Influencer vs Thought Leader: Followers Aren’t Expertise
This article was written by Jim Miley and published by Crossroads Professional Coaching.
Influencer vs. Thought Leader?
With the current state of everything digital, platforms seem to be teaching young professionals that they should aspire to be “an influencer.” I recently asked one of my kids what their friends wife did for a living and they told me she’s “an influencer.” Yep, it is now considered a job.
My premise for this post is “an influencer” is not synonymous with “a leader” but the social media platforms, algorithms and users seem to want us to view influencers as leaders in their respective content fields. My beef is that I see us putting the cart before the horse and yes, I chose a time-tested metaphor on purpose.
People are working to become influencers in fields before they become accomplished in the fields they want to influence.
As I started to write this post, I was mildly concerned about coming off as full on, get off my lawn, curmudgeon. To be clear I’ve got nothing against anyone finding a way to make a living as an influencer; I’m all for it as long as you’re not hurting anyone and you’re working to make the world a better place. I’m arguing that encouraging people to prioritize digital influence over constructive vocational excellence is ultimately hurtful to the advancement of our culture and it does not make the world a better place.
Through conversations on the subject with aspiring influencers, I’ve become more clear on a root issue I see with the influencer phenomenon. The issue is that many people exert focus and energy on trying to become an influencer at the expense of spending that same time and energy on being great at whatever they want to influence; that’s backward.
Experience Matters for Thought Leaders
When seeking counsel on a decision or direction, you likely consider who might have relevant experience from which you might learn. Any entertaining influencer may be fine if you’re searching where to grab a coffee. But on matters of substance, relevant knowledge and experience are likely a prerequisite for you to consider someone an influencer on your decisions.
Ankle socks or mid-calf for the gym? Anybody with a good camera will do. Diet advice for your diabetic family member? They better have intimate knowledge of the patient and have credentials.
The on-line marketplace has produced a giant digital army of influencers with a good camera but limited real experience or credentials to be subject matter experts where they are trying to exert influence. My main hobby has been playing the guitar for most of my life and I play reasonably well. Always looking to improve, I regularly search the web for tutorials and wade through hours of instructional content to find the legit experts on my need of the week. So many people trying to be guitar influencers for anything and everything guitar; so few with a mastery that stands out.
So much of the digital media world relies on very short form copy and video to exert influence. The credentials, experience or substance backing the messenger is often difficult to find if there is any. This is where I challenge any aspiring influencer to work on your credentials before you worry about influence. If you’re excellent at what you do, influence will follow but all the followers on the world wide web will not make you great at what you do.
Put First Things First For Thought Leadership
Habit 3 of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is Put First Things First. Putting first things first is about protecting time for what’s most important to us. If anyone aspires to be an influencer, “the first thing” should be establishing experience and competence worth sharing.
When I hear clients, friends or family talking about the value of being an influencer, I think about Stephen Covey’s Habit 3. There is no greater influence than that of a great example. A standard for the aspiration of influence is to be a model of what you are influencing.
The best way to exert influence is to inside and outside of the digital medium is to prioritize your leadership in your chosen field. Be All That You Can Be as the US Army slogan goes. Prioritize excellence in your field, market or leadership and you are prioritizing influence.
Prioritizing being “an influencer “and you are focusing your attention on something less than being a thought leader in your field and something that does not necessarily make the world a better place by your pursuit of the goal; it’s a hollow aspiration.
Why Good Leaders are the Best Influencers
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” Marcus Aurelius
Foundational for this post is that we aspire to add value to our communities and make the world a better place by our contributions to it. That is part and parcel of leadership. Whether you’re a leader with your skills, a leader of people or both, you should be the best you can be in your chosen vocations.
Many people work to exert influence upon the world around them but not everyone leads by being a good man. In times gone by, there was a common term “snake oil salesman.” Snake Oil Salesman does not have a positive connotation as it described someone selling potions without the foundation of legitimate science or actual medicinal properties.
I think the opposite of a snake oil salesman is an experienced practitioner with reputable credentials who seeks to help others and make the world a better place; a thought leader.
Thought leaders are the opposite of snake oil salesmen. Good leaders in whatever field they practice are the best influencers. Where in your business might you be chasing followers instead of expertise?