Distinguishing between thought leadership and marketing content is an important first step in establishing or leveling up your brand. You already know you need to be strategic about investing time and money to reach the right audience for the right purpose to achieve your brand goals. Did you also know it’s equally important to establish which brand you’re boosting

When you think of thought leadership content you’re probably thinking of white papers, blog articles, e-books, etc. This content tends to involve a healthy amount of research and statistics that frame the current state of things and the audience’s pain points within the status quo. Although the pieces are not usually an overt product or service pitch, they do tee up an issue in favor of an organization’s solution. 

This corporate thought leadership approach is good for moving the needle with potential customers or clients without making them feel they’ve slid down the funnel before they’re ready. In combination with a good digital marketing strategy, it also opens up opportunities for prospective clients or customers to get to know the organization itself–the “who” behind the “what” that’s offered. Brand personality has become an important ingredient in consumer consideration, particularly on the B2C and D2C side.

In fact, it’s the consideration of personality that leads us to the other side of thought leadership–executive thought leadership. Note that this is not the same thing as adding an executive byline to a white paper, blog article, e-book, etc. that focuses on your organization. The goal of executive thought leadership is to focus on an individual executive and the building of their professional brand

What is executive thought leadership and why should you do it?

In principle an executive brand is no different than a celebrity brand–what you’re known for (or want to be known for). But for an executive it’s the sum of your experiences and expertise, and how you choose to share that with the world. It might take the form of written content, audio content or speaking opportunities, and it may speak to overarching industry issues or be industry agnostic with a focus on larger social challenges.

The benefits of corporate thought leadership are fairly easy to understand, making it an easy concept or expense to sell others on. But executive thought leadership can be viewed as self-serving or having ambiguous ROI. So, what exactly are the benefits of executive thought leadership and is it worth the investment?

  • Creating connections. As you know, networking is a key part of career advancement and success. It doesn’t stop when you’re at the executive level–in fact, who you know, what they say about you and what they can do for you can play a key role in expanding your visibility. More than that, however, executive thought leadership allows for an exchange of ideas amongst peers that can prove useful to you and your organization.
  • Creating a halo or waterfall effect. As you become more known and respected for your experience and opinions, people can’t help but be curious about your organization and what you do. Although executive thought leadership should not be viewed through a lead-gen lens, compelling content will have impact beyond its intended scope (i.e., for your corporate brand as well).
  • Addressing equity. One of our commitments in our own Executive Thought Leadership Program is to amplify the voices of members of underrepresented groups. Not only does a concerted effort to promote diversity introduce new points of view into the mix, it helps to normalize the contributions of women, people of color, LGBTQ and disabled professionals at the executive level.
  • Addressing imposter syndrome. Now that recent studies have debunked the idea that feelings of inferiority are limited to women or to average performers who have advanced to high-profile positions, more executives are ready to face the elephant in the room. No matter the level of success, most of us feel anxiety, uncertainty or inadequacy at some point about what we’re doing. Executive thought leadership is not a cure, but it can be affirmation that what you’ve learned and what you have to say are valuable to others.

Executive thought leadership can serve a larger purpose. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A sign of a good leader is not how many followers you have, but how many leaders you create.” Encouraging or inspiring others through your own executive thought leadership contributes both to the bigger conversations and the probability that others will follow in your footsteps with innovations that continue to evolve and improve how we think, act and live.

This post is the second in a three-part series about building your professional brand through executive thought leadership. 

  • Did you miss our first post on the Dos and Don’ts of establishing your thought leadership program? Check it out now.
  • Think you’re ready to begin your thought leadership journey? Find out here.
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