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The Authentic Thought Leader

These five common habits could put your authenticity at risk.

Thought Leadership

Michael

Port

Co-Founder

minute read

Published on

July 22, 2024

Calling yourself a thought leader might actually hurt your authenticity.

In your extensive reading list of articles about how to be a great thought leader, you might have noticed a common thread: a vast majority of them mention the importance of authenticity.

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They say to be truly authentic, you must be true to your values and beliefs. They say you must embrace your own vulnerability by sharing your challenges and failures with your audience.

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Be honest and open about your intentions. Take feedback from your audience and act on it. Be transparent. Foster genuine connections.

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And don’t forget to lead with purpose and always keep your big-picture goal in the forefront of your mind.

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While this is all great advice, research from Predictive ROI and Audience Audit Inc. reveals certain habits and actions you might want to avoid in order to build trust with your followers.

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You see, being authentic is much more than simply being true to your core values. In fact, if you set out to show your followers you’re the real deal, you might actually cause the opposite reaction.

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In the most recent article in this series, you discovered a new content-creation engine, one you can use to test your ideas while collaborating and interacting with your audience. But the truth is, this type of content creation—and everything you do as a thought leader—will work better when paired with authenticity.

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Five Things That Compromise Your Authenticity

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Some people unknowingly radiate fictitious genuineness and compromise their authenticity on their journey to become thought leaders. Here are a few things you might want to avoid as you create content, interact with your audience, and embark on your journey as a thought leader.

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#1 Calling yourself a thought leader

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Your position as a thought leader is earned, not given. Simply adding “thought leader” to your LinkedIn profile is like slapping a thought-leader bumper sticker on your car—it doesn’t suddenly transform you into one.

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Self-proclaimed thought leaders can often come across as self-serving and egotistical. It’s probable that a large percentage of your followers don’t like the term either.

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In The ROI of Thought Leadership, when survey respondents were asked what terminology they preferred, the majority did not choose the term thought leader. In fact, 65 percent of respondents chose a different term—expert, influencer, and authority were high on the list.

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And the jaded-skeptics portion of respondents (who made up 23 percent of all participants) were most likely to agree with the statement that “thought leader is a title made up for people on LinkedIn who think they are ‘disrupting the industry’ by making videos.”

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For this group of people, the term thought leader actually denotes the opposite of expertise; they consider thought leaders egotistical and focused on self-promotion.

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Avoiding self-labeling can help you maintain true authenticity and prevent you from coming across as self-promoting and self-centered.

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And the truth is, you don’t decide whether you’re a thought leader or not—your community does. Leave the labeling to them, while you focus on doing deep work.

Full Transcript

Don't

deep work.

#2 Pretending to have all the answers

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Overstating your knowledge, insight, or expertise can lead to a huge loss of trust.

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With a world full of experts who claim to have the best answer (and all the answers), admitting to the world that you don’t know everything, that you’re searching for an answer, and that you’re trying to figure something out builds credibility. It shows you’re humble and willing to learn.

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When you’re humble, you connect with your trusting followers. According to the research, this group made up 27 percent of respondents, and these trusting followers are the most likely to agree they have a lot to learn about their industry.

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If your audience has a lot to learn, you should too. Authentic thought leaders mirror their audience and know they don’t have all the answers.

Don't

mirror your audience and realize you have a lot to learn.

#3 Engaging in trend FOMO

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Of course it’s important to stay relevant and keep up with the latest insights, resources, and tools. But blindly following the next big thing can quickly dilute your authenticity.

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When you’ve strongly established your knowledge in a certain field or subject matter, you’ve confirmed your expertise level in the marketplace. Jumping from trend to trend—especially ones you don’t know much about—can make you look inconsistent or unsure of what path to take.

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Other people who are very knowledgeable about trends you know little about could see your interest as insincere. In the research, self-described experts, who made up 25 percent of the participants, agree they know as much about their industry as most industry experts.

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When you claim to be confident in a trendy subject matter, these self-described experts could call your bluff and quickly abandon ship.

Don't

let fear of missing out disrupt your strong, consistent, and knowledgeable personal brand.

#4 Being inaccessible

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Authentic thought leaders are very approachable. They positively and consistently engage and interact with their communities. And it pays off. These thought leaders are judged as more trustworthy, form a stronger connection with their followers, and benefit from a greater sum of new ideas.

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The aloof, missing-in-action, and uninterested “leader” puts up a barrier between themselves and their audience, and will likely lose followers quickly.

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The research shows that the members of your community, especially those profiled as trusting followers, are more likely to trust an expert they can see in person. That’s why speaking at conferences and events and interacting with your community can help you build trust and solidify your position as a thought leader.

Don't

engage and interact with your community as much as possible.

#5 Constantly self-promoting

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It’s great to promote your work and show the world your ideas. Sharing ideas that change the way your audience approaches their work and sees the world is precisely what earns you the title of thought leader.

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But overpromotion and constantly highlighting your successes and know-how can be a huge turn-off for your audience.

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The jaded skeptics in your following are very wary of self-promoting experts. The research shows that this group especially thinks most experts just share the same old common advice, while promoting themselves over and over and over again.

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They even go so far as to expect thought leaders to be frauds, until they are convinced otherwise.

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For that very reason, it’s essential to focus on constantly providing value by solving problems for your audience. Avoid boasting and bragging, it alienates you and can seriously damage your authenticity.

Don't

fake it till you make it.

