So you want to be a thought leader? Wield clout. Inspire and influence. Be quoted in the press. Start a movement! Give a TED Talk—or at least a TEDx Talk.
The term “thought leader” may be a little hackneyed at this point, but its advantages are undisputed. Thought leadership conveys the mantle of authority, prestige, and expertise—in short, reputation, which Robert Greene named one of the 48 Laws of Power (“So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life.”). But with everyone in every field clamoring to be heard, thought leadership it is as elusive as it is highly coveted. However, the means to achieving it are rather straightforward.
1. Say something no one else is saying
Stand out! A thought leader combines unparalleled expertise with some measure of envelope-pushing or terra incognita-roaming. A thought leader says something no one else is saying. The marketplace of ideas is a fiercely competitive one, and every medium, from TV to books to blogging to online video, is crowded with brilliant, ambitious, free thinkers like yourself who are trying to lay a claim to the throne before you. So you must find your niche. What essential knowledge do you possess that no one else does, and why does the world need to hear it? That’s the key.
2. Take a stand, ideally a bold or controversial one – and offer solutions
Here the “leader” half of the equation manifests. Leadership implies going it alone, assuming a contentious position, carving out a new path. The most sought after, prestigious thought leaders aren’t merely experts; they blaze new trails. You can only do that if you’re taking a position or advancing a field of knowledge that to some extent challenges the status quo or defies conventional wisdom.
Daring to take unpopular positions and having the intellectual and emotional fortitude to defend them is one of the essential qualities of leadership generally. Thought leadership is no different. Of course, there are many thought leaders who traffic in uncontroversial subject matter. But one trait that unites them is that they are prescriptive, not merely descriptive: they are arguing a point, often a grand one, that requires some persuasion and pressure.
3. Choose a medium
YouTube, television, books, blogging. Ideally, you’ll eventually thrive on all of them, since media influence tends to cross-pollinate between platforms. But first, find your foothold in one medium of your choice. (And try not to mix metaphors in a single paragraph, as I’ve just done.)
A book is an excellent way to kickstart a thought leadership campaign because it’s more prestigious, more “evergreen”, and less production-intensive and costly than other formats, such as video. TikTok and podcasting are great, and use them, but the BOOK has been to go-to medium for conveying authority and imparting deep knowledge for over half a millennium.
If you hire a ghostwriter, it’s also much less labor-intensive (requiring only 25-35 hours of your time so that the ghostwriter can complete the book). A book is also an excellent thought leadership vessel because it is uniquely adaptable to other media: its content can be spun off and broken down easily into videos, articles, blog pieces, interviews, etc. (It isn’t so easy to do the reverse and turn a scattered series of blog posts or podcasts into a book.)
All thought leaders should write a book, which is a time-tested means of communicating unknown, unpopular, or underserved ideas; in other words, putting your name on the map as a powerful thinker who can contribute to your field. There is little point in writing a tome that merely repeats what everyone already knows to be true. Real literary value—not to mention sales—is derived from books that make a splash and shake things up.
4. Continue producing content within that medium while channeling your growing influence into other platforms
Thought leadership is a prized form of cultural capital. Influence and clout have always been coveted assets, but in an information economy where the world is interconnected, it’s even more useful. Digital technology allows for the leveraging of cultural capital, such as reputation or influence or prestige, into other forms like never form. Cultural capital is like monetary capital in that it tends to compound. It’s also fungible to a degree. You can diversify your assets. If you sold a business for $10 million, your next step would be to spin off that cash in different investments, which in turn grow and produce more capital that can be invested further. Cultural capital functions the same way. Write a bestseller and you can leverage your sudden influence on other platforms, such as Twitter or Instagram; maybe even land a media gig. Develop a YouTube channel that goes viral and garners a few million followers and you can easily parlay that into a book deal, or finally get producers to look at your screenplay, or carry over that following to Instagram.
5. Build your audience, reap the rewards
Thought leadership tends to be self-sustaining in that once you achieve recognition as a luminary, visionary, or unparalleled expert, more opportunities will arrive—and opportunity begets opportunity. In that sense, you’ll know you’ve made it when you find that the universe showers you with an abundance of chances to make money, enhance your clout, undertake new ventures, form networks with other visionary folks, and have measurable impact on the problems you’re excited about solving.
Don’t rest on your laurels just yet, however. You can’t just ride the same wave forever. You still must remain an active participant in your field, but if you’ve come this far, it’s likely because some passion drove you to this point, so you’ll continue to contribute not out of a desire to stay on the top but because you care about the intrinsic value of the work you do. Few people become thought leaders for the sake of it.
*Okay, they’re really not easy. But they are doable.
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