Thought leadership is a skill that is hard to pin down, whether you are a thought leader yourself or you are consulting for those who wish to use the skill as a platform to promote their work, their business and their brand.
As someone with a foot in both camps, I can speak with some experience and certainty about where it can go wrong, with the most common errors relating to seniority.
Thought leadership needs some level of gravitas, which is perhaps what distinguishes it from ‘influencing’ and ‘influencers’. The person showing their leadership needs to have reached a relatively senior level in their field and have something wise and original to share on the topic.
This certainly does not rule out relatively young founders and CEOs. But it does rule out those who are just starting out. The same rules apply to those tasked with creating or consulting on thought leadership journeys for leaders.
A leader in the field of thought leadership, whether working for PR agencies or communications companies should be able to hold their own with any C-suite, debate CEOs and be able to assure founders that their knowledge here is superior.
In the past week I have seen thought leadership writing roles advertised on what is effectively United Kingdom minimum wage. Those agencies are doing their clients a huge disservice, as well as the junior staff they expect to deliver copy or advice that is in any way acceptable.
No one who is financially better off cleaning the office they work in* is going to be able to correct a CEO or offer an “I think you’ll find…” to someone twice their age and on at least five-times their salary. Never mind the gulf in expertise and experience.
Being a senior journalist, copywriter, ghost-writer and thought leadership consultant, my fees are some way above minimum wage. I tend to be among the most expensive in the UK at what I do. Although, ironically, my rates are still far less than what an agency will charge out for a junior with ChatGPT on £11-per-hour. You decide which is the best value.
Some might say that my seniority and experience make me reassuringly expensive. I just like to think that it is reassuring, full stop.
Iain Aitch is a leading consultant on thought leadership, having worked with many leaders, founders and CEOs across tech, AI, education, non-profits, start-ups and blue-chips to secure coverage in national and trade press. You can contact him to set up a meeting on iain@thisidea.co.uk.
*nothing against cleaners! I was raised by one!
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