Decision-makers allocate significant time to consuming thought leadership. They use it to judge an organization’s thinking, but, since few rate what they read as excellent, it seems there’s an appetite that’s not being met.
At its best thought leadership offers us a window on the future. Done well, it helps us chart a course through uncertainty.
Community member Mark Hannant of Magenta gave us a sneak peak of a newly published communications handbook for thought leaders. We discussed who needs to be at the table, why thought leadership is a collaborative effort, and some simple steps that will help you cut through the noise and influence those receptive decision-makers.
Chat room transcript:
00:04:35 CTW: Steve Rader: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-rader-92b7754/
00:05:17 Mark Hannant: Good evening to everyone from Mumbai
00:10:12 CTW: ami: http://meetami.ca/
00:12:10 Chris Link Duarte: I haven’t mastered my lighting yet
00:12:20 Lucas Meyers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasmeyers/
00:12:22 Chris Link Duarte: im always too dark or too light
00:12:38 ashley beaudoin: Balaji, am loving the Schitts Creek schwag
00:13:00 Anne Rush: https://linkedin.com/in/anne-rush/
00:13:43 CTW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schitt%27s_Creek
00:14:28 Steve Rader: Steve King had a great post on DAO’s on LinkedIn this last week!
00:14:47 Carin I Knoop: Welcome Anne!
00:15:01 Steve Rader: https://www.smallbizlabs.com/2021/11/what-are-daos-decentralized-autonomous-organizations-and-why-you-should-care.html
00:15:19 Chuck Hamilton: We use an HR freelancer company 8 hours a week
00:15:36 Lucas Meyers: <Zoom added (in August update) a hand up detection so if you raise your hand it will also raise your virtual hand.>
00:16:41 mark brooks-lewis: Hi Anne- if you’d like to connect, would be great. Mark-brooks-lewis. We do something similar in the space you mentioned.
00:16:42 Carin I Knoop: creepy — wonder what they will do next! i hope they are not going to have the jeffrey toobin add on 😉
00:16:51 Carrie Leonard: It’s great to be hot!!
00:17:17 Anne Rush: Thanks, all, for the warm welcome! Looking forward to connecting further.
00:17:54 CTW: Anne: Drop your Linkedin and company URL in the chat!
00:18:43 Anne Rush: Elasta Jobs: https://elastajobs.com and LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/anne-rush/
00:20:15 James Dunn: James P. Dunn www.linkedin.com/in/jamespdunn/ www.dp-llc.com jim.dunn@dp-llc.com
00:20:51 Abhijit Shanker: Happy to meet everyone on call today. My first time here. Abhijit
00:21:02 Lucas Meyers: ‘Talent as a Service’ TAAS. Interesting.
00:21:56 Mafé Rabino: Welcome to CTW @Abhijit Shanker!
00:22:02 Carin I Knoop: yeah talent from product to service
00:24:38 Carin I Knoop: yeah creating a magnet to collect the talent now floating in the “great disinterest” or resignation or whatever
00:24:52 CTW: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/blog/human-capital-blog/2021/skills-based-talent-strategies-part-2.html?id=us:2sm:3ab::eng:cons:120121&pkid=K0154730&dysig_tid=10ae3968124c4af8a2306c6950b39815
00:25:30 Barry Matthews: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/blog/human-capital-blog/2021/skills-based-talent-strategies-part-2.html?id=us:2sm:3ab::eng:cons:120121&pkid=K0154730&dysig_tid=10ae3968124c4af8a2306c6950b39815
00:25:37 Barry Matthews: 🙂
00:26:29 Lucas Meyers: The role of ‘intrapreneurship’ <Balaji’s awesome term> becomes more interesting if the firm is shaved down to an aggragator for demand.. the connective tissue or fascia of the engagement instead of the stantions. Very DAO-decentralized friendly indeeed.
00:27:09 Balaji Bondili: that’s the first sentence that has my name and DAO in the same sentence, that made sense!
00:27:23 Mafé Rabino: https://hrexecutive.com/10-things-microsoft-has-learned-about-successful-hybrid-work/
00:27:30 Steve Rader: Lucas +1
00:28:08 Carin I Knoop: @balaji it is because you are the principle underpinning the universe
00:29:37 Steve Rader: @Carin you can’t tell him these things directly! We’ve been trying to keep it a secret.
00:29:57 Balaji Bondili: I wish I could use that underpinning to not do dishes after my daughter’s birthday party today!
00:30:03 CTW: Mark Hannant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhannantteammagenta/
00:30:10 CTW: https://www.teammagenta.com/
00:30:29 CTW: https://www.teammagenta.com/handbook
00:31:29 john winsor: Balaji!! Using the acronym DAO?!? Crazy!!
00:31:42 Mark Hannant: https://www.teammagenta.com/handbook
00:35:16 Steve Rader: I have always credited Dyan F with the “Sherpa” reference…. As someone who reduces the friction of adoption
00:36:11 John Healy: @Everest Research has also used that reference for their analysts for years…
00:36:24 CTW: Abhijit Shanker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashanker/
00:36:28 Carin I Knoop: Am not crazy about the Sherpa term as first step — Sherpas tend to know where the mountain is and how to climb it from shared history. What is the population before them? Discovers?
00:37:10 Chris Link Duarte: Do you find that there is a lot of crossover where some people fall into a roll of 2 or 3 of those categories?
00:44:46 Chuck Hamilton: I like this list of team roles as described by Sandy Carter-IBM
00:45:20 Balaji Bondili: Steve – stop showing off your awesome weather!
