Building your profile as a ‘thought’ leader

Have you ever been at a conference and thought, “I know more about this topic than this presenter does,” or you have read an article in a professional magazine, written by someone you know, and thought, “I really should get some articles published to build my professional profile.” Perhaps you’ve also seen a colleague’s name listed as the leader of a task force on a subject such as acid rock drainage or mine safety training and wondered why you don’t seem to get that kind of opportunity?

This may be the next step in your career: being seen as a ‘thought’ leader within your area of knowledge. It could be safety in open-pit mines, mine water management, underground disposal of thickened tails, community relations, closure, or any of a host of other topics.

A thought leader is someone with the professional qualifications, expertise and experience to develop leading-edge solutions to difficult challenges. This person has developed a “personal brand” that includes a reputation for a particular skill or area of knowledge.

It is useful in just about any kind of career stream. Thought leaders are people with specific expertise to offer, but the key is that they are known for that expertise. So how do you develop that profile?

Setting a plan in place

First, you must have the professional qualifications, body of knowledge and experience to be a thought leader. You won’t get far if you can’t demonstrate that you have what it takes.

To become known as such, your first step is to determine the audience you want to reach.

Imagine yourself, for example, as a consultant helping mining companies meet environmental regulations, with a focus on uranium mining. Your primary market may be companies currently mining uranium -but you also need to be known to miners not now involved in this type of mining but who are considering it, and who will not be familiar with the famously rigorous regulations that pertain to uranium.

Third, you want regulatory authorities to recognize you as knowledgeable and ethical, so that your reports and recommendations are more likely to be accepted. Going one step further, it may be helpful to be recognized as an authority among your peers and also among institutional investors who want greater confidence that if they invest in a junior company involved in uranium, their investment won’t go south.

You will need to determine which of these audiences are most important to your future success.

Your next step in building thought leadership is to think of the challenges you want to solve. This is not the same as “determine what work do you want to do,” because it involves looking at the world from the market’s perspective. In our regulatory environment example, the client’s challenge is not so much about completing an environmental review correctly, as it is about ensuring that clients’ interests are protected from changes in legislation that may affect their plans.

Making your plan a reality

After you’ve determined what audiences you want to reach and which client issues you want to solve, your next step is implementation. There is a wide range of tools available, but three stand out as being the most effective in building a profile as a thought leader.

The first and most accessible tool is publishing informative articles. These can be in your professional or industry publications, but be sure to also get published in those read by your market. Mining magazines such as the Canadian Mining Journal are certainly an excellent start.

Public speaking is a second tool for thought leaders. Through audience reaction and the questions they ask, you’ll refine your knowledge base. Public speaking gives you a chance to meet the people you need to get to know, in a setting that is powerful for you.

The third tool for building a thoughtleading profile is involvement in the right business communities. As well as those inside your industry or profession, think of groups that have as members the kind of people you want to reach. The Membership Committee is a great place to get to know influential people and for them to get to know you.

These three steps -article publishing, public speaking and professional community involvement, are a multi-year process -but getting started now means the sooner it is for you to be able to reap the benefits of being a ‘thought’ leader.