Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

To be called a thought leader was once rare. Thought leaders had a coveted status. But the term thought leader has become a common moniker—too common. It seems that everyone is touting himself as the next thought leader. But most aren’t. While a thought leader doesn’t have to be original, he does have to package himself originally. Your knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences, and yes, your thoughts need to be presented in a way that makes you worth listening to by your audience—and the media. To begin cultivating your thought leader status to be respected, heard and reverberated out into the world, follow these nine steps.

1. Share your opinions.
Thought leaders have opinions on their topics of expertise that they share fluently and sometimes vehemently. They have a sense of how to shape a story. They position facts and research in an available context. They make statistics meaningful by interpreting them. We value people who give us perspective on things that matter most in our culture today. 

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and their first woman to sit on their board, spoke of the differences between men and women when responding to taking credit for their success. She said, “If you ask men why they did a good job, they'll say, 'I'm awesome. Obviously. Why are you even asking?' If you ask women why they did a good job, what they'll say is someone helped them, they got lucky, they worked really hard.” 

She’s to the point. We easily recognize the truth in her statement.

To follow her lead take a look at your field or industry and find something that irks or inspires you and start to formulate some opinions about it. Folk singer Joan Baez said, "I've never had a humble opinion. If you've got an opinion, why be humble about it?" Thought leaders aren't afraid to voice a strong opinion. The media seek guests who have opinions that help us ponder what’s important.

2. Predict the future.


Know that when you make a prediction you’re intrinsically ahead of your time—and most likely will get disapproval and pushback. No worries. Time will bear you out. The important thing is to stand by your word, continue to accumulate evidence and keep touting your prediction during your media appearances. 

3. Influence thinking.



4. Have a philosophy.

Manifestos are a sort of formalized philosophy. Wikipedia defines philosophy as "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group".






5. Lead a movement.

On his website he has a link to sign a petition to send to President Obama to end the war on drubs and declare war on addiction. Right next to that he has a link to an organization called Brian’s Wish to pull people together into a national movement to end addiction. 






6. Be controversial.
Another client of mine, Dr. Sara Gottfried, a Harvard-trained integrative physician, science nerd, yogini and author of the New York Times best-seller The Hormone Cure, speaks out on the overuse of pharmaceuticals for peri-menopausal and menopausal women. She says of women dealing with hormonal issues such as depression, lack of sleep, weight gain, mind fog, low sex drive, “You won’t find the answer in the bottom of a pill bottle.” 


Once you take a strong stance you can expect to be pitted against someone with the opposite view during your radio or TV interviews—because friction makes for good TV. Audiences love to see people pitted against each other because sparks fly and unexpected things happen—which equals good ratings. 


7. Take both sides.





8. Coin a term.
During her appearance on The Ricki Lake show Dr. Sara Gottfried reached into her prop basket and pulled out a gleaming diamond Tiara, put it on her head and offered it to Lake, who said she didn’t want to take it off. Gottfried called taking uninterrupted time for yourself Tiara Time. It’s catchy and easy to remember. Can’t you just imagine saying to your BFF, “I need some Tiara Time right NOW.”

9. Announce your vision.
Your vision is how you see the world in the future. It’s what you’re aspiring to in the big picture. It incorporates how you are going to serve. For example, I’d like to see Aikido, a type of Japanese Martial Arts, which I’ve been training in for four years, incorporated into every school in the world. 




Are you a thought leader? Tell us why.

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