{"id":29048,"date":"2021-12-03T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T17:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/blog\/what-is-thought-leadership\/"},"modified":"2021-12-03T12:00:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T17:00:22","slug":"what-is-thought-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/blog\/what-is-thought-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Thought Leadership?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As one piece of its expanding ecosystem, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) introduced the ICF Thought Leadership Institute<\/a> this year as \u201ca global hub of shared knowledge for human development designed to help create and influence the future of coaching.\u201d The expressed mission of ICF Thought Leadership Institute is to showcase how coaching sustainably contributes to prosperity, peace and partnership for people and the planet. TLI\u2019s framework draws inspiration from the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, directly correlating with ICF\u2019s objectives as an organization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what is thought leadership, and how can coaches exemplify what it means to be a thought leader?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thought leaders are masters of their craft.\u00a0They\u00a0are informed\u00a0and trusted sources who\u00a0provide insight \u00a0on their areas\u00a0of expertise.\u00a0Thought leaders utilize their knowledge,\u00a0experience,\u00a0skills\u00a0and influence to educate others. Within coaching,\u00a0this includes\u00a0elevating\u00a0the\u00a0understanding\u00a0of\u00a0how coaching contributes to societal well-being and sustainability.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The role\u00a0affords\u00a0an opportunity to\u00a0stimulate\u00a0significant\u00a0positive\u00a0impacts\u00a0among\u00a0key\u00a0audiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming\u00a0a thought leader takes time, a strong commitment, and\u00a0an\u00a0eagerness to serve\u00a0in an influential role\u00a0within a particular industry.\u00a0The insights of thought leaders\u00a0usually\u00a0are trusted\u00a0because of the qualifications of the individual\u00a0considered as such.\u00a0But\u00a0there\u00a0are\u00a0specific\u00a0ways to prove yourself as a leader in coaching.\u00a0The most important first step is\u00a0by showcasing that you have\u00a0valuable information to share,\u00a0while simultaneously\u00a0reflecting the UN\u2019s sustainable development goals.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Establishing yourself as a thought leader requires you to\u00a0<\/span>know and understand your target audience<\/span><\/b>. As a coach, that may include other ICF-Credentialed coaches,\u00a0existing and potential\u00a0clients,\u00a0prospective\u00a0coaches, and\u00a0others. Utilizing different\u00a0social\u00a0media channels\u00a0is\u00a0a great way to communicate with\u00a0these\u00a0target audiences\u00a0to\u00a0understand\u00a0what they are looking for\u00a0in terms of insights and perspectives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Media engagements<\/span><\/b>\u00a0are another way to demonstrate your expertise and amplify\u00a0your thought leadership positioning and\u00a0message.\u00a0Sharing\u00a0your content\u00a0and\u00a0voice\u00a0with\u00a0various\u00a0outlets\u00a0such as newspapers, magazines, podcasts and\u00a0broadcast\u00a0news stations\u00a0can provide the opportunity to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0your expertise.\u00a0In doing\u00a0so, it is beneficial to research\u00a0which media\u00a0outlets\u00a0cover\u00a0your niche and\u00a0identify\u00a0a contact\u00a0within each outlet you target.\u00a0For example,\u00a0if you believe that, \u00a0a\u00a0specific\u00a0podcast\u2019s\u00a0audience\u00a0might\u00a0benefit from your\u00a0subject matter\u00a0expertise, make sure that you\u00a0inform the producer\u00a0about\u00a0what\u00a0information\u00a0you can share\u00a0that would be\u00a0relevant and\u00a0of value to their listeners. Building\u00a0recognition among\u00a0these contacts\u00a0as a source for commentary and\u00a0insight,\u00a0even if coverage does not immediately occur,\u00a0can further establish your place as a thought leader.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally,\u00a0having\u00a0<\/span>clear objectives and goals as a thought leader that reflect ICF\u2019s core values<\/a><\/span><\/b>\u00a0will keep you on track and grounded in your journey\u00a0as a coaching thought leader.\u00a0The ICF Thought Leadership Institute is rooted in the goal of advancing the art, science and practice of coaching by creating and contributing to a body of knowledge about the industry.\u00a0Use that\u00a0as your foundation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Connecting with other ICF thought leaders will further strengthen your own\u00a0skills\u00a0and\u00a0provide clarity on\u00a0the common goals\u00a0of thought leaders\u00a0in the coaching industry. The ICF Thought Leadership Institute strives to be a hub\u00a0of shared knowledge\u00a0\u2013 leverage it!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As one piece of its expanding ecosystem, the International Coaching Federation (ICF)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":12248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"What is Thought Leadership? - A Coach's Approach","_seopress_titles_desc":"Discover the essence of thought leadership and how it can elevate your coaching brand. Learn how to position yourself as a thought leader in our blog.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"audience-type":[118,121,124,120,125,117,113,114],"display-option":[],"post-type":[128],"topic":[64,100],"_person-tax":[1915],"class_list":{"0":"post-29048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"audience-type-experienced-coaches","8":"audience-type-external-coaches","9":"audience-type-icf-chapter-leaders","10":"audience-type-internal-coaches","11":"audience-type-mentor-coaches","12":"audience-type-new-coaches","13":"audience-type-professional-coaches","14":"audience-type-team-and-group-coaches","15":"post-type-blog","16":"topic-business-development","17":"topic-marketing","18":"_person-tax-1915","19":"not-partnership-post","31":"_person-tax-27821","32":"has-featured-image"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"audience-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience-type?post=29048"},{"taxonomy":"display-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display-option?post=29048"},{"taxonomy":"post-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-type?post=29048"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=29048"},{"taxonomy":"_person-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_person-tax?post=29048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}