FOLLOWING
NETWORKING
STORYTELLING
SPEAKING
STRATEGY
EXPERTS
FOLLOWING
At Thought Leadership Lab, we are fond of sharing resources. Depending on what topic you are focused on, we hope you’ll find some ideas here that can help you be smarter, move faster, or connect with someone cool.
BUILD YOUR FOLLOWING
- Get training in writing an Op-Ed at the OpEd Project – www.theopedproject.org.
- Write an article for a specialized publication in your field, or post on Medium, LinkedIn or Newsbreak.
- Guest blog on a popular blog – Try Alltop to find the top blogs by topic area.
- Reach out to a podcast host in your subject matter to see if you can be a guest. Use the iTunes list of popular podcasts or ListenNotes.
- Start an e-newsletter and send it to people in your industry/niche. Use an email marketing tool like iContact, MailChimp or Constant Contact.
- Convene a group of people with the same title/job across your industry for quarterly calls or meetings.
DEVELOP YOUR PLATFORM
- Search SlideShare or YouTube to see what other experts in your niche have created to support their platform.
- Find thought leaders in your niche by looking for hashtags related to your topic on social media and see who’s sharing content under that hashtag. Then follow those that are sharing the best content so you can amplify their best ideas.
- Speak on a panel at a leadership conference. If you’re an experienced speaker, sign up eSpeakers or a speaker’s bureau like Leading Authorities.
- Comment on the blog(s) of others who are thought leaders in your niche, industry, organization.
- Join Thinkers 360 and share your content with a wider audience.
NETWORKING
At Thought Leadership Lab, we think everyone needs a large, well-nurtured network. It’s how we’ve built our business, learned all kinds of new things, and gotten involved in making a difference. Here are some ideas on how to build your network. (Remember – a great network starts by giving back!)
NETWORKING
- Join the board of a trade association or non-profit in your niche.
- Update your LinkedIn page so others can learn about you – use hashtags that others follow so they can find you and what you’re best at.
- Sign up for a weekly update of events in your niche (check www.Meetup.com) and attend a few every month.
- Host a webinar on a topic you are an expert in and invite others to attend. Try a tool like Zoom to host your webinar or create a LinkedIn Live event.
- Start a monthly breakfast group with others you want to meet. You invite a small group and then encourage them to each bring their favorite person in their field that others need to meet.
- Use Google Alerts to stay informed about people in your network.
STORYTELLING
The people who join your ‘tribe’ want to identify and connect with you. The more clearly you can tell a story, the more likely you are to build a loyal tribe. Sadly, few are born with the gift of storytelling – the rest of us have to work to develop it. Here are some resources that can help.
- WATCH: TED Talks – to see how others present their ideas. A few of our favorites include Simon Sinek, Brene Brown, Sam Horn, and Seth Godin.
- LEARN: Learn storytelling – www.storynet.org/ or www.storytelling-in-business.com
- CREATE A VIDEO: Develop a 3-minute talk on a topic you care about and videotape yourself presenting it. (Need a video tool? Try Loom or Camtasia.) Replay the tape and give yourself a fair critique. What did you do well? What could you improve?
- ONLINE COURSE: Learn storytelling from IDEO.
- FREE COURSE: Pixar and Khan Academy have teamed up to offer a free online storytelling course.
WRITING
- WRITING: Start a blog – www.wordpress.com
- GROUP: Take a writing class or start or join a writing group.
- AI: Use some of the new AI tools like Jaspar or Writesonic to sharpen your writing (be aware that not everything generated by AI is always based on facts.)
SPEAKING
Being a great speaker can be the difference between having your ideas heard and having your ideas spread. Thought leadership is about spreading ideas.
SPEAKING
SPEAKING
- NEWSLETTER: Want to get great advice from speakers on how to be a better speaker? Subscribe to SpeakerNetNews.
- COACHING: Hire a speech coach recommended by people you know and respect. Here are a few we like: Hilary Blair, JD Schramm, and Lou Heckler. Also, check out the great videos on improving your speaking at K. C. Baker.
- ASSOCIATION: Join Toastmasters – to hone your speaking skills
- CLASS: Take an improv class to improve your spontaneity and presence. Try B.A.T.S. if you live in the Bay Area.
- EVENT: Attend a National Speaker’s Association Event – there are also local chapters in many major cities
- IDEAS: Discover the process to prepare a great talk in this helpful post.
PRESENTATIONS
- GRAPHICS: Explore Canva – use one of their templates to better present your ideas
- PRESENTATIONS: Hire someone to help you create a top-notch presentation. Here are some talented folks we recommend – my friends at Alimat, Inc.
- APPLICATION: Explore the very cool Mmmhmm app to make your presentations come alive
- VIDEO: Adobe Firefly has some great new AI tools for building video into your presentations
STRATEGY
As we climb the corporate ladder, we’re expected to be less focused on the tactical and more focused on the strategic. But how do we do that?
BE MORE STRATEGIC
- Read Herminia Ibarra’s excellent case study on Women and the Vision Thing.
- Read Jim Collins’ articles on strategy.
- Take a strategy class at a local college or online at LinkedIn Learning.
- Hire a strategy consultant to teach you everything they know and lead strategy sessions at your company.
- Use the templates from The Grove to set your organization, team, or group’s strategy & vision.
- Join a LinkedIn Group of people in your niche or volunteer to moderate an existing group.
- Read this article on Integrating Intentional Influence into Your Strategy by Sara Brenner and Amy Celep.
EXPERTS
We are all following in the footsteps of giants. Here are a few that I have learned from.
EXPERTS
- Michael Hyatt – Michael’s blog always inspires and educates me and helps me think in new ways. He also has a terrific podcast and he’s curated a set of productivity resources that I highly recommend that you can get when you join his email list.
- Sam Horn – Known as the Intrigue Expert, Sam is a prolific author and excellent speaker and I always learn a lot from her content.
- Dan Pink – I love his short, 3-minute videos that he emails out periodically. Always a strategic insight of some sort.
- RESUMELAB: Christian Eilers is a resume expert and a career advice writer at ResumeLab. He offers lots of great resources for those writing a top-notch resume.
- CLIFTON STRENGTHS: This is one assessment tool that I really find useful because it focuses on your key strengths. Developed by the Gallup Organization after studying thousands of leaders. You buy the book, take the code to their website and take the test to find your top 5 strengths.
PODCASTS
There are hundreds of great podcasts out there. Here are a few of my favorites.
- Remarkable People – Guy Kawasaki, who wrote the forward to my book, interviews amazing folks from all walks of life. Always something to learn, and he has a great laugh.
- How I Built This – Interviews of top entrepreneurs
- Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell
- Also, love Hidden Brain on NPR.
VIDEOS
- TED TALKS: Learn about anything and everything you never imagined by watching a TED Talk. Here are three of my favorites:
- Amy Cuddy on PowerPoses
- Ron Finley the Guerilla Gardener
- Sam Horn on How to Create Interest and Connect with Anyone
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
POP! Stand Out In Any Crowd
Techniques to make your ideas repeatable & retweetable.
Resonate
Craft presentations that resonate with your audience.
Slide:ology
Tell a story with your slide presentations.
Creativity In Business
Incorporating innovation into your business.
Moments of Impact
Lead a conversation like a thought leader.
The Writer's Process
Discover writing tips to finally finish that project.
If You Want To Write
Writing tips to finish while maintaining freedom.
Switch
My favorite book on how to change even when it's hard.
Enchantment
How to enroll and enchant people in your ideas.
New Relationship Marketing
How to build a loyal network using social media.
Brag!
Craft “brag points” before your next networking event.
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