You can't outsource having a point
Every once in a while, I hear someone announce that they have a goal of doing more thought leadership. For a long time, I didn't understand what this meant.
Magic decoder ring to the rescue: "I want to do more thought leadership" often means the person wants to write articles, often on LinkedIn but sometimes elsewhere, that make people believe the author is smart, forward-leaning, and inspiring. More often than not, it actually means they want someone else (a human or an AI) to write the articles for them.
This isn't thought leadership. And contrary to what you are hoping, it also isn't helping your professional reputation.
These aren't the droids you're looking for
Every time I make a LinkedIn post, I can expect a comment between 3-4am PT the following morning from a particular contact. It is very obvious that this person (bot?) has automated their comments and uses AI to write them. When I see the notification, I get the little dopamine hit: "Yay! Someone is interested in what I have to say!" But then I see who the comment is from, and I feel let down.
The bot comments are not all objectively terrible, btw, even if they follow a familiar formula. The account is using AI that is better than average. But the fact that I know the comments do not come from someone with intention makes me discount them entirely, even if they might otherwise be insightful.
The same is true when you publish "thought leadership" pieces that are generic, predictable, and bland enough to not offend anyone. Your friends might click like on your post, but you're not winning any new audience.
If you want to not only earn a loyal following but also create something of value for them, three things need to be true:
#1: You need unique, provocative ideas.
Literally the worst marketing content ever: a post called "Five ways to write good marketing content." Better might be "Five ways to write the worst marketing content ever" or "I am not a professional marketer, but I play one on TV" or "Marketing is for criminals!"
If your content could be made by anyone else on the internet, or if it is made by AI copying everyone else on the internet, it isn't leadership. It also isn't thinking.
To have influence, you have to be willing to be compelling.
#2: You gotta pick a medium and cadence and stick to it.
For real, don't start a blog. If I wanted to read your hello world post, I would invent a time machine and visit you in 2007.
Okay fine, I guess you can start a blog. But don't start it and declare it a recurring thing until you know you mean it. Otherwise you'll just be hanging out with your hello world tombstone and no one will visit. The ghost of thought leadership past.
On the other hand, if you publish a blog or a video one time, it rarely has the impact you want. You are not leading if no one notices.
You might think you can publish a few things and then let AI create more stuff based on your voice. You can certainly try, but your audience will sniff you out. It will smell like "thought leadership," not like thought leadership.
If you do decide to make it a recurring thing, choose a medium and cadence you can stick to. For example, I look weird on video, so I write newsletters and draw comics. You do you.
#3: You need the lived experience that makes you credible.
Know what's not interesting? People giving you advice on something they've never done themselves. Doesn't matter if it's me at age 22 commenting on other people's parenting styles or a career academic telling you how to build a great team in the workplace. If you haven't done it yourself, your perspective comes with a discount.
Whatever your real, lived experience is, that's the basis of your most compelling thought leadership. People are most interesting when they tell true stories. When you live something, you learn it. These are the places you are most inspiring as a leader.
The bottom line: You can't fake "thought leadership." It's not thought leadership if you aren't doing the thinking. Tell your true story, in your own voice! Your audience knows the difference.
Kieran
If you liked this story, why not subscribe to nerd processor and get the back issues? Also, why not learn to tell data stories of your own?
My latest data stories | Build like a founder | nerdprocessor.com