This is one series of articles that has taken me to delve in a somewhat new territory.

In my certificate course in Legal Tech in the Digital Era, one of the modules was focused on leading innovation. I totally enjoyed it but I didn’t know the extent that it would be engrained in me as I experienced my work as a corporate actor. We were taught different techniques of leading a team into embracing innovation and actually participating in the development process.

Lately, I thought I should revisit the concept of thought leadership and thanks to the Max Good AI Coach (Thank you to Mishkin Berteig, for introducing me to this platform!) I was given a great overview of what it was and how it applied to me. It was amazing!

One of the key aspects of thought leadership is leveraging industry expertise to bring value through innovation and valuable insights that would influence or guide others. Having a willingness to share knowledge and experience is also a key component and that gave me some confidence!

This article being the first in the series, I would like to generate interest in discussing one of the basic principles of thought leadership which is the intentional approach to discussing matters and pronouncing oneself on them. Being a thought leader is, in my view, different from being a commentator. Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with providing commentary on a matter, which is a skill on its own, the point is that the two activities are distinct from each other and may have different defining and guiding principles.

In thought leadership, there is an intention on the part of the person championing a perspective or insights, to motivate nuance or alternative ways of doing already existing things, amongst others.

It is important to always ask ourselves what we are introducing in our discourse. Is it an idea, old or new that we would like to share that brings innovation, creativity or deeper thinking on a subject? How are we communicating these thoughts? Is it impactful?

Reflecting on the questions I ask above has motivated me to write this series and I hope that it can stir up a healthy conversation!

Let’s share!