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Executive thought leadership is one of the best steps you can take to build a lasting profile that inspires trust, shapes industry conversations, and unlocks meaningful opportunities.
But what separates the very best leaders from the worst?
In this article, we leverage our expertise with global C-Suites to share seven strategies you can use to perfect your executive thought leadership campaigns.
With our advice, you won't just raise your profile, but your entire team, industry, and network. So, let's get into it.
Before you consider an executive thought leadership campaign, ask yourself: What do you want to achieve?
While building your personal profile can be enjoyable and even ego-boosting, vanity alone isn’t a strategy.
To drive real business impact, your content needs to serve real goals.
If your company is expanding into the US, a piece in Forbes or Entrepreneur showcasing your expansion strategy might generate credibility in the new market.
If you're a founder preparing for Series B fundraising, your executive thought leadership might centre on scale-up lessons or customer retention, tailored for investors scanning LinkedIn.
Or, if you’re struggling to recruit in a competitive market like cybersecurity or AI, you might spotlight your company culture or DEI values across social media, podcasts, and panels.
In short, content without commercial alignment is just content, whereas thought leadership that anchors to your objectives genuinely builds your reputation.
During the early stages of an executive thought leadership campaign, we usually advise leaders to secure as many “low-hanging” media hits as possible to ease them into the rhythm of media engagement.
Then, as soon as they’ve established themselves, we push hard to secure coverage in the big hitters, like Bloomberg, The Sunday Times, The Economist, and many others.
Yet, while this might seem surprising, leaders occasionally reject these opportunities.
They might lack confidence.
Some worry about impacting their stocks.
Others fear being misunderstood.
The list goes on.
However, in cases like this, where executives stick to small engagements, audiences nearly always switch off, opting to follow competitors they view as more credible.
What do these competitors have in common? National and broadcast coverage.
So, don't make this mistake. Back yourself and make bold statements that show your steel. While you can't expect unanimous agreement, you will be respected for it.
It shouldn’t surprise you when we say that executive thought leadership is oversaturated.
Take one look at LinkedIn, and you’ll probably see four or five identical posts preaching about the importance of corporate culture.
But there will be the odd occasion when a post you see sticks.
You might share it on your own page, tell a colleague about it, or, more significantly, incorporate what you learned into your own business.
It's posts like these we call thought leadership gold dust.
And what do they all have in common? A clear, distinct perspective.
So, how exactly do you craft one?
First, ask yourself what you believe in.
What’s your take on the future of your industry?
What do you think others are getting wrong?
What insight can you offer that most haven’t considered?
Next, focus on originality.
This doesn’t mean being contrarian for contrarian's sake. But offering a perspective rooted in your lived experience, data, or lessons learned makes a big difference.
Then comes relevance.
Your point of view should respond to real-time conversations in your industry, economy, or society. If AI regulation is being debated, what’s your take on how it will reshape your business (and industry)?
Finally, consistency matters.
One great post won’t make you a thought leader. But reinforcing your views across different platforms helps audiences instantly recognise what you stand for.
So, the next time you’re drafting a post, prepping for a panel, or speaking to a journalist, ask yourself: Is this really saying something?
If the answer is yes, you’re on your way to executive thought leadership that sticks.
When you focus too heavily on becoming a media mogul or Linkfluencer, your content risks becoming fragmented, performative, or simply ignored.
So, what should you do instead? Always incorporate more than one channel, not for more content's sake but to strengthen your overall body of work.
Your opinion pieces should be repurposed into four digestible posts shared over a month, each reinforcing a key idea.
Social content can echo the headlines from your media coverage, extending its shelf life and visibility.
Your owned content should serve as both a launchpad for fresh thinking and a home for fully developed ideas.
Multimedia should recapture everything and make your content widely accessible.
Of course, this takes more work.
But as we say to our clients, the more you put in, the more you get out.
Just ask your marketing team. You'd be surprised at how many different channels audiences check when discovering or researching your name.
And if that audience happens to be an investor, consistent visibility could be the factor that gets them seriously interested in backing your firm.
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth.”
If you’re not, it essentially means too much meddling spoils the end product. And it's true in many settings... except for thought leadership.
In this case, the more thought leaders within your firm, the better. After all, there are only so many topics a CEO can speak about in depth.
So, rather than limiting your experts to media interviews they may have briefed you on in the past, perhaps it's time you brought your team to the fore?
For starters, it’s not going to take away from your campaign. It’s going to strengthen it.
Your company will be viewed as a true authority across micro topics, while you appear as a better leader.
The biggest companies are so successful because they always take advantage of this. Just look at Microsoft, which remains one of the largest tech firms in the world.
CEO Satya Nadella specialises in AI and culture.
Vice Chair & President Brad Smith comments on tech policy, ethics, and regulation.
CVP of Security Vasu Jakkal is a cybersecurity expert.
Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen owns CX topics.
Case in point, embrace your team as ambassadors to build a stronger presence or miss out.
Executive thought leadership for visibility's sake is almost always a lost cause.
Sure, the buzz around your initial media engagements is bound to be satisfying, especially if it's with a tier one outlet. But like a plane without a destination, sooner or later, your fuel will run out, and engagement will plummet.
So, with any campaign, here are two things to consider: your intention and your audience.
A clear intention gives messaging a sharp point, style, and level of explanation.
Knowing your audience lays the foundation for your tone and strategy.
For instance, if your press release aims to drive changes to legislation, make it clear that you’re targeting government officials.
Use language like “calls on policymakers to act” rather than phrases like “hopes for change”.
The former communicates intent and pressure. The latter leaves the door wide open and makes it unclear who the message is really for.
Don't make this avoidable mistake. Always deliver clear value for you and your audience.
The big question we’re often asked: How can executive thought leadership be measured?
To be honest, it’s a tricky one.
On one hand, PR should never be confused with marketing or judged by lead-gen.
On the other hand, credibility only comes with time.
As soon as we start placing lofty expectations on thought leadership, client and representative relationships can get skewed far before results are achieved.
Besides, most executive thought leaders' journeys aren't directly comparable with another's in terms of content, time frames, followers, and far more other variables.
So, while you can quantify the quality of media hits and social media engagement you receive, it’s much better to focus on building genuine relationships, trust, and influence over time.
Trust us. Positive business outcomes will follow.