REAL Thought Leadership

So, we reach the crux of REAL Thought Leadership. We know now that innovation is the key to being a thought leader and that there also needs to be some kind of following. If you think of thought leaders you’ll see how they have influenced others? thinking, which leads to action which in turn creates a shift in society.

Is thought leadership so rare though and do they really have to have truly revolutionary ideas?

Perhaps all it takes is to think slightly differently to the crowd. Personally, I think everyone has in them the potential to be a revolutionary thinker and there is no limit to the number of great thinkers we can accommodate. The issue is how we define it.

Over time, I came to realise that there are four key attributes of a real thought leader; four logical areas that give context and framework to achieving the three objectives outlined in my last blog post, Innovation, Promoting & Sharing and Recognition. Not only a way of measuring and assessing thought leaders, these four areas provide a roadmap for thought leaders to follow that will help them reach their goal.

The criteria creates a convenient acronym:

R each

E ngagment

A uthority

L ongevity

If you can focus on these four areas, you will go from being an excellent leader to being perceived as a real thought leader. It is only natural that you will rise to the top and take the limelight in business.

Over the coming weeks I will look at each criteria in more detail and show how each of them play unique and specific roles. By way of introduction though, let?s look at how they also work together. Think of them as four chair legs. You could get away with maybe just three of them, it would be a bit wobbly. But if you just focus on one or two, you?ll tumble.

This criteria also represents the rules of the game; it is a benchmark and measurement criteria giving something to aim for and keep yourself on track. Knowing these ?rules? to the game of REAL Thought Leadership gives a tremendous advantage over other people who may not know these rules and are running around in the wrong direction. What’s more, with these rules out there, all is fair in the game of REAL Thought Leadership. They are four immutable priniciples that don?t change on a whim, they are not trendy, they’ve always been there, they’ve just not been shared. But here they are and may the best leaders win!

Taken from 24 Carat Bold by Mindy Gibbins-Klein.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6924568-24-carat-bold-the-standard-for-real-thought-leaders