The true key to authenticity

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Most thought leaders encounter authenticity disconnects as they seek approval and acceptance from their community. Each of the things mentioned above that compromise your authenticity has the same root problem—the desire to be good enough.

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In your work as a thought leader, if you focus on trying to be good, it’s very likely it will come across as self-absorbed. When you focus on what you want for yourself, your career becomes about getting approval. It's motivated by your fear of failure or being rejected.

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Why? Because your focus is on you, not on your audience.

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Always remember, put your audience first. Every time. All your choices should be in service of your audience. The work you do is for them—to help them solve their problems, find better solutions, and be more successful.

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So instead of focusing on being good, focus on being helpful.

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While utterly simple, this is the true key to authenticity—and in a world focused on self-promotion, status, and approval, it’s very often forgotten.

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**The Good Morning America Interview**

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Years ago, a student called me to tell me about an exciting opportunity to promote her new book on Good Morning America. She had worked hard to land the interview, and knew it could significantly boost book sales. After all, her book was a perfect fit for the audience.

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After she tells me about the opportunity, she asks, sounding slightly panicked, “How can I be good?”

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“You can’t,” I say.

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A very long, slightly uncomfortable moment of silence follows.

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“You don’t think I’m good?” she nervously asks.

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“No, it’s not that at all,” I respond. “It’s that you can’t approach this opportunity with the goal of being good. That's all about you and what you want for yourself. It’s about getting approval. And it’s motivated by the fear of failure or being rejected.

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“Instead, focus on being helpful. Be helpful to the producers, to the anchor, to the audience, to everyone.” I ask her if she can do that.

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“Of course I can be helpful, that’s what I do best,” she responds.

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When she calls me back a week later, she says ecstatically, “It worked! I was so helpful that they asked me to come back again! Oh, and the producer told me I was really good."

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Being helpful pays off. It shifts your focus from yourself to your audience and allows you to be your true authentic self.

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Being helpful to every individual in your thought leadership community allows you to focus on their problems and their needs. You’ll make them feel heard and acknowledged, which can build rapport and trust.

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When you do, you become valuable to them. If you're valuable, people will make a little room in their brain for your ideas. They’ll start to genuinely understand and agree with your perspective as their trust in you grows.

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The result? A more meaningful career.

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If our deepest desire is to create change in the world, not just to accumulate wealth or applause, we must always focus on being helpful. When we genuinely care about our audience and the change we want to help them achieve, our career becomes much more meaningful.

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The purpose that drives your actions goes beyond seeking approval or being good enough. Navigating challenges and obstacles becomes easier. Serving your audience and being authentically helpful are part of what crafts a true thought leader.

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It makes your career more enjoyable, more meaningful, and more successful.

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This service-based approach pays off, both for you and your audience. The better you serve your audience, the more benefits you'll earn over time.

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The title of thought leader is not given, it’s earned. Keynotes are not randomly assigned; they are earned. No one is obligated to read your books; readers are earned. Being helpful and maintaining an audience-first approach is what earns you those titles, keynotes, readers, and followers.

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Be helpful and you'll be good enough. In fact, you might even end up among the greats.

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Coming up on our thought-leadership journey…

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In the next and final article in this series, we’ll show you specific things the most effective and helpful thought leaders all have in common. We’ll reveal the six timeless qualities that are essential for your personal development as a thought leader.

Don't

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#2 Pretending to have all the answers

‍

Overstating your knowledge, insight, or expertise can lead to a huge loss of trust.

‍

If your audience has a lot to learn, you should too. Authentic thought leaders mirror their audience and know they don’t have all the answers.

Dont

mirror your audience and realize you have a lot to learn.

#3 Engaging in trend FOMO

‍

Of course it’s important to stay relevant and keep up with the latest insights, resources, and tools. But blindly following the next big thing can quickly dilute your authenticity.

‍

When you claim to be confident in a trendy subject matter, these self-described experts could call your bluff and quickly abandon ship.

Don't

let fear of missing out disrupt your strong, consistent, and knowledgeable personal brand.

#4 Being inaccessible

‍

The aloof, missing-in-action, and uninterested “leader” puts up a barrier between themselves and their audience, and will likely lose followers quickly.

‍

Don't

engage and interact with your community as much as possible.

#5 Constantly self-promoting

‍

But overpromotion and constantly highlighting your successes and know-how can be a huge turn-off for your audience.

‍

They even go so far as to expect thought leaders to be frauds, until they are convinced otherwise.

‍

Don't

fake it till you make it.

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The true key to authenticity

‍

Why? Because your focus is on you, not on your audience.

‍

So instead of focusing on being good, focus on being helpful.

‍

While utterly simple, this is the true key to authenticity—and in a world focused on self-promotion, status, and approval, it’s very often forgotten.

‍

**The Good Morning America Interview**

‍

After she tells me about the opportunity, she asks, sounding slightly panicked, “How can I be good?”

‍

“You can’t,” I say.

‍

A very long, slightly uncomfortable moment of silence follows.

‍

“You don’t think I’m good?” she nervously asks.

‍

“Instead, focus on being helpful. Be helpful to the producers, to the anchor, to the audience, to everyone.” I ask her if she can do that.

‍

“Of course I can be helpful, that’s what I do best,” she responds.

‍

When she calls me back a week later, she says ecstatically, “It worked! I was so helpful that they asked me to come back again! Oh, and the producer told me I was really good."

‍

Being helpful pays off. It shifts your focus from yourself to your audience and allows you to be your true authentic self.

‍