#thought-leadership

#thought-leadership

I get it. Putting yourself out there can feel awkward. Exposed. Vulnerable. That's how I feel about dancing in public. It's my own personal nightmare. At Zumba, I'm hiding behind the water cooler. At my wedding, my husband had to mouth the 1-2-3-4 count so I wouldn't lose the beat. And recently at a music festival, the band leader pointed at me to come dance on stage. I prayed he was pointing to the person behind me. Nope.

Whether we appreciate it or not, each of us has a personal brand, and everything we do affects it. It's more than your reputation, win/loss record, or what you're most known for. It's everything we do, say, post, share, write, and present. It's the cases we handle (and the ones we don't), it's how we help others (or don't), how we develop our expertise, and how we share it with others.

Jenny Meassick is the Chief Marketing Officer at Socium Advisors. Over the past few years, content has become a cornerstone of the modern marketing strategy. The role of content is twofold: unifying campaigns across channels, from social media to email newsletters, and establishing a cohesive brand narrative that allows audiences to recognize your company's tone, values and voice. Selling a product is one thing, but selling an idea and trust is another entirely.

Of all the consulting requests I receive, helping executives (or their teams) strengthen their LinkedIn presence is the most common - and for good reason. LinkedIn is no longer optional for executives. It's where top talent, investors, journalists, and industry peers vet leaders and build trust - often before they've ever met you. I've seen this firsthand throughout my career.

Authority is currency. Without it, you chase clients instead of attracting them. Without it, you're invisible while others get attention. Stop waiting for recognition. Manufacture it. Engineer the exact perception you want people to have when they hear your name. Establishing yourself as the go-to expert in your field is simpler than you think. ChatGPT can help with the right prompting. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through.

One channel that has quietly become a game-changer is podcasting. Once seen as a niche hobby, podcasts are now a mainstream platform where thought leaders, brands, and professionals share insights.

When PayPal recently posted a job opening for head of CEO content, it signaled more than a new hire. It marked a shift in how companies are thinking about leadership visibility. The role, which blends strategic communications, personal brand development, and thought leadership, reflects a growing recognition that the CEO's voice is not just a corporate asset, it is a leadership imperative.

AI is changing how we create content - sometimes for the better, but too often for the blander. What used to be distinct now feels dull. Content sounds polished, but empty. And a lot of "thought leadership" reads like it came from the same ChatGPT template, green check marks included. This is especially true on LinkedIn, a platform that should be full of thought-provoking perspectives but feels increasingly overrun by generic platitudes.

So, I understand why so many bloggers and organizations are integrating AI tools into their writing workflows. It's tempting because it's fast and actually "works". But, here's the thing: that 800-word op-ed or heartfelt LinkedIn post - all generated with AI? That's not actually thought-leadership. In fact, a new study from MIT suggests that the use of ChatGPT actually harms critical thinking abilities.

If you ask a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to solve your customers' pain points, it will give you an answer based on the easiest-to-verify information. That often includes published articles, consistent founder commentaries, structured product pages and other third-party references. If those answers do not include your brand, these learning models default to featuring your competitors.

The shift toward AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI is transforming how people access information, impacting traditional business visibility strategies.

Executives who have been in their industries for decades will likely remember the days of long-form think pieces in prestigious publications. Those media mentions were the gold standard for showcasing thought leadership and building brand awareness.

In today's hyper-competitive marketplace, thought leadership has evolved from a marketing buzzword into a strategic business imperative. It's no longer enough to merely join the conversation - lasting advantage belongs to those who shape it.

In a world where AI is increasingly turning up the noise and drowning out the signal, businesses and their leaders are finding that authentic attention is crucial.