What do you do if your thought leadership efforts require a team effort?

Scout for talent that can come out with diverse perspectives. Aligns with your vision & can help take it forward. Assign roles and responsibilities. Provide a degree of autonomy . Ensure that team members have access to the resources they need to effectively contribute to the thought leadership efforts. Establish milestones and celebrate success

When your thought leadership efforts require collaboration, consider these strategies for effective teamwork: Shared Purpose and Vision: Align team members around a common goal. Understanding the overarching vision facilitates collaboration. Build Trust and Respect: Cultivate trust through open communication, active listening, and empathy. Encourage Collaboration: Create opportunities for brainstorming, idea-sharing, and teamwork. Acknowledge Individual Contributions: Celebrate unique skills and perspectives within the team. Effective Communication: Regular meetings and transparent communication are crucial. Create a Supportive Environment: Foster a culture of support and belonging.

In my experience, it is important to carefully choose the people who contribute to the thought leadership. They need expertise and passion with passion being the most important. The reason for this is they can build their expertise. Passion will drive them to the work (reading, researching, thinking, writing) required to become a thought leader.

When identifying a team for thought leadership, it's obvious that you choose 'experts in the field'. But be open to including those from other fields, or those that are rising in their leadership journey. We all approach things from different angles, and those that are open to asking what may be considered the 'dumb' or 'less informed' questions often help us break through when we are stuck. And imagine how empowering it is to allow an 'outsider' to come inside the circle of leadership. But watch out- help your other leaders welcome them into the circle to ensure that all roles are clear.

It is NOT about thought leadership. It's about Solution / Innovation leadership. Everything is a team effort. Innovation and solution implementation is team sport.

For collaborative thought leadership, establish clear goals and roles, foster open communication, and leverage each team member's strengths. Encourage diverse perspectives, celebrate achievements, and learn from challenges. Provide support and resources to ensure team success in driving meaningful change and innovation within your organization and industry.

Parmi les traits de caractère essentiel, le bon équilibre entre humilité et confiance en soi. Travailler avec des membres d'équipe qui savent reconnaitre leurs erreurs et demander pardon permet de renforcer l'esprit d'équipe de manière très forte.

I'll add a little different spin to this conversation...A few years ago, my employer launched bias awareness training...like many of my colleagues, I rolled my eyes and trudged through the class. But...looking back, I can honestly say it was one of the most impactful learning experiences of my career! So...when you go t build that diverse team, make sure your eyes are wide open to your personal biases. The bias training class taught us that simply being aware of our our biases is a great start to avoiding making choices based on those biases.

When assembling team for a thought leadership efforts, make sure you pick A-players. I always value real experts to you can back it up with experience. If you talk about venture investments, have you put your money on the line? A true visionary would never call themselves visionaries. Diversity of thoughts is vital but I believe intellectual courage and curiosity is even more important. It is easy to make "safe" claims or statement. Building thought leadership is as about expertise as well as impact that the efforts bring. The right framing is also very crucial. It is not about the story but how the story being told.

Ensuring alignment with the overarching vision is crucial for cohesive thought leadership. When every team member shares a clear understanding of the mission and objectives, it fosters unity and purpose. This alignment guides decision-making, prioritization, and collaborative efforts, preventing divergent paths and conflicts of interest. With a unified focus, the team can leverage its collective expertise and resources effectively, driving progress towards shared goals. Additionally, alignment cultivates a sense of ownership and commitment, inspiring dedication and passion in advancing the vision and establishing thought leadership within the industry.

A vision of the goal post for any project. Start with a vision board. Highlight three key aspects 1. Long term vision 2. Near term SMART goals 3. Impact to be created Follow this with current state, potential risks and challenges. Keep from for adjustments and plan B. This will allow for surprises and maintain flexibility in line with market needs.

L'alignement de la vision s'appuie sur plusieurs éléments : une communication simple et claire, adressée aux bonnes personnes (compétences) et traduite dans le quotidien des départements. Et à ça doivent se rajouter des indicateurs clés en lien avec la vision.

🎯Clearly define and communicate the overall vision and objectives to ensure everyone understands the direction and purpose. 💬Encourage open dialogue and exchange of ideas to foster a collaborative environment. 🤝Align individual contributions to form a cohesive narrative, enhancing the impact and clarity of the message. 🌐Embrace diverse viewpoints while maintaining alignment with the core vision, enriching the content with varied insights. 🔍Continuously reassess and refine the alignment between team members and the overarching goals to adapt to evolving circumstances and insights. 📣Equip each member with the knowledge and confidence to represent the unified vision effectively when presenting ideas and insights to the audience.

Be an excellent project manager. Thought leadership programs take momentum, and momentum only comes from incremental progress.

Effective thought leadership often culminates in the conception of an idea, solution, or product. Transitioning into this subsequent phase of leadership underscores the importance of assembling a cohesive team of individuals who are committed to realizing this vision collectively. Each team member should be encouraged to contribute their unique perspective during the creative process. By valuing their input, you can foster alignment, ensuring that everyone shares a common set of goals and clear expectations for achieving them.

