talk about young employees, and my experiences with students. People sometime come up to me afterwards to tell me how something I said resonated and they suddenly understand some behavior of their kids. When you share your story, it shows you care and people take that to heart because it's relatable. Make it as personal as you can, and remain professional at the same time.

The best storytellers, the real thought leaders, are those who are genuine and authentic. They take the time to first listen, and learn about their intended audience. Then they share real, relevant stories and examples that showcase first empathy, then expertise, while not being afraid to be different. The true power in storytelling comes from being able to touch the reader (or listener) on an emotional level and be memorable. Create moments that resonate.

Fake it til you make it is a saying almost all of us have heard at some point in our lives and it definitely can have its merits. No one knows everything and there’s always more to learn. For me, a big part of my personal and professional journey was learning more about myself, who I am today, and who I strive to be tomorrow. I remember the leadership advice of “never showing a chink in the armor”, but that never really resonated with me. The leaders that have been the most impactful to me are the ones that have led with empathy, owned their missteps, and just simply showed their authentic self. We should worry less about fitting into a perfect idea and remember we are all humans, doing our best.

From my point of view, humble people have a super power. Everyone wants to have a humble friend, client, partner, leader, and so on. But is not easy to stay humble. But only if you stay humble you can be successful. Honestly is the second, respectul is the third. But all these without authenticity…is nothing. Be yourself!

Go and meet people in person at conferences, events, gatherings and 1:1 meetings too. This will help you and your business more than you think

It is easy to work. It is easy to"life". Work-life "balance" is the hard part. Still learning. Thankfully, most corporate roles come with highs and lows of workload. Having an understanding family goes a long way in finding happiness even if not a constant, predictable state of "balance".