About thought leadership

We often think of ‘thought leaders’ as somewhat entrepreneurial individuals with confident communication skills. We can also examine this topic from the perspective of organisations attempting to build thought leadership throughout the entire organisation and not just saving it for the CEO or other senior leaders.

What is thought leadership and when did the term first arise?

Speakerhub[1] quotes The Oxford Dictionary defining thought leadership as ‘intellectual influence and innovative or pioneering thinking’ and says that the term has been around since the 19th Century and has become a buzzword in the 2010s used to ‘describe experts who know the ins and outs of their industry and can come up with innovative ideas to cater to the demands and needs of their audience’.

Wikipedia describes a thought leader as being a ‘go-to-expert’, consistently answering the biggest questions on the minds of the target audience on a particular topic. Thought leaders may be asked to speak at conferences or webinars to share their insight with an interested audience. In a 1990 Wall Street Journal Marketing section article, Patrick Reilly used the term ‘thought leader publications’ to refer to such magazines as Harper’s.

Gina Joseph[2] writes that the term thought leadership was coined decades ago by Joel Kurtzman, former editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review and was defined as one who ‘possesses a distinctively original idea, a unique point of view, or an unprecedented insight into their industry’.

In organisations

Lorie Young[3] talks about first coming across the term thought leadership in the mid-1990s when working as a marketing director in the IT industry and notes that “many of the world’s leading international companies are preoccupied with thought leadership, organisations such as Deloitte, McKenzie, Allen & Overy, Fujitsu, Philips and IBM”.

Ishita Singh[4] writes that “providing thought leadership is an opportunity for an organisation to elevate the current position within an industry and manifest the competencies and reliability to demonstrate the experience, engage the voices and furnish real value to the customers”. Thought leaders are individuals, and the organisation’s ability to tap into the individual’s talent, experience and passion are key, while encouraging them to coach and mentor others.

As a strategy

Mindy Gibbins-Klein[5] says that “thought leadership is a strategy that can be planned and executed throughout an entire organisation”. She sets out a four-element idea called REAL:

• Reach (recognition through speaking, videos, blogging, writing, publishing books)
• Engagement (being liked enough to trust through one-to-one personalized communications)
• Authority (must become recognised as a true authority in your industry – business and individuals)
• Longevity (your ideas being remembered after you have left a meeting or read your book)

She also writes that creating a culture of thought leadership starts with top management implementing a thought leadership strategy to cascade through the organisation, with clear guidance for individuals.

Glenn Llopis[6] writes that “corporations that embrace thought leadership as a strategy for growth represent the essence of marketing leadership, corporate accountability and changing the rules of client engagement”. He points out that consulting and service companies such as McKinsey, PwC, Deloitte, and IBM have been at the forefront of thought leadership. He says it requires an organisation to be transparent about its best practices and sharing them with clients. It is about letting go the past and focusing on the present and the future.

Speakerhub sets out four ways to encourage thought leadership in your organisation:

1. Create the right environment (so it is easy for everyone to speak and share ideas)
2. Set up sessions where ideas can be developed (bring together people who don’t normally work together)
3. Find the talent (look for people who are innovative, communicative, creative, quick thinking, focused, analytical, objective, and responsible)
4. Recognize and reward (will boost the thought leader’s confidence and encourage others)

From the beginning Tesla made it clear that it wanted to be more than a car manufacturer; it wanted to change the paradigm in the car industry.

Encouragement

One of the ways to encourage thought leadership is by focusing on the following, with a view to engaging the minds of everyone in the organisation:

Original ideas

In certain organisations—for instance, universities, research labs, advertising, marketing, creative enterprises, entrepreneurial endeavours—the creation of original thought and ongoing ideas is central to their success. For such employers, this first element should be relatively easy to encourage. For other employers, training, development, and encouragement of a safe environment for original ideas should be supported.

Problem solving

In some sectors—for instance, engineering (civil, mechanical, electronic), manufacturing, biomedical sciences, pharma, electronics, construction, universities, research and development—problem solving is a way of working that is embedded in the organisation and should need little additional encouragement. For other employers, training in problem solving skills should be on the agenda for all.

Capturing potential opportunities

This is a skill that many entrepreneurial start-ups have strength in. However, for many managers, who are otherwise caught up in the day-to-day business of operational issues and managing projects or people, they may not have the time to spot opportunities. They may be encouraged to do look for opportunities, but when they identify them, they might either think it is someone else’s job to go after them, or they may feel they don’t have the necessary skills or training to bring the opportunity into focus or know what to do next and the moment is lost. The ability of people in the organisation to seek, notice and identify beneficial opportunities is a key aspect of thought leadership that can be nurtured and developed in everyone.

Thought leadership in an uncertain world

VUCA describes the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of general conditions and situations. It draws on the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus and has been used in ideas in strategic leadership across many types of organisations.

Volatility

Thought leadership can be very relevant to an ever-changing world and the speed with which change happens.

Uncertainty

Encouraging thought leadership where there is unpredictability and surprise can raise awareness of issues for all in the organisation.

Complexity

The skill of thought leaders to deal with complexity and present thoughts and ideas where there are no obvious cause-and-effect mechanisms at play can be very beneficial to the organisation.

Ambiguity

Being comfortable with ambiguity and introducing ways for leaders and other employees to cope and deal with this can help bring clarity.

Final thoughts

We may often think of thought leaders as individuals with new ideas, confident communication skills and an acute ability to leverage opportunities to promote these ideas through speaking engagements, writing books, and utilizing web technologies.

At the same time, organisations can encourage thought leadership by creating a supportive environment where ideas can emerge and individuals who have the necessary talents—innovative, creative, focused, analytical, objective—can be nurtured and rewarded for their contributions.

Matthew Tye, Course Director, Ibec Academy

[1] speakerhubhq.medium.com

[2] venturebeat.com

[3] Thought Leadership: Prompting Businesses to Think and Learn

[4] projecttimes.com

[5] thehrdirector.com

[6] forbes.com