In highly collaborative environments, you do Vision Alignment well before Team Assembly. (The Team Assembly above does involve some Vision Alignment, actually, but I think you do the vast majority of Vision Alignment before thinking of assembling a team.) How do you justify assembling a "secret" team to the larger organization? How do you know you will even be successful? It's "secret" team because you haven't communicated your vision for adding significant value. Ideally you attract volunteers after communicating your vision and create a largely organic team that way. You want people to say, "Yeah, we need that also. That would reduce complexity and save us a lot of time. I can test for you in our environment and context."

Vision alignment is essential, but it is equally important that this alignment is done through an engaging and collaborative process. Present goals and objectives clearly, but give members enough time to understand and criticize the vision, before expecting alignment. Once that is done, it is important not to question the vision anymore, not moving back. It is only then that you can move forward with a unified voice.

When launching thought leadership projects requiring teamwork, alignment is key. Begin by uniting everyone around a shared vision. Diverse skills enhance creativity, so assemble a team with varied expertise. Ensure clear communication with defined roles to maintain focus and efficiency. Foster an environment that encourages open dialogue and celebrates contributions, which boosts morale and engagement. Embrace continual learning and adaptability to navigate challenges effectively. This structured approach drives impactful results.

Aligning the team around a shared vision is crucial when thought leadership efforts require a collective approach. Ensuring everyone understands and buys into the overarching goals fosters unity and direction. Clear communication of the vision helps each team member see how their contributions fit into the bigger picture, driving motivation and collaboration. In my experience, when a team is aligned with a common vision, it significantly enhances the effectiveness of thought leadership initiatives.

Effective communication serves as the backbone of successful team efforts, particularly in thought leadership endeavors. It facilitates the exchange of ideas, alignment on goals, and collaboration among team members. Clear communication ensures that everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and expectations, minimizing misunderstandings and promoting cohesion. Regular updates and transparent dialogue keep team members informed and engaged, fostering a sense of inclusion and ownership. By prioritizing open communication channels, teams can leverage diverse perspectives, capitalize on collective insights, and effectively convey thought leadership messages to stakeholders, driving success in their endeavors.

Orchestrating the communication is the key: what is being shared, how, where, and who in the organisation takes the leadership role to guard brand guidelines, set the tone, revise the content and finally, measure the effectiveness of the thought leadership campaign.

In order to effectively implement a vision it is important the communication talks about the right things at the right time and through the right communication channel. A holistic approach is needed. Deciding who communicates what, when and how is crucial. CEO, CTO, HR, etc... all have different perspectives on the implementation of the vision, and communication from their respective perspective is essential. Information needed not only be disseminated through the right channel at the right time, but needs also archived and made accessible for future review as not everything will be digested right away, this also enables a more inclusive process.

No single topic is more important when working with any team than establishing a framework for effective communication among the team members. And the two most important elements of effective communication revolve around clarifying individual roles, responsibilities, deliverables, timeframe, and a collectively clear understanding of the "end in mind". In order for any team to function efficiently team members need to clearly understand their purpose and function on the team, as well as, the purpose and function of each individual on the team. Think about the structure of virtually every elite military team, Seals, Green Beret, USMC MARSOC, etc. all practice these principles. And with lives at stake, that's a good thing.

It’s important to have an all-round clarity of what each team member’s contribution(s) and role(s) would be, towards achieving the end goal. But, how would you, as a leader, assign the roles to each team member? Here’s how: Just be like the Avengers — each team member will possess their own unique superpower or expertise. So, first identify all the superpowers, and then leverage them to their fullest! That is a hallmark of a successful thought leader. So, instead of expecting your Captain America to invent new elements for time-travel, or asking Hawkeye to Smash, it’s time to take role clarity to an all new level, powered by intelligent decision-making.

The job as a leader is to ensure the team always has distinct clarity on: Where are we now? Reflection Where are we going? Vision + Strategy How do we get there? Playbook, Standards, Metrics What do you want me to do? Role and Expectations How am I doing? Tight Feedback Loops

Dans un environnement de travail en constante évolution, les rôles peuvent devenir obsolètes rapidement en raison des changements et des besoins croissants des entreprises. Il est essentiel de mettre régulièrement à jour les descriptions de poste pour qu’elles reflètent les responsabilités actuelles et s’alignent sur les objectifs organisationnels.

Encourage a collaborative culture where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas without fear of criticism. This fosters creativity and innovation, which are essential for thought leadership. Organize regular brainstorming sessions to generate fresh ideas. This can help identify unique perspectives and solutions that may not have been considered otherwise. Recognize and reward team members who contribute innovative ideas. This encourages continuous improvement. Establish a process for gathering feedback and adjusting your thought leadership strategy as needed. Thought leadership is a team effort, not just an individual pursuit. Recognize the contributions of all team members and support them to succeed.

Too much thought leadership is actually poorly veiled marketing. To avoid slipping into your company sales messages, it's a good idea to architect your ideas around your ideal customer. Customers have 99 problems. The best thought leadership elevates the particular customer problem that your company solves. Don't be tempted to sell your platform or product - sell the problem and your point of view well and your ideal customers will come to you for the solution.

