Having the Answers: honing your thought leadership
We had been on the phone for an hour. Abby* was well-rounded, clear-minded, and had no idea what she wanted to write about for her college essay. I kindly drilled her with questions for 45 minutes, despite a slight resistance I felt from her, a defensiveness for not having the answers.
“Has anything come to mind for you during the time we’ve been talking?” I asked.
“Um, not really.”
She chuckled, shrugged, and smirked.
I, on the other hand, saw this wonderful thread through all of the answers she gave me. I don’t like to offer it up right away. I like the student to come up with an idea or two. I don’t do the work for them, I do it with them.
But that wasn’t happening.
So when I told her what I saw, her eyes widened, and she said, “I didn’t connect any of that.”
And so it goes with college essays, and also with messaging for female entrepreneurs. In both cases, I see clients who are so talented and capable that it’s second skin to them. They don’t see their skills as anything fabulous.
Where Do We Get The Answers?
When we start our businesses, we ask other people for help. We watch what other people in our industry are doing and saying. We get intimidated by the existing success of those around us.
We have to get information from somewhere, you’re thinking.
Yes, you are correct. But we can’t find ourselves by looking externally at everyone else who appears more:
Prolific
Experienced
Confident
Successful
… than us.
The best way to be different is to know what you do differently. And how, and why. You can’t find that in someone else’s opinion, experience, or content.
"Artists should never look at pictures, but should stutter in a language of their own." - Winslow Homer
I know sourcing this information from within can be overwhelming and take time, which we always feel like we don’t have enough of.
However, you can invest time in going inward and asking who you really are, and how that affects how you deliver your services, unlike anyone else.
This will save you an amazing amount of time otherwise spent blindfolded, chasing clients in the diluted mass market that is the online service business world.
You can, of course, choose to spend that time and more praying that you will find a client. Any client.
Try Diving In
To discover how you want to communicate about your autonomous perspective, spend some time with yourself.
Write stuff down. It doesn’t have to be connected, or make full sentences, or stay between the lines. This is brainstorming. This is pushing stuff in the front of the closet out of the way to find the gems in the back.
This is not to impress anyone else, to immediately share when you're done, or to get a good grade.
Read and learn. Yes, books, podcasts, and media about your type of work, but also about psychology, business, experts in your field, and current events. Things that inspire you and make you curious.
If you must, choose two or three entrepreneurs you know and respect who are doing something similar, and follow them.
But I challenge you to ask yourself:
Do I agree with what they’re saying and how they say it, or am I agreeing to be polite by saying something similar?
Do I feel differently?
And how can I let my potential clients know my point of view?
Other people in your industry feel the way they do because of life experiences they have had. This is where thought leadership starts, by taking concepts and communicating them through the lens of your individual experience.
Thought leadership is for leaders. That means you.
Sometimes it takes an in-depth conversation with someone unbiased who can help you figure out how to show up. A consulting session can get you on the right track to sharing your thoughts like a leader. Let’s connect and see if that’s a good fit for what you’re struggling with.