The “Dirty Little Secret” of Thought Leadership

Just yesterday, we talked about how your customers desire the “opportunity for transformation.”

That is a pretty overt desire. But today, I want to talk about a covert desire your followers have. 

They might not ever admit to it, if they even realize they have it (and believe me, they do).

If you don’t recognize and accommodate this desire, you could find yourself working at cross purposes, which could be a real problem for your Thought Leadership business.

Let’s get into that mismatch, and see if you can spot it. I think I can do it in just two questions:

Why do you write “Thought Leadership content?”

If you’re like a lot of people, you write that kind of thing to share your brilliance with the world. I hope I’m not putting too fine a point on it by saying it that way, but that’s what it is, on some level.

You want people to think you’re smart. Either because you’re looking to establish credibility, or you have a great idea the world needs to hear, or you want your audience to think and behave a certain way.

Next question:

Why do people read “Thought Leadership content?”

If you said, “to get smarter,” you’re close, but not close enough. 

Truth is, there are several reasons. But the secret reason is so they can appear smart and interesting to their peers.

Therefore, all of your Thought Leadership content needs to have something in it that your follower will easily be able to remember and repeat at cocktail parties.

(Side note: I’ve never actually been to a “cocktail party,” if such an event even really exists. How about you?)

In any event, don’t deny your followers the chance to look smart in front of their friends. If you’re lucky, they’ll even give you the credit for what they’re sharing. But even if they don’t, you’ve built a stronger bond with that person.

My upcoming book will have several more tips on making your Thought Leadership content the most effective it can be. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, what you can do right now to almost immediately level up your Thought Leadership strategy and skills is sign up for my daily emails that are going to give you all sorts of tips and resources. You can subscribe to that list at You Can Be A Thought Leader.