531 - Will Thought Leadership Position Me as an Industry Authority, or Does It Risk Making Me Look Self-Promotional?
Thought leadership doesn’t make you self-promotional; it positions you as an industry authority. Discover why CEOs should focus less on likes and more on credibility, clarity, and driving business impact over likes.
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Will Thought Leadership Position Me as an Industry Authority, or Does It Risk Making Me Look Self-Promotional?
For many CEOs, this is the question that stops them from showing up consistently. The concern is valid; nobody wants to appear as if they are chasing attention. But when executed strategically, thought leadership doesn’t harm your reputation. It strengthens it.
1. Thought leadership is not influence chasing.
Influencers optimize for likes, followers, and entertainment. Thought leaders optimize for clarity, credibility, and business impact. The goal is not to collect applause, but to shape the conversation in your industry.
2. Content builds trust, not vanity.
Sharing your insights daily may feel repetitive to you, but it creates familiarity for others. Repetition builds recognition, and recognition builds trust. People don’t remember the one-off post; they remember the leader who consistently adds value.
3. Strategy separates leaders from noise.
A systematic content approach ensures your message connects with business goals. When you align your personal brand with your company’s vision and industry trends, your presence stops being “self-promotion” and becomes thought leadership.
4. Authority compounds over time.
The more consistently you show up, the more you become the reference point for your industry. Instead of being one voice among many, you become the signal others look for.
Final Thought
The risk isn’t that you’ll look self-promotional. The risk is that by staying silent, you’ll leave the stage open for others to define your market, your industry, and even your legacy. This episode of The Daily Hint unpacks how thought leadership positions you not just as a participant in the conversation but as the authority shaping it.
Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: The CEO's Dilemma
00:09 The Importance of a Strategic Approach
00:32 Influencers vs. Thought Leaders
00:55 The Current Landscape of Thought Leadership
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Transcript:
Posting daily is somehow not helping my reputation. That's what the CEO the other day said to me. I disagree. I think if you have a systematic way and a real proper built strategy as a CEO who wants to step up to be thought leader of the industry, it will help your reputation. If you post family pictures and vacation pictures, that might not help you, and that's what a lot of.
People, and that's what many CEOs often overlook. So you see content out there that is from influencers, people who just want to show up, and they want to have as many likes and followers as possible. As a thought leader, you care less about the likes, and you care less about the followers. You care about driving your business forward and making the impact, and that's a different strategy.
The critical thing is that I think right now, if we look at LinkedIn or the internet in general, it's roughly 5% in total that are thought leaders and they are making the difference. All the others are following an influencer strategy, which I believe you as the CEO should not follow at all.