Definition of Thought Leadership
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WHAT IS A THOUGHT LEADER (and is it YOU?) 
What is a Thought Leader? Lately I’ve had clients discussing this topic with me and wondering what my take was on the term. So, I decided to do some research on the subject and see what others had to say about it.
According to Wikipedia, Thought Leaders are used to describe a “futurist or person who is recognized among peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets)”.
I have dozens of clients who are thought leaders—organic thinkers, consistently offering ideas that propel businesses forward—and have crafted résumés to position them as such. Thought leadership isn’t anything new—it’s been around for years and years, but the term has grown in popularity the past 5 years or so.
I remember back in the 70’s and 80’s when my Dad worked in sales for IBM, he had a block sign that was at his desk at work—which he later brought home and sat on his dresser—that simply said, “THINK”. It intrigued the heck out of me and I would ask him, “Think about WHAT?” As I later came to understand it, it was IBM’s slogan for (among other things) developing the top technical and sales teams in the industry by thinking ‘outside the box’—being unique “expert” leaders of their product or service.
Just as it was back then, thought leaders of today are being recruited to work within huge organizations to promulgate an idea and teach this learning to others. It’s going beyond ‘business as usual’ and setting yourself apart as an innovative leader and establishing your organization as a trusted advisor and knowledge resource.
The best part, according to Galen DeYoung’s article, “B2B Blogging: Using Thought Leadership to Drive Positioning & Sales”, is thought leaders are sought after and paid more. They are “perceived experts that companies want to hire. In going with an expert, the perceived risk is lower”.
I also like what Execunet’s founder, Dave Opton had to say about it in his “Keys to Influence” post of why leaders of any enterprise continually succeed (it’s the attitude… and people trust the confidence)…“I can’t prove it, but this is what I believe…”
I have had clients ask me if I would consider them a “thought leader” due to their contributions and if it is worthwhile to brand themselves as such. Do your career accomplishments include a history of pioneering new products or processes, or promoting or discussing ideas relevant to departments and/or companies? Are you singled out for your innovation and expertise in a certain subject? Have you been told you “think outside the box” or you are a “change agent”? If you answered “Yes” to any of those, then you have your answer. Brand yourself on your résumé and look for new opportunities within that realm. Have fun!
Written by Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW - Visit the website to hire executive resume writer Erin Kennedy, CERW, CPRW
Erin is an internationally renowned certified resume writer specializing in professional and executive level resumes and career services.
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Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW owns Professional Resume Services, where she and her talented staff of writers specialize in professional & executive resumes. Erin is internationally recognized by her peers as one of the best of the best, she is a perennial award-nominated certified resume writer.
See how I express this definition : A thought leader is a futurist or person who is recognized for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights
.-= October´s last blog ..How much is the new Credit Card Law really helping you? =-.
Whenever you advocate a new idea to your colleagues or boss, you show thought leadership. It isn’t necessary to have inspirational influencing skills, which is necessary for senior executives because they need to win over the entire organization and beat off their internal competitors for top jobs.
Very true!
Thanks, Melvin.
Hey Erin, Thanks for your post and thoughts . You are very correct with this being an issue for the younger thought leaders coming through, or maybe, we are not getting enough young thought leaders because they are not taking the time to think… they are too busy doing. This all starts with management, at the highest level. To coach inspire, lead, and promote disconnecting in order to take time to think. If the highest management don’t do it the team will not do it. Management teach, promote, encourage and reward productivity, the idea, the result. This promotes and causes confusion between activity vs accomplishment. It needs to start with kids, parents, students etc etc. You are right, it is an issue and it will get worse, great to get your note, – Gary
.-= Gary´s last blog ..Controlling household bills =-.
I love your thinking on thought leadership, particularly the way she has linked to the three stages beyond Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For it is here that the true thought leaders of the next few decades will emerge. There are many different levels of thought leadership but the great thought leaders are the ones who take their stakeholders to a place they didn’t know existed or enlighten/expose an audience to new thinking in a way that adds unexpected value to their lives whether that be in a professional or personal capacity.
.-= Military Captain´s last blog ..Bermans Investments- Term Life Insurance Quotes =-.
Ideas live in the cognitive domain, actions live in the body, There are many good exisitng ideas out there that are not new – ways to be more creative, increase revenue, WOW the customers, reduce cost and waste per se. But it takes a Change Agent – Thought leader I would say, to sell it to the organization leadership team, get buy-in, and execute the steps necessary to achieve the results.
The focus on leadership has been ever increasing these last few years. An experience based resume will really be able to take advantage of this and show of one’s managerial skills.