00:45:54 Carin I Knoop: Or this one Chuck from Julie Battilana from Harvard: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/should_you_agitate_innovate_or_orchestrate
00:48:04 Todd Brous: @Carin: +1
Agitator, Innovator, Orchestrator!!
00:48:12 ashley beaudoin: +1 Mark
00:48:22 Steve Rader: @Carin +1 thanks for that link
00:48:42 Balaji Bondili: What about the do-ers? Where do they fit in?
00:48:58 Lucas Meyers: Do-ers = creative as per the magnolia chart?
00:49:49 Carin I Knoop: @balaji — the doers are all resigning 😉
00:49:54 Balaji Bondili: I feel like the thought leaders are the sales people, get all the attention, but do-ers who do the work – don’t get.
00:52:02 CTW: Networked Organization
From Theory to Practice: https://open-assembly.com/reports/networked-organization
00:52:22 John Healy: the best thought leaders are able to engage the do-ers by aligning on purpose and reward!
00:52:44 Balaji Bondili: John – that makes a lot of sense. Appreciate that.
00:54:15 CTW: Carrie Leonard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieleonard/
00:56:02 Steve King: I’m curious about how changes in the media industry are impacting how thought leadership is communicated to target audiences. In other words, how do you get the message out these days?
00:56:31 CTW: Ashley [ Ryall ] Beaudoin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyryall/
00:56:38 CTW: https://www.untapsocial.com/
00:57:34 Ray Wolf: What can we (CTW) do to help company execs feel comfortable going on the new open talent journey? We encounter avoidance when they don’t want anyone to see that they don’t have a full grasp on new ideas.
00:57:35 Chris Link Duarte: It’s definitely troublesome Steve. I can speak from the diversity/equity space, there is a lot of talent that poses themselves as “thought leaders” but there is a lot of inconsistency on what that actually means to them versus the company that’s looking for one
00:58:21 CTW: Steve King: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveking2/
00:59:44 Chris Link Duarte: Always looking at “what can possibly go wrong and lets solve it”
01:00:21 Steve Rader: This all sounds more like what I think of as “Change Agent” than “thought leader”
01:01:01 Chris Link Duarte: that’s true too….but essentially, isn’t a change agent a thought leader first?
01:01:12 CTW: https://www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/brands/media/outside-inc-acquires-two-new-media-brands/
01:01:17 Munni Trivedi: By definition thought leaders are change makers
01:01:27 Steve Rader: Thanks Mark! This was was super interesting. I’ve got to drop for another meeting! It’s great to see everyone.
01:01:33 Chris Link Duarte: I don’t think it’s possible to create change unless you are leading the thought fearlessly
01:02:31 Chris Link Duarte: “ego” maybe?
01:02:31 Todd Brous: @Balaji: +1
01:02:40 James Dunn: “Thought Leader” or “Lead by Action/Example”
01:02:45 Lucas Meyers: <next call thank you all>
01:02:52 Chris Link Duarte: I feel like I need to remove it from my signature lol
01:02:57 Carin I Knoop: My LinkedIn tag: Collector of people and ideas. Pragmatic idealist, Thought follower.
01:03:31 Chris Link Duarte: I use futurist too…it’s hard to translate to people though
01:03:43 Chris Link Duarte: +1 Carin
01:04:27 John Healy: +++ to authenticity and experience!
01:04:46 Mark Hannant: We use the term fresh thinking – but corporations tend to lean towards thought leadership
01:04:52 Chris Link Duarte: I love that “authenticity” word…it feels personal
01:05:11 Mafé Rabino: ❤️to authenticity, SCAR and experience!
01:05:13 Chris Link Duarte: Fresh thinker is a good one too Mark
01:05:14 Chuck Hamilton: Balaji, I don’t agree. Thought leadership is a knowledge rating, we need not get caught up in the ego in the term. It just means more knowledge in most circles
01:05:21 James Dunn: Room for both Thought Leader example, Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm
01:05:26 Chris Link Duarte: Yes Mafe agree
01:05:40 Arthur Ransier: thought leadership is 1 part join the conversation and 1 part courage
01:05:48 Todd Brous: Can one call themselves a “Thought Leader” or is it a title that others give you?
01:06:16 Chris Link Duarte: Todd it requires both I think
01:07:02 Carin I Knoop: perhaps we should look up what thoughts actually are — making models? combining inner world and outside observations?
01:07:18 CTW: Thanks to all for attending! 12/16 ins the last CTW call of 2021! hope to see you all!
01:07:21 Ray Wolf: What is the name of the role for those that translate new thoughts into tangible action?
01:07:22 Todd Brous: Noooo… don’t go!
01:07:28 Carrie Leonard: Once again we have a language challenge!
01:07:34 Todd Brous: I love this!!
01:07:36 Catherine McGowin: Thank you for leading the conversation, Mark!
01:07:41 mark brooks-lewis: great session, thanks. Dave Ulrich calls himself a “thought partner”!
01:07:43 Mark Hannant: thanks all for your time
01:07:44 Carin I Knoop: uhuuuuuuuuuuuu
01:07:47 Balaji Bondili: Thank you john and Mark!
01:07:49 John Healy: thank you @Mark!!
01:07:49 Chris Link Duarte: I look so forward to these! They are a personal staple in my calendar
01:07:50 Munni Trivedi: Great discussion thanks all
01:08:02 Mafé Rabino: Thank you Everyone!!!
01:08:02 Carin I Knoop: Balaji the over achiever still has his hand up ! 😉
01:08:05 CTW: Thanks you Abhijit!
01:08:06 Abhijit Shanker: A pleasure meeting everyone today
