4 Things You Need to Know to Become A Thought Leader
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A thought leader is an informed leader that develops original ideas to become the go-to people in their field of expertise.
Thought leaders take the lead to truly change the face of a vertical in business. When you are a thought leader, instead of just doing what you are good at, you share your experience with others. You answer questions like:
- What is happening in your industry?
- What are the trends?
- What are the problems people face?
- How do people solve those problems?
- What are your predictions?
You don’t have to be someone famous to become a thought leader either. In fact, a 2020 thought leadership report says 70% of people believe that you don’t need to have a large social following to be a thought leader.
Thought leadership is all about owning your voice, owning your power, owning your expertise and getting your ideas heard. In doing so, you establish yourself as a credible source of information and the go-to person in your niche.
When you are a thought leader, you inspire others with your innovative ideas and you show them you have the capability to turn your ideas into reality. For me, it was creating a model called The Human Way, which helps humanize operations as a way to build trust in our digital world. Whatever your industry or field, you are capable of doing the exact same thing yourself.
How do you become a thought leader?
A thought leader can take many forms. You can be someone who is already successful running your own business and want to make more of a difference by becoming a thought leader. You can be an employee who doesn’t want to leave their company but wants to establish themselves as an authority in their field of experience. Or you can be a thought leader as a career [they don’t teach you that in college!]. But it is a misnomer that you have to be an entrepreneur to be a thought leader. The choice is yours! The question becomes, how do you take action to do it?
Here are 4 ways to help you become a thought leader in your niche:
- Know what you believe in and be comfortable in expressing…