The Pundit
Knows a lot—and wants to share it. Frequently in the feed, the pundit is ready to jump into the conversation.
Most likely to: Stay on top of industry news
Find me: In the comments section
Discovering what kind of thought leader you are doesn’t take divine intervention.
The Sage
May share less often but delivers deep insights. True thinkers never deal in clichés.
Most likely to: Dispense surprising career (and life) advice
Find me: Revising a long-form post
The Decoder
Is experienced and entrenched in particular skills, products, or services and functions as your go-to for answers.
Most likely to: Make hard things easier to understand and hard decisions easier to make
Find me: Sharing my screen
The Seer
Always one step ahead, they analyze patterns to create visions of the future.
Most likely to: Be early adopters
Find me: Mapping out consequences of current trends
The Contrarian
They’re delighted to turn conventional wisdom on its head.
Most likely to: Look at problems from unexpected angles
Find me: Playing devil’s advocate
The Open Book
Never afraid to learn from past mistakes, they share their personal and professional growth to empower others.
Most likely to: Tag you in a motivational post
Find me: Running an AMA
The New Thought Leadership
The Problem
Our standard joke here at SJR is that the ratio of thought leader to thought follower is typically… 1:1. There are simply too many self-proclaimed business gurus competing to build robust audiences.
Buried deep in a 2024 report that LinkedIn and Edelman put out were unusually skeptical sentiments that cast doubt on thought leadership’s reputation as the perfect sales tool: Less than half of B2B decision-makers say the overall quality of thought leadership they read is good.
The New Thought Leadership
The Solution
So now, with adjusted expectations and a clear sense of focus, how do you start producing the type of thought leadership that commands respect and influences decision-making?
Start with clarifying what you mean by thought leadership. And no, this is not an annoying word game, but instead a critical exercise that will save your organization tons of wasted time and effort and set the appropriate bar for future endeavors.
The New Thought Leadership
Picking the Right Persona
Discovering what kind of thought leader you are doesn’t take divine intervention. Much like the archetypes found in a tarot deck, there are different personifications of thought leadership. To begin your hero’s journey, run an honest inventory of your talents.
The New Thought Leadership
Break the Rules
It’s getting harder and harder for thought leaders to break through the noise. In the fierce attention economy, to the nonconformist go the spoils.
The New Thought Leadership
Dress Up—and Show Up—in New Ways
While audience viewing habits (even B2B ones!) have radically changed, many leaders and brands are stuck producing orthodox content. That’s why the most effective thought leaders are experimenting to reach audiences where they are.
The New Thought Leadership
The Case for the Chief Thoughts and Feelings Organizer
Executives are busy. And with so much under their purview, they often start a thought leadership program (for themselves or their teams) full of zeal but then shift their attention to other priorities and projects. Unfortunately, this cancels out any initial strategic efforts, because a key to successful thought leadership is consistency.
The New Thought Leadership
The Future of Followership
We strongly believe that creating content with Gen AI is antithetical to thought leadership. It has to come from real humans who are actively moving through the richness, colors, and complexities of their organizations.
The New Thought Leadership
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