What You Want from Your Thought Leadership Isn’t Always What You Need

We’re told our whole lives that wants and needs are two distinct things.

We’ll sing the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in our heads as we budget our finances for what we need.

For some reason, however, this disciplined attitude goes right out the window when thought leadership comes up.

Maybe the idea of being a thought leader brings out people’s egotistical side or perhaps people are just confused as to what thought leadership actually entails.

Regardless, there’s a good chance what you want out of your thought leadership and what you actually need from thought leadership are two different things.

Replace Thought Leadership Wants with Thought Leadership Needs

Everyone wants global recognition, viral content, and praise. Let’s be honest though; everyone wants to be a household name like the tech leaders we know today.

Successful thought leaders don’t set out with these goals. Well, some might, but they know these are wants and not needs.

Here are some typical wants and the needs thought leaders should replace them with:

“I want to disrupt my industry.” → “I need to innovate the best solutions.”

“I want to earn wide recognition.” → “I need to establish trust in my brand.”

“I want more sales and revenue.” → “I need to focus on customer needs.”

“I want to be unique.” → “I need to provide the best answers based on my expertise.”

5 Things You Absolutely Need for Successful Thought Leadership

The statistics around thought leadership production and perception are pretty stark:

· Nearly half of decisionmakers spend at least an hour consuming thought leadership content.

·...But only 15% say the thought leadership content they consume is “excellent.”

· 89% of decision-makers say thought leadership content influences their opinion of a brand.

· ...But only 29% say they gain valuable insights from thought leadership at least half the time.

To start (or rework) your thought leadership strategy on the right foot, follow the necessities below.

1. The Right Thought Leadership Attitude

Before anything, you must make sure you’re approaching thought leadership the right way. Start with your goals. Successful thought leadership goals look like:

·       Using my expertise to show people why my company is trustworthy.

·       Identifying my industry’s upcoming problems and offering relevant solutions to help people.

·       Sharing my knowledge to empower others to make smart decisions.

Successful thought leaders know their work is more like a combination of journalism and inspirational public speaking than content marketing or self-promotion. It’s like journalism in that you analyze and research current events and offer speculation. It’s like inspirational public speaking in that you capture audiences and motivate them to act.

2. A Well-Researched Niche

Lots of thought leaders suffer from writer’s block because they focus too much on wants instead of needs. As with anything, when we focus too much on sensationalism or radical uniqueness, we become overstimulated and eventually burn ourselves out.

These thought leaders end up going viral for one controversial article and then fizzle out.

It would be best if you spent time running comprehensive research on your industry, audience, and existing thought leaders before you pick a thought leadership niche. And yes, you should only pick one (or very few similar niches).

Original research will tell you whether there’s even a viable market for your niche, whether it’s saturated, and how it will hold up over time.

3. Fellow Thought Leaders

The greatest thought leaders throughout the ages never worked in isolation. Think of your favourite philosopher no matter their era, beliefs, or part of the world. Every one of them built on thought from other philosophers who laid the groundwork decades and centuries before them.

They also constantly consumed all types of thought leadership – including and especially things they disagreed with.

Seek out fellow influencers and thought leaders in your niche—host joint podcasts. Interview them. Curate their content and tell people to follow them. Debate them in live streams.

It’s a fact that humans are more intelligent in groups. You need your personal “group” for successful thought leadership.

4. Focus on Solving Tomorrow’s Problems

Focusing too much on your wants will leave you with reactionary thought leadership content. You’ll end up stuck in a cycle where you’re continuously reacting to yesterday’s problems and critiquing what other thought leaders have said.

As the name implies, thought leaders lead.

Ongoing comprehensive research is vital for meeting this need. Professional research like surveys and questionnaires can keep you two steps ahead of the news cycle and other thought leaders in your industry.

Instead of reacting to the news and existing problems, you’ll be tapped into your audience like a journalist so you can break the story and offer solutions at once. You’ll have a grasp of problems your niche faces now that haven’t been addressed yet. Like a journalist, you’ll also never run dry on stories.

5. A Well-Developed Thought Leader Voice

Every media outlet has a well-defined editorial line, and each journalist has their own recognizable voice. That’s why if you had an article from Vice and another from Financial Times side by side, you’d be able to tell which is which based on the voice and tone alone.

Your thought leader voice needs an editorial line and tone as well. The worst quality you can have for credibility is inconsistency. While admitting you were wrong based on new evidence is also important for credibility, successful thought leaders don’t change their opinion week to week.

Research can help you figure out what tone and voice are right for your audience, company, and niche.

Do You Really Need That for Your Thought Leadership?

It’s always smart to involve multiple people in your thought leadership strategy – and not people who will validate and agree with everything you propose. Friends and colleagues with honest opinions are worth their weight in gold when it comes to keeping your thought leadership grounded and relevant.