Meaningless: "thought leadership'

Link: The world of corporate and political rhetoric, according to David Murray.

It seems to me “thought leadership” is a term invented by speechwriters—no doubt speechwriters working for a big PR agency—who want to claim that they can turn their clients’ CEOs into people recognized as geniuses, far and wide.

But “genius” sounds like too improbable a goal. How about “thought leader”?

I think “thought leader” is similar to the 1990s darling term: “world class.”

Companies that wanted to claim they were the best in the world but knew they’d be laughed out of the NYSE for saying so, instead settled for saying they were “world class.”

The term was meaningless, and thankfully it has mostly evaporated.

Here’s hoping the same happens to “thought leadership.”

"Thought leadership" also has a disturbing totalitarian ring to it - as if it was straight out of 1984 - which I think says something important about the way corporates (and their management gurus / communication advisors) view the processes of dialogue and debate.

Comments

[david parmet]

how about tossing 'mind share' on the pyre as well?

[Brian Carroll]

I agree with you to a point. You're right, as it is presented, it does seems contrived and meaningless. That being said, I completely disagree with the definition of thought leadership as presented in this forum.

For the same reason that I think it is silly that many marketers are trying to setup blogs because their bosses told them so. Uh, that’s not the point.

It's a conversation - a dialog. When I started marketing to executives, a friend gave me this simple advice that's served me my entire career, "just be people with people." In other words, be real, be authentic and put your whole self into what you do. That's the essence of blogging.

So what is a thought leader?
A thought leader is a recognized authority in one’s field. Elise Bauer wrote an article on thought leadership http://www.elise.com/web/a/be_a_thought_leader.php

Bauer writes, “What differentiates a thought leader from any other knowledgeable company is the recognition from the outside world that the company deeply understands its business, the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates.”

Bauer continues, “Trust is built on reputation and reputation is generally NOT built on advertising or looking smart.” People have a natural BS meter and they can sense when someone is just trying to sound smart and pontificate about their expertise to edify themselves.

Thought leadership is not what you say. It is a way of being. There are just a select few thought leaders in every industry. They are the ones who create ideas that others will want to emulate.

So it is a really an outside assessment of what others say about you and what they do as a result of your ideas. Thought leaders revolutionize the way others (both inside and outside their company’s) do business. That's thought leadership.

Bauer concludes, “Become a thought leader in your field and it won’t matter as much how big you are. Companies and people will look to you for insight and vision. Journalists will quote you, analysts will call you, and websites will link to you.”

Is the word thought leadership the problem? No way. I rather like it. I think it’s the people who are using it as a hollow method of self promotion.

[lieta]

Yet more window dressing on the oldies and goldies such as "thinking outside the box" or "active brainstorming" or "creative leadershhip". The simple truth is that anyone who remains insular as far as their business goes will remain unsuccessful. But surely thought leadership is a rebranding of 'self-styled guru'?
What next -"idea managment", "auricular process outsourcing"?
There is an amusing game on the web called 'buzzword bingo' where you can combine some of the increasingly ridiculous terms bandied about by smug PR people who realise (in their speak) people would rather have the empty box with the fancy wrapping than concentrate on what's in the package. I notice honesty, integrity and and actions speak louder than words are sadly missing.

[geekgirl2]

Hey - I once had a job where "though leadership" was in my job description. I must admit it was a completely ambiguous job description full of other such important tasks as "engendering best practice", "enhancing development opportunities". In reality this job consisted mainly of sitting in lots of meetings in cafes. It was very good to get paid to do this.