Authority figures over the last three to five thousand years have been 95% men. Religion. Politics. Literature. Medicine. Art. Etc.
Some people believe this is how it should be. I am not one of them.
For those of you who, like me, don’t believe that any gender identity is inherently “better,” you know the system is broken. Imagine our entire species is one big brain: how utterly asinine would it be to ignore, oppress, and marginalize half our brain?*
I suspect you and I are on the same page about this. Here you are, with confidence, self-belief, and a desire to create change. You know what you offer quantifiably improves people’s lives. You know you have what it takes to make our world better.
What you need to get there is influence: authority, respect, trust, and the ability to communicate beautifully (men have been commanding this for millennia, and they’re no more worthy than you).
Magnetic thought leadership brings you all of the above.
What IS Magnetic Thought Leadership?
Magnetic thought leadership is
providing provocative insights and a strong position in a unique voice; making an intellectual impact; and positioning yourself as an authority so you can build power and wealth and drive social change.
“Thought leader” as you usually hear it describes a person or organization that is recognized as an authority in their field and whose expertise is sought and often paid for. YAWN.
That is why I stand for, behind, over and under magnetic thought leadership. I vehemently advocate that women entrepreneurs and leaders invest in and practice it to build our influence, so we can finally tip the scales towards a power balance between male and female leaders.
What does magnetic thought leadership DO?
Magnetic thought leadership positions you as an authority on your subject matter. Subject-matter authority allows you to command premium prices for service and speaking.
It shortens your sales cycle because your reputation precedes you, and it makes your marketing effortless: you know exactly what you believe and why and how to communicate it effectively so it can impact people.
Magnetic thought leadership also delivers enormous personal benefits. When you consistently practice providing insights with a strong position in your unique voice, you are constantly developing your own thinking. This makes your confidence unflappable, which is one of my favorite feelings.
You build a steadfast certainty in yourself and what you believe in, which makes you more comfortable with the increasing levels of influence and visibility you earn. This brings me to the person you become: an influential leader, a trusted advisor, a wielder of power to create change.
Magnetic Thought Leadership in Action: Dr. Brené Brown
I could go on and on about the benefits of magnetic thought leadership — and I go into depth on the outcomes women can get from thought leadership here — but it’s more interesting to actually illustrate how it works with a well-known and well-loved figure of power and influence in the 21st century: author, speaker, and magnetic thought leader Dr. Brené Brown.
When you think “thought leader,” Brené Brown might come to mind. She is one of the most preeminent female magnetic thought leaders, and someone whose story I love to tell.
When you think of Dr. Brown now, it’s easy to feel intimidated. There’s quite a gulf between her influence, authority, and impact and ours. But! It wasn’t always this way.
Brené Brown started where we all do: as a local thought leader. She started her career by becoming known for something super niche. Before she was a household name, Dr. Brown was a shame researcher.
Dr. Brown built authority as a shame researcher. From her position as an expert in something very, very specific she was able to leapfrog into greater and greater levels of visibility and influence.
Today she is known for courage and leadership — two categories much more broad, crowded and popular than shame.
Through it all, Dr. Brown was unswervingly, unforgettably herself. She shared thought-provoking insights about shame and courage and humanity. She took the strong position that vulnerability is a lifesaver. She told stories and shared research in her open, Texan way.
The authority she commands, the wealth she’s built, and the social impact she has can’t be overstated.
Magnetic Thought Leadership: Not Just “Content”
You may not desire to have the visibility and responsibility of Brené Brown. But your impact is no less meaningful and your authority no less valuable, as a local thought leader. This is what the world needs: women and other marginalized peoples in positions of influence from the micro the macro level.
Regardless of your ultimate destination, the benefits of investing in and practicing magnetic thought leadership keep giving. It’s like investing in mutual funds: the outcomes keep compounding because momentum begets momentum.
Developing your magnetic thought leadership, really making it a priority for yourself and your community, benefits you and a world that is hungry for representations at all levels of leadership and authority.
What could your magnetic thought leadership look like? How do you begin developing it?
First, let’s review what magnetic thought leadership IS:
- Any format that feels right to you is fair game: articles, ebooks, traditional books, podcast, videos, research, even infographics. The easiest way to begin is with articles, a podcast, or videos, depending on which you enjoy creating and consuming best.
