Over the last few weeks, I have had conversations with several senior executives who have a lot in common – they are all smart, capable, hard-working, and have a commitment to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, none of them are thought leaders. They all struggle with different aspects of the thought leadership journey and I hope their experiences will help you move forward on yours. ...You're Waiting for Perfection Executive [...]
I was recently consulting with a woman entrepreneur, I’ll call her Rose, prior to her participation in an industry association meeting. Her goal for the meeting was to move forward some change initiatives in her industry and gain more recognition for her start-up. Since she was not an invited speaker, we knew she would have to work harder to gain attention for her ideas and gain the notice she deserved. Here are [...]
For many years I've been fascinated by the concept of archetypes as they provide an efficient and useful shortcut to understanding complex ideas. And while I am no Joseph Campbell, I have spent the last dozen years working with and studying thought leaders and learning about and writing about thought leadership. During that time, I have identified 7 different (and sometimes overlapping) archetypes that summarize the motivations of the thought leaders that I [...]
A few years ago, I was invited to do a fireside chat at a large tech company and one of the audience members asked me a question that I’ve never forgotten -- can political leaders be thought leaders? At the time, I had never given the question much thought and my answer reflected a certain bias against the idea, maybe because of my own experience working full time on a large political [...]
I was taking questions following a webinar on thought leadership last week (with the amazing Carol Emmott Fellows of 2022 – check out what they’re doing) when one of them asked me about something that has long been on my mind. How, she wondered, do you keep going when you are fighting for change in an arena like racial justice, where every day you see evidence that the fight is unwinnable? I can [...]
If you're like me, you subscribe to and read a lot of newsletters. Every morning, I get between 10 and 20 daily, weekly and monthly newsletters in my mailbox and some of them I read religiously (Dave Pell's Next Draft), while others get an occasional glance if the headline catches my eye. These are all things I have chosen to subscribe to and while I look forward to many of them, I [...]
I was on a call with a client last week and she asked me something that fired me up. We have been working together for several months and during that time she has advanced from being unknown outside her community of colleagues to finding her voice, honing her niche, identifying her thought leadership topics, creating a strong LinkedIn profile, and sharing content related to the future she envisions. She has also [...]
Ever been with someone at a networking event or a business meeting where they failed to introduce you? It can be both painful and awkward...and it doesn't have to be that way! Here's a technique that I learned from my friend and mentor, Sam Horn about how to not just introduce but to 'credentialize' someone so that you're making true connections. This can also be a great thought leadership technique when used online [...]
Simone Biles is a global phenomenon and her decision this week to step away from competing was heard around the world. What can we learn from her willingness to acknowledge and respect the signals her body was giving her? How might we emulate her choices when we are faced with our own version of the 'twisties'? Read the newsletter.
Are you struggling with moving forward on your thought leadership journey? Most of us get stuck in some very disempowering thought distortions that take us out of the game. Here are a few that may be holding you back. Which one resonates with you? Read the article.
