Many of us know that thought leadership matters, but beyond that… it’s all a blur. Beyond buzzwords, what is thought leadership? How do you do it? We spoke with Founding Chief Member Victoria Taylor, Community Editor at Linkedin, to understand how we can best represent our expertise online.
Q. To many of us, the concept of "thought leadership" is incredibly amorphous. What does thought leadership mean, and why is Linkedin such a good place for it?
VT: Thought leadership is putting your ideas and perspectives forward — whether in an op-ed, blog post, book, or essay — to help inspire and educate others. It can be a leap of faith to put your words out there: however, that leap of faith can create a larger conversation, show your expertise, and move things forward.
On LinkedIn you can write both short-form (under 1,000 words) posts, and long-form content, which will live on your profile and be discoverable based on what hashtags or keywords you include. We see incredible thought leadership happening on the LinkedIn platform every day. When it’s most effective is when it strikes a chord with readers and starts a larger conversation. A great example of this is Chief Member Tara Goldman’s essay from February of this year, “I’m Tired of Being Superwoman.” One of her notable quotes was "We still ask women to work like they don't have kids and parent like they don't work.” Below Tara’s article, you can see dozens of comments from other female professionals who share their experiences and discuss how Tara’s words struck a chord with them. And we’re seeing this sentiment continue to resonate even more strongly months into the pandemic, with other voices like Melinda Gates or Rachel Schall-Thomas joining the conversation.
Other incredible individuals like Rhonda Morris weigh in on issues like the importance of representation in business leadership, or Gretchen Rubin on how you can make the most of September to restart your year and refresh your perspective. The topics that you may want to showcase will change with time, but what’s important is that it’s genuine and authentic to your experience, bringing together the personal and professional.
Q. To many of us, the concept of "thought leadership" is incredibly amorphous. What does thought leadership mean, and why is Linkedin such a good place for it?
VT: Thought leadership is putting your ideas and perspectives forward — whether in an op-ed, blog post, book, or essay — to help inspire and educate others. It can be a leap of faith to put your words out there: however, that leap of faith can create a larger conversation, show your expertise, and move things forward.
On LinkedIn you can write both short-form (under 1,000 words) posts, and long-form content, which will live on your profile and be discoverable based on what hashtags or keywords you include. We see incredible thought leadership happening on the LinkedIn platform every day. It's most effective when it strikes a chord with readers and starts a larger conversation. A great example of this is Chief Member Tara Goldman’s essay from February of this year, “I’m Tired of Being Superwoman.” One of her notable quotes was, "We still ask women to work like they don't have kids and parent like they don't work.” Below Tara’s article, you can see dozens of comments from other female professionals sharing their experiences and discussing how Tara’s words struck a chord. We’re seeing this sentiment continue to resonate even more strongly months into the pandemic, with other voices like Melinda Gates or Rachel Schall-Thomas joining the conversation.
Other incredible individuals like Rhonda Morris weigh in on issues like the importance of representation in business leadership, or Gretchen Rubin on how you can make the most of September to restart your year and refresh your perspective. The topics that you may want to showcase will change with time, but what’s important is that it’s genuine and authentic to your experience, bringing together the personal and professional.
Q. How can an individual figure out their highest potential area for thought leadership?
VT: Think about what unique insights and perspectives only you can share, then cross-compare that with areas where your readers may share your experiences. Think about what someone would take away from reading your essay or article — will they be inspired? Challenged? Undertaking a paradigm shift? What are some pieces of advice you wish you’d known when you started out in a new endeavor — whether professional, personal, educational, or something else entirely, like travel or creative expression? How can you help others benefit from what you’ve learned, and where do you want to take the dialogue in the future?
Q. The first post is the most intimidating. Is there any formula to this?
VT: I’d recommend sitting down and writing out some major milestones for you. Write down five experiences, big or small, which have had a large impact on your life, and then go through and think about what others could learn from your words if you shared them. Could it be to be more entrepreneurial? To not be afraid to speak up in a professional setting? To be kinder to others? Or do you want to focus more on writing out specific tactics or problem solving methodologies? Work to connect your major storytelling milestones with your audience’s key takeaways, and you’ll have your essay there. Whether it’s a standalone piece, or starting a larger conversation that may be ongoing over time, is up to you.
To help sustain momentum over time, don’t be too hard on yourself if you intended to write a monthly series of reflections, then got sidetracked in a particularly challenging or hectic time. Think of each piece of thought leadership you share — whether short-form or long-form, video or image-inspired — as being a way of building your voice and resonating with your audience. Set an ideal publishing goal that's manageable and realistic. If publishing a piece every week isn’t sustainable, think about biweekly or once a month. Consistency will help you build.
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Originally Published: August 31, 2020