- Opinionated, meaning it could be disagreed with. This can be uncomfortable! Women are often socialized to be accommodating and amenable, so it can feel vulnerable to boldly share our opinions. But opinions are magnetic — this is how you draw your people towards you, and repel those who aren’t the right fit.
- Insightful. Share why you believe what you believe, make connections that others might not see, share research that will help your audience, and more.
- Content that includes the 5 Pillars of Magnetic Thought Leadership.
- Authoritative. I LOVE this. When you publish your thought leadership you are claiming, I belong here. I am qualified to say this. I know what I’m talking about.
For comparison, it’s helpful to review what magnetic thought leadership is NOT. Magnetic thought leadership is a type of content, but not all content is magnetic thought leadership…
Magnetic thought leadership is NOT:
- Confession-matching on the ‘gramosphere. Some women feel pressure to mirror the confessional-style, personal-brand content strewn across the Internet (I’m looking at you, Instagram). But suffice to say that “vulnerability” in and of itself isn’t magnetic thought leadership — it’s possible to be too authentic.
- Best practices. Reiterating your industry’s best practices can be valuable, but it’s not magnetic thought leadership if the exact same info is searchable elsewhere. (Now if you disagree with the best practices or have a different way of using them, I’m listening…)
- Listicles or resource roundups. Again, these can make valuable content! But unless you’re sharing a strong opinion or providing unique insights about these resources, it’s not magnetic thought leadership.
How to Begin Developing Your Magnetic Thought Leadership
Your exact magnetic thought leadership practice will be unique to you, and may change over time. But successful magnetic thought leaders have three practices in common, and they are:
- The Nike Approach: you have to just do it. My business coach calls this “apply base of pants to seat of chair and press firmly.” A trap I see women falling into — and that I fell into myself — is waiting until we feel “ready” or “certain about our niche” or have “time.”
- This kind of thinking is backwards.When you create magnetic thought leadership you become ready. Just do it, and you’ll increase your confidence and certainty exponentially.
- As for time… you know that when you make it a priority, you’ll give it time.
- A Room of One’s Own: Virginia Woolf famously wrote that women need a “room of their own” to develop their thinking. Producing magnetic thought leadership cannot be squeezed into 30 minutes between client meetings.
- I write my articles first thing in the morning, when I’m alone and fresh and energized.Sometimes that “writing” looks like sitting and thinking. Sometimes it’s note-taking. For you it might be mind-mapping or recording yourself talking.
- You must give yourself the time and space, figuratively and literally, to create magnetic thought leadership.
- Consistency: You know what magnetic thought leaders DON’T do? Flake on their audience. What builds trust and a strong relationship? Reliability.Successful magnetic thought leaders show up rain or shine, good mood or bad.
- I don’t mean we NEVER fall off the wagon. But I do mean we fall off rarely, because creating our thought leadership and delivering it to our audience is a priority, and we take that responsibility and trust seriously.
- Consistency is how you become known and sought-after. It builds your audience. And, of course, it develops your thinking.
Why Magnetic Thought Leadership is Imperative for Women
The word “magnetic” is intentional. This practice is how you attract lucrative clients, high-profile opportunities, and rich relationships. You pull them to you like a powerful magnet.
I don’t mean in a woo-woo manifest-y way (although that’s part of it, sure). I mean that leading with your provocative insights and strong position, consistently and over time, builds your influence. People start to notice you and talk about you. Your thinking gets more and more clear and compelling. People trust you because your thought leadership shows you to be trustworthy.
Momentum begets momentum. The sooner you commit to your magnetic thought leadership, the sooner your influence will begin to rise.
The world needs you. Women like you in positions of power so we can tip the scales towards a world where all genders are respected for their wisdom, influence, and authority.
5 Pillars of Magnetic Thought Leadership
I mentioned these 5 Pillars earlier — they are the characteristics that studies show make thought leadership its most influential. In my short email course, I share how to leverage these characteristics to make your thought leadership magnetic.
The 5 Pillars of Magnetic Thought Leadership divulges what your thought leadership needs to stand out all the way out. It’s data-driven, informative, it has examples, and it’ll give you the elements your thought leadership needs to attract the people who want to work with you.
Join the free email course, 5magneticpillars.com.
Special thanks to Amy Wright for edits. Image by Daniel Thomas via Unsplash.
*Forgive the binary example. Likening women to the right brain and men to the left or vice versa erases all other gender identities. Since most people identify as gender-congruent, I hope the binary illustrates my point that it’s idiotic to oppress half a group of people.
