How to post like a thought leader.

Founder - do you want to be a thought leader? Does your 'archetype' influence how you post?

People talk about thought leadership and building a personal brand in the same breath, as if they were one and the same. I could build a personal brand around wearing flashy waistcoats and red shoes. It isn't going to make me a thought leader, is it?

Some people simply think of thought leadership as being an authority. A person or business can be a thought leader because of a depth of knowledge, for example. Well, that doesn’t cut it for me either – It’s like saying Wikipedia is a thought leader.

A thought leader - someone who takes people to where they don’t necessarily want to go but where they probably need to be (i.e. sometimes saying the unthinkable).

In a post on LinkedIn last year I described a thought leader as ‘someone who takes people to where they don’t necessarily want to go but where they probably need to be (i.e. sometimes saying the unthinkable)’. Thought leaders have to sound new and fresh, and sometimes they’re uncomfortable to listen to. They challenge our views, and so they should.

?If what you’ve got to say doesn’t cause any reaction, you’re probably just regurgitating something we’ve heard too many times before. Blah! Blah! Blah! You’re a ‘thought follower’ not a thought leader. If no-one follows you (because of your ‘thought’ contribution) then, basically, you’ve just gone for a walk. Enjoy your own company.

Many founders want to be thought leaders – because that sits alongside talking about and selling their disruptive business idea.

Thought leadership - it’s a form of lead-generation.

They also think they want a strong personal brand – how strongly they can express who they are or what they stand for to gain attention. So, I sat for a few days trying to puzzle out how to show the differences between these ideas and some different ways you could express yourself on social media to capture this.

?Archetypes and the four box grid

As soon as ‘personal brand’ became an important ‘thing’ in a founder’s arsenal someone developed a course to charge for it as a service. You can decide whether you want to pay for that – but this may help you for free.

I started with the premise that you could have a weak or strong personal brand and also be good or less good at thought leadership. The idea of a four box grid suggested itself.

Everyone loves the power of a four box grid to explain a concept simply – sometimes ?just too simply!

?Next, I needed labels and descriptions. So four archetypes suggested themselves to me, one for each quadrant. I’m not saying this is perfect, but I like it’s simplicity (and I can guarantee it’ll find it’s way into someone’s course somewhere – remember ?Phil McSweeney!).

?

What do you make of it?

It’s easy to name successful ‘influencers’ and their ideas (strong personal brands and thought leadership) because of the success of just a few concepts – Simon Sinek, Daniel Goleman, James Dyson, Brian Cox, Carol Dweck come to mind.

I can’t name as many ‘hidden gems’ but some less widely know people have influenced my thinking over the years – Paul Plsek on Complexity in healthcare over twenty years ago, Dr David Unwin for his pioneering work on low-carb diet as a cure for obesity and type 2 diabetes. ?

I’d suggest the chances of being a successful ‘celebrity’ founder without any depth of expertise or knowledge are quite slim.

If you’re a wallflower it doesn’t matter – if you are crystal clear on what you want to achieve with your own business and have ways of finding customers and getting them to remember you.

Uses of the grid

Each quadrant represents a different combination of thought leadership and personal branding, offering insights into how individuals or companies position themselves in their respective fields. The grid could be useful for personal development, marketing strategies, or analysing industry figures.

I decided to explore trying to use it like this – in three related ways:

-????????? Can you better position yourself as a founder e.g. as a thought leader (possibly coming via the hidden gem route?) by being more selective about the type of social media posts you create, and how?

-????????? Can you do yourself a disservice by the type of post you create if you want to be taken more seriously?

-????????? Could this help you shift your content style ?/ blogging etc. to achieve better outcomes?

Content types for different founder archetypes:

Let's explore the typical content each ‘type’ of founder might post on their social media channels based on their quadrant in the grid:

?1. Influencer (+Thought Leader, +Personal Brand)

Content type:

- Thought-provoking industry analyses

- Behind-the-scenes glimpses of their company

- Predictions about future industry or societal trends

- Challenges to status-quo thinking

- Personal stories of success and failure

- Live Q&A sessions and webinars

- Collaborations with other industry leaders

- Announcements of speaking engagements or book launches

2. Hidden Gem (+Thought Leader, -Personal Brand)

Content type:

- In-depth technical posts about their product or service

- Detailed explanations of complex industry concepts

- Responses to industry news or research papers

- Occasional updates about company milestones

- Shared articles from respected industry sources

- Sparse personal content, mostly focused on work

- Niche discussions in specialised forums or groups

3. Celebrity (-Thought Leader, +Personal Brand)

Content type:

- Lifestyle posts showcasing a glamorous founder life

- Motivational quotes, inspirational messages, memes

- Lots of selfies and personal photos

- Product endorsements and sponsored content

- Announcements about media appearances

- Flashy company events and parties

- Surface-level industry comments or reposts

- Lack of engagement with others at a deeper level

?4. Wallflower (-Thought Leader, -Personal Brand)

Content type:

- Occasional updates about company products or services

- Shared content from other industry sources without much commentary

- Basic company news or press releases

- Sporadic personal posts, often seeming unsure in tone

- Job openings or recruitment posts

- Reposts of customer reviews or testimonials

- Tentative attempts at engaging with industry trends

In summary:

Each founder type would likely have a distinct social media presence reflecting their position in the thought leadership and personal branding matrix. The Influencer would have a robust, varied presence, while the Hidden Gem might focus more on depth than frequency. The Celebrity would prioritize image and engagement, often at the expense of substance, while the Wallflower might struggle to maintain a consistent or impactful social media presence.

You might not fit clearly into one archetype – be a mix across two domains. That doesn’t matter. I’m just hoping that a. it helped clarify differences between thought leader and personal brand, and b. you might find this helpful in determining where you are intending to go.

What has this made you think about your own posting on your socials? ?

Phil McSweeney is a Growth mentor for startups and author of the widely-acclaimed book on fundraising AngelThink (available on Amazon).