Thought Leader

Art Kleiner is the editor in chief of the award-winning management magazine strategy+business, as well as the author of two well-known management books. He developed a framework for advancing thought leadership in partnership with MIT’s Center for Organizational Learning. His definition of “thought leadership” is elegant and accessible: it’s about translating ideas, and giving the view from our vantage point, turning them into communications that are clear and actionable. His point is that you don’t have to be Peter Drucker or Marshall Goldsmith to be a thought leader…..each of us has the ability to articulate our thoughts effectively and influence others with our good ideas. It does, however, take preparation.

In Art’s framework, there are four facets of thought leadership. It’s important for emerging thought leaders to address each of these, one at a time (tackling more than one at a time leads to “thinker’s block”).

Briefly stated, the four facets are:
- What is my Purpose: Being explicit about your vision and priorities
- Who is my Audience: Defining who you are trying to reach, and discovering their assumptions
- What is the Research: Being cognizant of how you are substantiating, and challenging, your information and assumptions
- What is the Story: Determining how to make your message compelling to your audience

P.S- Above paragraph is from Dr Marshall Goldsmith newsletter