When we say the words “thought leader”, successful, charismatic people with huge followings often come to mind. We think of Steve Jobs, Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins or, perhaps, Brene Brown. Thought leaders are often entrepreneurial and are able to take their “thoughts” and turn them into riches, sometimes even generating cult-like followings. They are sometimes viewed as almost quasi-religious figures who bless us with their shiny new insights and deep thoughts.

On a slightly different level, thought leadership has become an industry buzzword. It has even become a frequent expectation in government job descriptions. “You will provide thought leadership….” In fact, the term has become something that people use so often that it has become almost devoid of meaning. Ironically, we have elevated the term thought leader or thought leadership to something that is unreachable for almost all of us and, at the same time, we have watered it down to something that is expected of all and in its unexamined state has become largely meaningless.

However, I do think thought leadership is powerful and deserves more than to be viewed with cynicism - as a parody of itself. This series of articles, of which this is the first, will examine thought leadership to, hopefully, restore its meaning and power and make it accessible to all people.

The power of thought leadership

It is powerful to let people know what you believe in. Not because you’re telling them to believe the same way, but because you’re inviting those who do to walk with you. There is no doubt that the successful charismatic thought leaders, such as those mentioned above, have influenced many lives for good by sharing their insights and experiences and inviting people to come on a change journey with them. Certainly, thought leadership can establish a company as an industry authority and drive credibility, differentiation, and market influence. And there is a sense in which we can all bring thought leadership to our jobs and our lives and in doing so make things better in our own small neck of the woods. We may not change the world, but we can make things better for some people around us.

The point is that there are many ways to be a thought leader and to show thought leadership. I would be bold enough to say that I am a thought leader. I will never bounce onto a stage with loud music, gaudy lights, glitter and cheering fans. I will never get rich or make any money from sharing my thoughts. But I am a thought leader. I am a quiet thought leader. And yes, there is such a thing.

Quiet thought leadership

Recently I worked with two small groups on thought leadership. I shared the following definition of thought leadership from Denise Brousseau (2014): “Thought leaders are those who move and inspire others with their innovative ideas, turn those ideas into reality, and then create a dedicated group of friends, fans, and followers to help you replicate and scale those ideas into sustainable change.” I asked them to identify what excited them about the definition, what scared them and what turned them off. Just about everyone’s response was the same. The idea of deliberately creating “a dedicated group of friends, fans and followers” was both scary and abhorrent to most people. Perhaps not so much the friends bit. For me the thought that I should deliberately cultivate followers and fans affects me bodily – it almost causes me to hyperventilate.

Yet everyone present in these groups had thoughts to share, wanted to share them with others and wanted to create change in their own quiet way. That’s quiet thought leadership. For most of us the glittering lights do not tempt us, nor does becoming the speaker for our industry, but quietly sharing the insights we are gathering as we go through life is something we can aspire to.

Quiet thought leaders put their thoughts on the line

In her book, Denise Brousseau (2014) outlines 7 steps to becoming a thought leader. The fourth one is, “Put your “I” on the line.” This is particularly difficult for quiet thought leaders because they are often introverts who generally eschew the limelight. Yet to be a thought leader you do have to believe that you have something worthwhile sharing and you do have to put your thoughts out there for others to see. While some thought leaders are comfortable putting themselves (their “I”) in the spotlight, quiet thought leaders aren’t comfortable with making it about them and their personality, rather they prefer to shine a light on their thoughts. Thought-sharing rather than I-sharing is a perfectly viable way to be a thought leader and preferred by some.

Quiet thought leaders offer their thoughts

Making an offer of your thoughts rather than trying to persuade others of the value of your thoughts is also a valid way to be a thought leader. There are evangelist-type thought leaders like some of the ones mentioned above; and there are quiet thought leaders who are more comfortable planting seeds and then stepping away and leaving them to grow into something or not (perhaps coming back and watering them occasionally if permission is given). Both approaches play an important role in creating change.

However, even making an offer of your thoughts requires thought leader to put their “I” or perhaps their “E” on the line. Your ego is at risk because your offer can be rejected or ignored, and it can still hurt. I think I became more effective as a thought leader when I came to understand in my heart rather than just in my head, that in making an offer of my thoughts, I am acknowledging the power and the right of the “other” to reject, ignore or not even notice my offer. It also helped when I came to a place of understanding that it wasn’t me they were rejecting but that there could be a myriad reasons why they were not able or willing to engage with my thoughts. It could be that they simply did not agree (which is their right), but it could also be they were too busy, under the pump at work, stressed by life circumstances. It simply might not be the right time, and maybe it would be the right time at some later stage and the seed will grow.

Thought leadership as a collective practice

Quiet thought leaders understand that the best way to harness the power of thought leadership for maximum impact is to approach it as a collective endeavour. In fact, they are more comfortable talking about “we” than talking about “I”. After all, no single person has a monopoly on innovative ideas or insightful perspectives. Thought leaders who understand the power of the collective are able to tap into a vast pool of intellectual capital by encouraging those around them to contribute their thoughts and ideas. They know that each individual brings a unique vantage point and that when these diverse perspectives converge, it can spark innovative ideas and solutions that may not have been surfaced or come together otherwise.

Quiet thought leaders are more interested in we-thinking than in me-thinking and the strength of this is that it helps everyone to think outside the box, challenge norms and explore new and more diverse ways of doing things.

Conclusion – diversity of thought leadership

All people develop thoughts and insights as a result of their experiences and knowledge. Many want to share these insights with others but find it difficult to do so on more than a personal basis with friends and family. Reframing thought leadership to include quiet and collective thought leadership enables more people to step into thought leadership and to fulfil their desire to make a difference in the world around them. In fact, I would argue that quiet and collective thought leadership has the potential to be hugely powerful because it of its grassroots approach and ability to spread organically and reach many more people.

This article raises a number of questions including: if thought leadership embraces a range of approaches, what exactly is thought leadership? This question and others will be the focus of my second and subsequent articles in this thought leadership series.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the people in the two groups mentioned above for their willing and open contributions to the conversation about thought leadership. You were very thoughtful, leaderful and absolutely thought leaders in your own right and you exemplified collective thought leadership by adding the diversity of your thoughts to mine and as a result my thinking was certainly extended (hence, this article). I hope yours was too. Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa.

Reference

Brousseau, D. (2014). Ready to Be a Thought Leader? How to Increase Your Influence, Impact, and Success.