When making an executive career move, whether you’re aiming for a senior leadership position or a board seat, it’s crucial to align your thought leadership strategy with your networking strategy. This combined approach can greatly enhance the results of your efforts, and it might be for reasons you haven’t considered.
Staying Top of Mind
As someone who runs a busy recruitment practice, I can tell you it’s easy to forget who I met just two weeks ago, even if I was highly impressed with them. Despite having great systems, databases, and notes from candidate meetings, the reality is that with so many ongoing conversations, people can slip off the radar.
This is where thought leadership becomes invaluable. It helps you stay top of mind for search consultants, recruitment firms, and decision-makers you’ve met with. By consistently sharing content and engaging on platforms like LinkedIn, you ensure you remain visible in their networks and feeds, constantly reminding them of your value and expertise.
Thought Leadership as a Networking Tool
The goal of thought leadership isn’t just to demonstrate your expertise. It’s a powerful way to keep yourself relevant and provide a reason to reconnect with your network. Posting articles, videos, or insights on LinkedIn acts as a sophisticated calling card that brings you back to the attention of headhunters and potential connections.
As someone who checks LinkedIn every day, I often remember candidates I met weeks or even months ago when I see their content show up in my feed. Their posts act as reminders to reach out to them again for potential opportunities, keeping them in my mind as active, engaged professionals.
Avoiding Unsophisticated Follow-Ups
Many candidates make the mistake of relying on repetitive, unsophisticated follow-up emails. For example, I regularly receive emails like, “Hi Kylie, just following up about a board seat.” These emails don’t provide any new information, updates, or value. Frankly, they don’t work, especially in a high-level executive or board search context.
Sending an email asking for a board seat without adding something new to the conversation—like a refreshed resume or insights—won’t leave a lasting impression. Worse still, this approach can feel transactional and off-putting, especially when dealing with busy executive search consultants, board chairs, and senior leaders.
Leveraging Thought Leadership in Follow-Up Communication
Instead of generic follow-ups, take a more sophisticated approach by linking your networking efforts to your thought leadership. For instance, when reaching out to someone you’ve spoken with before, reference something relevant they’ve posted, then share something valuable of your own. For example:
“Hi Bill, great to reconnect! I noticed your recent post about the contract you secured. Congratulations! I thought you might find this article I wrote on industry trends relevant—I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s keep in touch.”
This approach not only shows you’re paying attention to their work, but it also keeps the conversation focused on mutual value. It gives your connection a reason to re-engage with you and helps you stand out from the typical follow-up email.
Building Rapport Over Time
There’s a concept in e-commerce that suggests people need to interact with a brand up to ten times before they make a purchase. The same principle applies to networking in executive searches. It takes multiple interactions to build rapport and foster relationships that lead to opportunities.
Basic email exchanges alone aren’t enough. You need to find ways to leverage your thought leadership so that potential employers, headhunters, and board members can get to know you better. Share insightful articles, engage in meaningful conversations on social media, and use digital platforms to showcase your expertise.
The Power of Video
One underutilised form of thought leadership is video content. Videos don’t need to be complex; they just need to be authentic and valuable. Whether it’s a quick insight into industry trends or a personal reflection on leadership, videos can help you stand out in a crowded space. Video is highly engaging and gives people a sense of who you are beyond your resume, making it a powerful tool for connecting on a deeper level.
Thought Leadership: The Key to Standing Out
Ultimately, blending thought leadership with networking allows you to create a dynamic, interactive presence that keeps you visible and relevant in the minds of the people you want to connect with. Whether it’s securing a new executive role or building your board portfolio, this strategy is essential for next-generation leaders to differentiate themselves.
By consistently contributing value to the market through thought leadership and strategically connecting with your network, you’ll position yourself as a standout candidate and build a professional presence that opens doors.