People often ask me what it takes to become a thought leader so here's my light-hearted recipe for success. I believe you must start with a whole-hearted, purpose-driven leader and add at least 2 cloves of creativity. Read on for the complete, time-tested recipe.
One phrase I keep hearing from companies I’ve been (virtually) speaking for in the last few months is “transformation”. Digital transformation, business process transformation, whole company transformation – it’s all another way of saying companies and organizations of all sizes are undergoing change. So, if change is the new normal (and I think it always was), what role will you play as a champion of change? In this edition of the [...]
Over the weekend, I had the chance to participate as a speaker for a women’s community I have long been a part of. Sharing my expertise in thought leadership and personal branding is always a pleasure – even when I’m customizing a talk at 8 AM on a Sunday morning! Following the session, we had a chance to connect in break-out rooms with other participants and the conversation quickly turned to ‘how do [...]
Over the last 10+ years, I've spent many hours writing about, speaking about, and teaching about thought leadership and I’ve noticed that people often confuse building their personal brand with becoming a thought leader. Many believe that if they have a strong personal brand, they are automatically a thought leader. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work like that. The truth is, you can have a strong personal brand and not be a thought leader and [...]
Has your organization put ‘thought leadership’ as one of its goals for 2021? You’re not alone. Increasingly, I'm hearing from organizations of all types and sizes that are prioritizing thought leadership, understanding that building a reputation as forward-thinking, standing out for their expertise, adding value through advocating for and advancing change in their industry or society – these are all ways that organizations build trust and attract the right customers, partners and [...]
This last year was a doozy and most of the C-Suite executives I know hunkered down, just trying to keep the job they have and keep their teams and companies on track. But with vaccine access becoming widespread, it feels like hope is (finally) on the horizon. And with that hope comes a new focus on … what’s next? You may be asking yourself should I position myself for a new, bigger [...]
I recently had the opportunity to interview Lisa Hufford, author of Navigating the Talent Shift, and founder and CEO of Simplicity Consulting -- a $40M on-demand marketing and communications consulting business in the Pacific Northwest. The sad truth is that there are far too few women CEOs who have written a well-respected business book to showcase their ideas and build their brand, so I was intrigued to speak with Lisa right from the start. Lisa [...]
Here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately…what’s the difference between someone who is an expert in their field and someone who is a well-known expert? And what about someone who is a well-known expert in their field vs. someone who is a well-respected thought leader? Often the terms expert and thought leader are used synonymously, but actually, I believe that while expertise is a pre-requisite for thought leadership, being an expert is [...]
Are you ready to kick off your New Year with a bit of annual planning? Try the Life Audit.I first discovered the life audit in 2014 in this great article on Medium by Ximena Vengoechea a design researcher at Twitter. While Ximena does a thorough and masterful job of describing the complete process, here is my short-cut version for those in a hurry.1) dream big (and broadly)To conduct a life audit you need lots of post-it [...]
I was on the phone recently with Holly Hamann, Co-Founder, and CMO of TapInfluence, talking about how they have been building a thought leadership culture throughout their organization. Holly shared some of her lessons learned and then we got to talking about some of the myths and misconceptions that scare people away from taking their first steps to building influence. Given that it’s almost Halloween, I thought I’d share a few of [...]
