Thought leadership is hot. Everyone wants to grab the thought leadership gold ring but it’s not easy. It takes time, effort and a lot of hard work.
In this blog post, I’ll share with you five of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to become thought leaders.
1. Being inconsistent and incoherent
One of the biggest mistakes people make is being inconsistent with their thought leadership content. They’ll publish a few great pieces, and then they’ll disappear for months. This makes it hard for people to follow your thought leadership journey, and it makes it difficult to build a strong brand as a thought leader.
2. Being self-promotional rather than value-adding
3. Not engaging with your audience
Another common mistake is using thought leadership as a thinly veiled sales pitch. While it’s okay to mention your products or services in your thought leadership content, it’s important to focus on providing value to your audience first and foremost. If your content is all about selling, people will tune out.
This is so important, it’s worth repeating. If you’re content is all about you, people will tune you out. Add value, not puffery.
4. Failing to innovate and provide fresh insights
If you want to be a thought leader, you need to be willing to challenge the status quo. You need to be willing to offer new insights and perspectives. If you’re just rehashing the same old ideas, you’re not going to be seen as a thought leader.
5. Not basing your ideas on evidence and research
Thought leadership is not about just sharing your opinions. It’s about sharing your opinions backed up by evidence and research. If you want people to take you seriously as a thought leader, you need to be able to back up your claims with data.
Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a trusted thought leader in your industry.
Remember, thought leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about being the most helpful person in the room.
So focus on providing value to your audience, engaging with them, and challenging the status quo. If you do those things, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a thought leader.
I hope this blog post was helpful! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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