4 Ways To Turn Your Team into Thought Leaders
Team = Thought Leaders
When a company has strong thought leaders, it raises its credibility, authority, and value. But thought leadership isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, strategy, and often a whole team of people to create and grow an effective public platform.
If you’re in the beginning stages of rolling out your company’s thought leadership program or simply want to build upon your current efforts, start by identifying the right people, leveraging their strengths, and establishing strong connections. Here’s how:
ALIGN WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS (SMEs)
When identifying potential thought leaders within your team, the most obvious contenders are c-suite executives like CEOs or CTOs, but they aren’t the only ones!
As Deborah Richardson, Business Coach at Think Partner explains, “thought leaders have a unique outlook in their area of expertise and a strong passion to lead change”.
Keep an eye out for individuals who are confident, full of ideas, and eager to share them with others. Effective thought leaders know exactly how to use their passion and knowledge to motivate their audience.
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ENCOURAGE PRODUCTIVE DEBATE
According to Alice Ko, Director of Marketing and Communications at Procurify, a thought leader is “someone who inspires and influences other people to consider a new point of view on a specific topic by regularly sharing beliefs, thoughts, and opinions”.
The best thought leaders always bring something new to the table and engage in healthy discussion to strengthen their own insights. Within your team, create regular opportunities for debate to get ideas flowing and to build community.
Set up regular (virtual) “think tank” meetings for your team to share their thoughts, ideas and unique expertise. Host virtual social events, or allow staff individual opportunities to speak at weekly meetings. These are great ways to help your team strengthen their own leadership skills and build confidence and authority.
FOCUS ON BUILDING CONNECTIONS
It’s vital that companies keep their teams connected, not just to boost morale, but to strengthen community and individual thought leadership.
Virtual office “happy hours” or game nights are simple gestures that work wonders for maintaining connections. If you are a manager, set up individual meetings with your team to give them a chance to share their ideas with you one-on-one. Aside from leveraging video, don’t forget to also encourage regular group discussions on tools like Slack or Google Meets.
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SET UP THE TEAM FOR SUCCESS
Once you’ve created a list of internal thought leaders using the indicators above, it's time to dot your I’s and cross your T’s. How will each thought leader contribute to your overall thought leadership program? When you’re planning out who will do what, the first step is to understand each of their unique strengths. Then, you can move on to these factors:
Subject - If the topic is business leadership or the future of your industry, your CEO might be best suited to tackle this task. But when diving deep into a technical subject, turn to a proper SME.
Audience - Think about who your thought leadership material is trying to reach–and who audiences would want to hear from the most. For instance, an investor audience might want to hear from company leadership, while a tech reporter could be interested in speaking to your CTO.
Medium - Where will your thought leadership be taking place? Do you prefer events and webinars or social media? Each medium requires unique approaches and strategies for success. With this in mind, an internal thought leader from your team who is skilled at writing might be better suited to social media, while one who is more vocal at meetings may be best at virtual events.
Time commitment - Make sure you understand your team’s availability when planning out an editorial calendar. Certain content takes longer to plan, create and launch than others.
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We can’t establish thought leadership alone. By assembling the proper team, you’ll find your thought leaders will bounce ideas off each other, building a network that will take your organization to new heights.
Turn Your Team into Thought Leaders
Growing your organization’s public platform doesn’t happen overnight! In our course TLCxDNA, we’ll show you how to leverage your team’s strengths and develop long-lasting connections.