The Hopeful Thought Leader, Chapter 3
7.52 am
At home, about to leave for work
I should have left 2 minutes ago but I can’t find the book I’m currently reading and I’m frantically searching through piles of stuff for it. I eventually discover it wedged between the toy box and the miniature kitchen. I stuff it into my bag and start for the tube station at a run.
My commute is often my reading time. Sometimes it’s a book, but often – I confess – I use the time to catch up with my social media feeds. They say social media makes you feel bad, and lately that’s felt true: every day I come across article after article written by fellow company leaders. It seems like everyone is a thought leader these days, and it makes me feel like I’m dropping the ball. Hence the book today – I need a break from that guilt-inducing screen.
I guess part of my difficulty with the whole thought leadership thing is that the articles people write aren’t always good – in fact, sometimes they’re really bad. Boring, disjointed, overly complicated… I could go on. I don’t have much faith in my writing skills. Even the more ‘trendy’ types of media, like videos and podcasts, don’t always make up for the poor quality of content. I’ve watched corporate videos in which some gormless suit is droning on about how exciting and innovative their product is, and fallen asleep to dull corporate podcasts without any real structure, let alone character.
Perhaps I’m being harsh, but the thing is, I know a lot of these people. Often the reason I consume this content is because a colleague or acquaintance has posted it, or worse, sent it directly to me for feedback. Most of them are not in fact boring in real life; they are intelligent people with interesting ideas.
But I think it just takes certain skills to come across well in any type of media, and not everybody has them naturally. I certainly don’t feel I have them. I feel awkward when I’m being recorded – they filmed my speech on our last team training day and I watched it back with my face in my hands. I was twitchy, and my words fell flat as it was clear I was just reading my notes. I looked like a kid with stage fright.
By the time I get to office I’m late for my 9am, a meeting with my marketing manager. But instead of a look of disapproval, I’m met with a broad smile and told to press ‘play’. On the laptop screen in front of me is some sort of sound-editing software… Curious, I obey the command, and suddenly I’m hearing my own voice.
“Do you remember we recorded that team meeting last week when we talked about best management practices and how to educate clients about them?” says my marketing manager.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
I nod, although until now, I’d completely forgotten that we’d agreed to do that. The sound of my voice is describing one of those very practices. And I sound… good! Enthusiastic! Natural! I’m giving an example of a client who had been completely blown over by the way we did things, as it went against everything they’d experienced in the industry before. They’re still our largest client now.
“I just thought you’d like to hear a couple of the soundbites I pulled from the session,” continues my marketing manager. “When you’re not under pressure and just doing your thing, you come out with some really compelling stuff. If you like, I can post these on our social media feed with a little description of the concepts you’re talking about? I think that would make for great content.”
“Sure,” I say, still feeling a little bit shocked.
“And maybe next time, we could video the session?”
The expression on my face must have said it all, as this suggestion was quickly changed to ‘maybe some time in the future’. I’m not quite ready for the camera yet!
But as I leave the meeting, I retain the sense of amazement. Perhaps I don’t have as much to fear about creating thought leadership content as I thought I did. Perhaps I just needed to find the right way to do it – the way that suited me.
By Catie Romero-Finger and Anjalee Perera
Catie Romero-Finger
Catie is a business consultant, strategic communication expert, and co-founder of Censfera, the pioneering business model consultancy that puts storytelling at its core.
Despite gaining over ten years’ experience in strategic marketing and communications, Catie’s passion for expression and deep thought now drive her to radically change the way marketing as a field is perceived in the business world.
Having worked with leaders and in leadership roles herself, Catie developed a keen understanding that a strong vision narrative is more than a fluffy marketing concept – it impacts the business model itself. By connecting her passion to her purpose, Catie was inspired her to create Censfera with her business partner, Anjalee Perera. She now works with leadership not only to capture their vision, but to become a consistent source of it.
Outside of work, Catie is an avid fitness fan, and loves to try new and challenging ways to stay in shape both mentally and physically. She enjoys reading business literature to stay up to date with current trends, and is outspoken about the need to find balance in life, as she cherishes her time with her two young children.
Anjalee Perera
Anjalee Perera is a business consultant, writer and co-founder of Censfera, the pioneering business model consultancy with a focus on storytelling.
A qualified doctor of medicine and surgery, Anjalee left her clinical days behind her in 2015 to pursue a more creatively fulfilling career. Through her subsequent work in the strategic marketing, communications and broadcasting fields, Anjalee became fascinated by the observation that leadership’s ability to drive a consistent vision had huge impacts on strategy and even the business model itself. With her business partner, Catie Romero-Finger, Anjalee developed the Vision Sphere methodology, which later became the foundation concept of Censfera.
Outside of work, Anjalee is an unabashed historical fiction fan, casual philosopher, careers mentor to medical professionals, and devoted mother to her daughter.
