What do you do if you want to demonstrate your thought leadership and expertise for a promotion?

Align your niche with organizational goals. Determine the key areas of expertise and knowledge that are relevant to the promotion you're seeking. Consider what skills, experiences, and insights are valued in the new role. Create content Share your content on social media platforms Actively engage with colleagues, industry peers, and leaders within your organization. Look for opportunities to speak at conferences, seminars, webinars, or internal events etc. Keep a record of your thought leadership activities, including any content you've created, speaking engagements, mentoring relationships, and positive feedback or recognition received. This documentation will be valuable when making your case for promotion. Seek feedback and adjust

Showcase your thought leadership by becoming an internal knowledge hub. Share data-driven insights or industry trends relevant to your team's challenges in company meetings. This positions you as a problem-solver who thinks strategically, not just someone fulfilling their current role. Tailor your content to your target audience. Consider the challenges faced by those in the position you desire. By addressing their pain points with insightful content, you demonstrate not just expertise, but also a strategic understanding of the role's requirements. This positions you as a thought leader who adds immediate value and influences positive organizational change.

1. Fractal understand the function and human processes in your organisation and the common vision they are trying to achieve. 2. Keep learning new and upcoming knowledge and trends that are relevant to #1 and share them to your team consciously. 3. Identify values, technological and cultural changes and work with your management to share your learning/understanding for changes in #1. 4. Build a network of relevant professional stakeholders and engage with them consistently. Passionate share this responsibility with your team. 5. Keep a record of learnings from experiences and implement them significantly benefitting #1 and develop and share deep expertise through this as a team,

Promotions often hinge on leadership potential. Showcase yours by becoming a mentor. Offer to guide junior colleagues or participate in internal mentorship programs. example: Mentoring a young entrepreneur, I used my business psychology and mindset expertise to help him develop a growth mindset and navigate challenges. Witnessing their success solidified my reputation as a thought leader who empowers others to thrive. Focus on transferable skills. While industry knowledge is important, highlight the broader transferable skills you impart through mentorship, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication. This showcases your ability to develop well-rounded professionals who can contribute across the organization.

Sharing is caring. The new way to individual growth is as a team. Inculcate kindness and building trust with team members goes a long way, it gives a unique perspective of satisfaction as well. Being open to help, offering proactive help and support to team members in times of professional and personal need purely for the sake of it is important. It is necessary to be mindful of being generous and sincerely kind with any type of help (including mentorship) as it will genuine emboss quality leadership skills from within. Spending time crafting new ways to ideate, explore actionable games to generate solutions and inculcate openness in acknowledging and addressing problems and issues.

Thought leadership isn't static. To stand out for promotions, cultivate a mindset of constant innovation. Don't just regurgitate existing ideas. Challenge industry norms and propose fresh perspectives. Explore emerging trends and analyze their potential impact on your field. This innovative approach positions you as a thought leader who shapes the future, not just reflects the past, making you a desirable candidate for leadership roles. Example: as a Business Psychologist, I studied the impact of AI on employee motivation. This unique perspective shared through leadership quarterly planning presentations, positioned me as a thought leader. My innovative approach ultimately led to long-term cooperation with that company.

Thought leaders are often working to bring about change in their field, industry, community. Joining, forming, and leading professional orgs, trade associations, and communities of practice is a great way to bring about change. Organizations like Silicon Valley Leadership Group have been instrumental in building the region’s economy by aligning community interests. Members have an opportunity to showcase their organizations, their own ideas, and bring about positive change. Healthcare Business Women’s Association is another great example, as members work together for change, while also gaining a platform for their ideas. As you think about your own thought leadership journey, what communities might you start or participate in?

Promotions reward results, not just resumes. Go beyond showcasing expertise – demonstrate how your thought leadership drives tangible impact. Quantify the results of your ideas. Did your industry article lead to a new client for your company? Did your conference presentation influence a positive change in company policy? I'll use my example: as a Performance Coach, I published an article on a new training strategy I implemented. The data-driven results showcased a significant increase in employee productivity, directly impacting the company's bottom line. This content not only established my thought leadership but also boosted my position while scaling the program across the organization.

Brand is created through collection of cultures build on values, principles and so the brains behind them. Employee culture, Customer culture, technology culture and so on. Culture as we know is a combination of multiple tangible and human factors . With proper culture , a revolutionising brand is created. A vision or mission for an organisation without accompanying culture statement, process of onboarding and process of growth is like a Ship with torn sails. Thought leadership and functional growth should be built around a culture inorder to create a revolutionising and long lasting brand in any field.

Don't be shy about promoting your thought leadership efforts internally. Share your content with colleagues and leadership, highlighting the value it brings to the organization. Frame your accomplishments as contributions to the company's brand recognition and industry influence. Thought leadership isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy. Consider the specific promotion you're targeting and tailor your content accordingly. Research the challenges faced by the department you're aiming to lead and showcase your expertise in addressing those specific issues.

Communication is Key, But Go Beyond Content. For promotions, demonstrate your ability to navigate various communication channels. Can you present effectively to leadership? Do you collaborate well across departments? Showcase your initiative by taking on critical company issues. Identify a company-wide challenge and propose a solution. Volunteer for a cross-functional project to demonstrate your ability to collaborate and communicate effectively. Show Ongoing Impact. Can you track increased engagement with your content, positive feedback from colleagues, or even a pilot program testing your ideas?

Professionals often confuse their dedication, knowledge, habits, achievements, and hard work, for their "Perceived Value". It doesn't matter how good, or how valuable you are to a company if the people who make hiring decisions don't know and perceive your value. In the CNS Negotiation Framework, "Perceived Value" is essentially the employers perception of what happens when you are in your job & what will happen if you aren't? If that perception (Regardless of its reality), is that the company sees little or no difference between having, and not having you, then you are expendable. If they perceive that there would be a greater cost to lose you, than to keep you, they won't let you go. Who is responsible for their perception? YOU ARE!