Being present when you are with your team, listening to them and asking them for their opinion, makes them feel heard and safe. That's when great ideas come to surface. I had a leader at one point, who took notes whenever I would tell him my ideas, he made me feel heard and valued and the boost those sessions gave me, made me 10x more productive and motivated. I've learned a great deal from that collaboration.

I have seen many places where teams regularly meet for brainstorming and create that false sense of thought leadership and pro-activity, when in reality they never move forward. Providing recognition for ideas only is not moving things forward either. Idea cultivation and nurturing is really about taking a chance on that idea, being ready to invest in the team member and in the idea is crucial. For thought leaders it is hence important that they walk the talk, take chances on ideas and initiatives, that are challenging the status quo, and that means stepping and taking action. Creating the environment for ideas not only to be outspoken, but also creating the environment where the best ideas are turned into execution.

Thought leadership doesn’t mean siloed thinking. To make any learning palpable, it has to be concrete, clearly explained, digestible and accessible. Getting multiple vintage points, approaches and backgrounds allow you to form better ideas and clarity of thought. Ask, be open and curious, stay humble and keep challenging your own opinions till something very distinctive and powerful emerges.

Think of thought leadership as a journey rather than a destination. Embrace the idea that the road to thought leadership is paved with continuous learning and growth. Encourage your team to embark on this journey with enthusiasm, curiosity, and an open mind. Provide them with the resources, support, and encouragement they need to stay updated with the latest trends, research, and discussions in your field. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, where team members can learn from each other's experiences and perspectives. By embracing continuous learning, your team will not only stay relevant in the rapidly evolving landscape of thought leadership but also inspire others with their fresh insights and innovative ideas.

In big meetings, I ask the most junior people for their opinions first. They are on the ground floor of the grunt work and understand how ideas are being implemented. Also, they won’t be afraid to contradict someone senior to them. This way, you get the most possible opinions and create a culture where all ideas are valued.

In my experience, ongoing learning is the lifeblood of effective thought leadership. To stay relevant and impactful, it's imperative to foster a culture of continuous learning within your team. Encourage exploration of the latest trends, research, and discussions shaping your field. Facilitate regular knowledge-sharing sessions, where team members can present their learnings and insights. Additionally, provide opportunities for professional development through workshops, conferences, or mentorship programs. This commitment to staying ahead of the curve will ensure your team remains at the forefront, equipped with valuable knowledge to offer fresh perspectives to your audience.

A key principal in defining and producing thought leadership is to accept the outcomes not as a "bedrock truth," but as an idea and inspiration-generating conversation. No one is infallible nor can one produce perfect thought leadership, but by leading with transparency, curiosity, and openness your team may help lead others towards new possibilities they had not yet thought of themselves.

Nowadays it is not really about encouraging a learning mindset (which I believe has become obvious to the majority of the workforce), but it is again more about walking the talk and making room for that learning mindset within the boundaries of the corporate. Ask yourself if are you ready to give 20-25% of an employee's time on learning and personal development, because that is the amount of time thought leaders spend on their own development to stay on top of the game!

Thought leadership is an ongoing process of publishing your insights about your industry. Staying on top of the key events, news, and trends helps thought leaders not only stay relevant but also add to the ongoing industry conversation.

I like to review Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline, with respect to diversity. Senge’s description of the organizational dysfunctions, challenging the efficiency and the success of the companies, is quire relevant. The dictionary defines diversity as “the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization” . In the twenty-first century, where the globalization of organizations will increase due to changes of the target markets and the global economies, it is important to select people with diverse, qualities and leadership characteristics. As Senge states “the imperative to build more diverse and inclusive communities will only grow in an increasingly networked world”.

Delegate tasks and responsibilities effectively, ensuring each team member's strengths and expertise are utilized. Foster open communication, collaboration, and a shared vision to maximize the impact and success of your thought leadership initiatives.

In my experience, building a strong network and fostering great long lasting relationshops is something to consider. It isn't about selling or self-promotion; it's about fostering genuine relationships and providing impact. Rather than focusing solely on what you can gain, concentrate on how you can create value for others in your network. Seek to understand their challenges, goals, and aspirations, and find ways to offer insights, support, or connections that can help them progress. When you approach networking with a mindset of service and contribution, it not only strengthens your relationships but also establishes you as a trusted and respected thought leader. True influence stems from the positive impact you have on those around you.

A lot of selling is thought leadership. Presenting your solution in a way that generates new ideas and disrupts conventional ways of thinking is key to differentiating your product or service. How you frame your sale can be boring and dull, or it can be new and exciting. Additionally, if you are seen as an expert or thought leader in the space, it lends credibility to your offering and drives people to want to work with you.

There is a difference between being a thought leader and enabling thought leadership throughout a company. Enabling thought leadership throughout a company means put all the necessary mechanisms in place so that the best ideas can be cultivated, but also review processes, so that the best ideas and thoughts get fast track and team members have a direct access to leadership.

Coach your leaders on the importance of Width vs depth , for example a Digital Marketing Lead / Manager should not only understand product but also be customer centric , should also understand the importance of Artificial intelligence and might be able respond to their customers queries on billing. So widen your perspective while you deep dive your domain :)