EXTRAORDINARY (THOUGHT) LEADERSHIP

August 17, 2020, Fort Myers, FL: Entrepreneurs are leaders and extraordinary times like these call for extraordinary leadership. More than extraordinary leadership, these unusual times call for attention, opportunity, and the option to elevate yourself. A transition in thought leadership will allow us to make a significant (and positive) impact on society.

Ask yourself: What capability do you need to demonstrate or learn to add to and elevate your brand or business?

For one, the practice of being hopeful and optimistic can go a long way in business. Learn to build a “reward center” in your audience’s brain – similar to a dose of dopamine – that helps them equate your business with silver linings, positive leadership, and humanity.

Simply put, there is no blueprint to follow when it comes to how thought leadership should work. Looking for answers can be like looking for a needle in a haystack: It can feel impossible and highly frustrating. So, it makes sense that demand for insight into how to respond to your audience can be high for a lot of small business owners, especially during tough times like these when everything feels up in the air.

Thought leadership is more than just a definition in a book – it’s about sharing insight, ideas, and a unique point of view that provoke new ways of thinking, spark discussion and debates, and inspire action.

True thought leadership – the practices that make you an extraordinary individual and trailblazer – is achieved when an individual or business knows a topic inside and out, has formed a clear, unique, and defensible point of view about it, and freely shares that perspective with others.

Looking to leaders, entrepreneurs, and personal heroes who have already excelled in thought leadership practices can help us pave our own way to success in business. So, how are some of the pros are doing it?

Entrepreneur Adrian Dayton is taking action by creating the #GenerosityChallenge to inspire individuals and companies to share ways they are responding to this global crisis with generosity and kindness.

Education expert Kerry McDonald, author of Unschooled, is helping the millions of parents who have suddenly been forced to homeschool their children as schools around the world close.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is dispensing valuable advice to individuals, business owners, and entrepreneurs alike on LinkedIn, in addition to making substantial moves to support his employees.

Let’s Wrap It Up

This economic crisis is going to create a shake-out in almost every industry across the globe. Having a strong personal brand – and becoming “known” – can be a permanent and sustainable competitive advantage for you and your business. More calls will be returned, and more doors will open (and stay open) if you’re known (and your competitors are not). If you’re known, you have an advantage over every other business – and a better opportunity for extraordinary thought leadership.

Do you want some help in strategizing how to position yourself as a thought leader? We can help, schedule your no-cost, one-on-one consulting session today at FSBDCSWFL.org