If you’ve been in marketing, particularly content marketing, for any amount of time, you’ve heard the term “thought leadership.” I remember my first time hearing it, and everyone talked about it so confidently that I went along with it instead of asking what it was. I’d hear things like, “We need our executives to put out more thought leadership” or “we want to position ourselves as thought leaders in this sector.” On its face it’s a pretty simple concept but what is thought leadership? 

Western Governors University (the first Google search result for this question) defines thought leadership as, “Thought leadership is the expression of ideas that demonstrate you have expertise in a particular field, area, or topic.” That’s basically it in a nutshell. 

So how do you become a thought leader? We all have thoughts and you put them out there for the world to see. Even if you don’t consider yourself THE expert on something, there are things you have a commanding knowledge over and can be a thought leader on.

For example, I have over a decade of marketing experience AND I’ve been practicing mindfulness for even longer than that. So I consider this blog to be my thought leadership on how to be an effective marketer while also being mindful of your time and overall wellness. There are no specific qualifications for this, but it’s my expertise. 

Is it important that you are a thought leader? Yes and no. Yes because you want to make sure people take you as a professional seriously. Think of thought leadership as a way to backup whatever you have on your resume. It shows that you know your stuff. No because you can still be taken seriously without being a thought leader. 

How do I become a thought leader? 

Step 1: be an expert at something. This doesn’t mean wait until you know absolutely everything about a subject. It means to take whatever your expertise is in and share that. 

Step 2: publish your thought leadership pieces. This can be on a blog, on LinkedIn, via a newsletter; however you connect with your clients and/or peers is where you should post your thoughts. 

Step 3: Keep learning. Our world is constantly changing and new information is always surfacing. Stay curious about the area you’re a leader in and present that new info as you receive it. It’s ok to change your thoughts on something; just be transparent about why your opinion has changed. That’s showing leadership!