What is “graceful” thought leadership? The answer is buried in the name “thought leadership.” If there’s no thinking and it leads nowhere, it won’t work—especially when a growing content glut swamps decision-makers’ attention and steadily teaches them it’s most likely a waste of time.
What am I doing talking about grace?
Everybody likes to talk about thought leadership, but not many companies do it well. Only one-third of thought leadership producers believe their content is very good or excellent.
It’s even worse for thought readership—only 15% of decision-making buyers rate thought leadership as very good or excellent.
No surprise, really. How often have you read thought leadership content and wondered, “Is that it?”
The reason is buried in the name “thought leadership.” If there’s no thinking and it leads nowhere, it won’t work—especially when a growing content glut swamps decision-makers’ attention and steadily teaches them it’s most likely a waste of time.
The irony of all those gaps and deficits is that marketing and selling innovation still depends on the quality of the innovator’s thinking. Innovators who can’t say what’s new, different, and better about their innovation can’t hope for much impact.
That’s why I think thought leadership matters. That’s why I’m launching The Graceful Thought Leader.
Now, you might be wondering, “Why grace?” It seems like an odd word to use with thought leadership. But it also works as a convenient shorthand for many of the qualities of the best thought leadership.
Thought leadership grace is:
- An elegance and ease of thinking and communicating
- A generosity in sharing ideas, giving them and grateful for them
- An inherent inner power of efficacy and influence in one’s industry
- An ability to respond and adjust to one’s milieu with dignity and decency
Aptly, the names of the Three Graces in Greek Mythology translate to abundance, resonance, and joy (Thalia, Aglaea, Euphrosyne).
I can’t think of better watchwords for thought leadership that connects and excels.
Sources: LinkedIn/Edelman data; Hesiod; Google Art Project
Three Grace Notes
“Brands may be vain and damaging things, but ideas are not. Ideas are tools of transformation, personal and collective.” — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger
“Participating in a conversation is in fact difficult. It is even more difficult than leading a conversation.” — Martin Heidegger, Country Path Conversations
“We are not only that which we imagine ourselves to be—we are also the effect that we have on other people. — Carl Jung, Jung on Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises
Note: The links above are affiliate links. I’m using them in lieu of paid subscription tiers or digital tip jars. Seems like a much more graceful way to generate financial support while sharing more thinking and writing that can guide thought leadership.
