Thought leadership is overrated - give room for expertise

I think it’s time for the expert practitioner to take centre stage instead of visionary ideas of innovation.

Thought leadership, while requires a very good level of expertise, is about vision, innovation and presenting new ideas. Most thought leadership today is looking at the bigger picture.

However, we cannot lose sight of the value - especially today in such changing markets and economic challenges - of the role of expert practitioners who have market-specific knowledge. Their expertise is rooted in addressing the daily issues of the here and now. They can make sense of what’s happening today, and what needs to be done to achieve success.

Within the media, there’s a huge amount of opportunity to place opinion articles and thought leadership articles. Sharing a vision is inspiring, motivating and can spark innovation. But overly investing in thought leadership can come at the expense of helping individuals and businesses navigate the real challenges they are facing now. Ultimately, there needs to be a balance between the two.

The media are in fact looking for insights and answers to regulatory and policy changes; informative quotes on complex topics, and real-life examples readers can relate to.

Are you overly invested in visionary thought leadership? It might be time to ask yourself some questions. What do we need to do as a business right now to be successful? How can we address the immediate hurdles we’re facing before we reach the big milestones? How can we ensure there is a clear path to achieve our vision?

As well as communicating your vision through thought leadership, you need to share your actual successes and the real impact you’re having. Draw on concrete experiences through use cases. Don’t talk about what could be done – share what has been done. Use case studies that will resonate with your audience, whether they’re global multinational companies, or small and medium sized businesses.

Instead of only sharing how you see the future, relate to your audience, contextualise what is happening today, and ask questions. Think about how you can help them come on the journey with you, rather than left behind.?

I work with clients at the intersection of the tech, travel and hospitality industries. Many individuals have had varied careers, but may have only focused on customer facing roles, or they know about the tech world, but not the intricate dynamics of hospitality. It’s key to relate to them about the things they’re learning about, grappling with, and need to tackle in their roles right now. If they’re a hotelier, we’ll discuss everything from how they’re handling staffing issues and rising costs, to how they’re responding to trends in the industry. Their priority isn’t having a vision, it’s what they can do now to solve today’s problems.

Peer to peer knowledge sharing is becoming rapidly more relevant today. With slashed learning, development and training budgets, individuals are looking towards expertise among their peers to learn and do their jobs better. Learning from the experiences of others and gaining practical advice helps them thrive in their roles. It makes them more effective in the day to day. It also means they can be more strategic and work towards the vision the company has.?

It’s time to strike a better balance in marcomms between marketing promotions, thought leadership, and sharing expertise. Diving in with more expertise-driven work is more meaningful to many. And it will also help achieve the longer term vision.

Examples of where we’re asked for expertise:

• Can you explain the impact on recent legislation on the industry?
• Can you provide advice on managing staffing challenges?
• What are the distinct differences between two geographic markets? (e.g UK vs Spain)
• What specific trends and behaviours are you seeing in the UK?
• Where are businesses specifically growing?