Leadership and Becoming Iconic: Establish Yourself as the Authority in Your Field

“I can’t help but think, had I been introduced to this material when I was younger, I would have gotten to where I wanted to be about twenty years sooner, with far fewer mistakes.” – Mike Shelah

You might be thinking right now, Ok, Jeff – pretty good job so far, you made some well-thought-out points through the people you’ve featured in your blog and books over the years. I see some of the skills I need to master in order to slowly, but surely, move beyond those nagging doubts, and I certainly know the importance of staying true to myself and becoming more aware. But, when it comes to achieving more and making an impact, half the time I don’t know what to focus on, and the other half I’m not focusing at all!

My friend: I know that feeling all too well. No exaggeration, years of my life have been stuck in indecision. And then when I finally made a decision, I would question myself even further and feel like I made the wrong choice! It’s as if the doubt never ends. But you can apply a specific, actionable process that will lead you to take massive action.

In the past, I was chatting with a couple of friends over lunch at a restaurant/bar in Westerly, Rhode Island, and they asked me how I was able to distribute my first book through a publisher internationally, across three different continents, while going to graduate school at Johns Hopkins, working for the Government, growing my business, expanding my reach, traveling, and constantly networking. The answer was that while it seemed like I had a million things going on, my one thing was publishing my book. Everything funneled into that. Establishing myself as an expert in my field by becoming an author is what led me to become an entrepreneur.

They smiled, and I explained that while I have enormous amounts of energy, I have a knack for seeing ideas through to completion. When I get new ideas, I jot them down in Evernote. However, I’ve always stayed with one idea at a time. Trying new things is definitely a good thing, but in a world where everyone is so quick to quit and stop a project halfway, my consistency and self-discipline have served me well.

You can be the most talented person in the world, but all the gift and ability in the world means nothing if you don’t put in the hard work, effort, and consistency required to focus and reach your Mountaintop.

There are no shortcuts here. But, on a good note, these are insights you will definitely be able to put into action for yourself. Let’s now hear from more experts about how to really hone in on an area of expertise as you climb your Mountain and head towards epic success.

Find Your Area of Expertise and Become the Thought Leader

Successful entrepreneur Randy Gage and I got right into it and talked about the challenges of growing a business.

“You can grow your business by cold calling, but I’d rather poke my eyes out than make cold calls,” Randy said. “The key is to become the go-to expert on a given subject.”

“What is it for you?” I asked.

“Prosperity,” Randy said.

Randy is talking about something called inbound marketing, where you put out lots of expert content into the world and have people see and think of you as the expert in a given field.

“When I started growing my speaking business I didn’t have the Internet like you do, so I used to publish articles in magazines and put my 800 number at the end of it,” Randy said. “With the ease of the Internet, you can more easily put stuff out there.”

“Easier said than done,” I replied with a light laugh. “But I’ve come to think of it as a process to embrace.”

“You’re right,” Randy said. “Ask yourself: what are you an expert in? Look at your experiences, what other people tell you that you’re good at, and what you feel is your calling. Then put out massive amounts of content via your website to show that you’re the authority.”

If you’re starting completely from scratch, you can still choose to cold call, but when it comes to becoming an authority you definitely want to focus on creating content and pushing it out to the world as an expert. You can discuss other topics if you want to, but make sure you have that number one focus – that one thing you’re known for.

Ask yourself: what is the one topic you want to become the expert in the most? Pick one area of expertise and put your whole heart and soul into it. You are going to have a tendency to want to jump into a lot of different topics but start with your favorite initiative, the topic that jacks you up so much that you can’t wait to tell the world about what you’re doing. That’s where you will become the expert.

Focusing on one topic does not mean you are limited to one kind of activity, as there are a lot of mediums and methods to spread your message: blogging, YouTube, social media channels, and other kinds of forums. It just means your thoughts, words, actions, and overall initiatives are all in alignment. I’d also suggest developing the skill of single-handling, where you focus on not only one topic at a time, but one activity at a time.

Reaching your Mountaintop is about focusing in on the areas and topics you care about the most. For me, it’s authentic leadership and helping managers and CEOs become better leaders (after encountering countless dysfunctional leaders in the workplace, I decided I wanted to do something about it and be a force for positive change): a lot of my content is geared around helping leaders develop the skills they need to create a winning culture, inspired employees, and long-term organizational success. I speak to people of all ages and backgrounds, but my main niche is corporate: specifically, medium-sized businesses looking to take their initiatives to the next level of success. This also includes speaking at associations, conferences, and nonprofit organizations involving these topics.

If you don’t know what topic to become the authority in, start where you are. What do you know a lot about? Or, what do you care about so much that you would love to study and learn about it as much as you possibly can? What societal problems bother you the most? Where do you feel you could have the most impact in society? Take a few minutes to really think about this – it’s never too early or late to engage in this process. Go into meditation about it if you’re not getting an answer right away. What lights you on fire? What problems do you feel people aren’t doing enough about? That could be a potential opportunity where you could achieve a unique and meaningful impact. As you continue putting out insightful content in your area of choice, you will eventually be known as a thought leader.

“Randy, what you’re saying is spot on,” I said. “Just playing Devil’s advocate, though, I read Money Talks, by Alan Weiss, and he says NOT to limit yourself to a specific niche or industry. What are your thoughts on that?”

“I know Alan, and he’s a smart guy,” Randy said. “Still have your area of expertise, but be aware that it applies to all different kinds of industries. For example, being an expert in leadership can apply to the banking industry, corporations, nonprofits, sports teams, and other industries. This is why it’s so important to become a thought leader, gaining visibility across multiple industries on a given subject matter.”

In my case (I’m using this as an example as you think about this for yourself) authentic leadership can apply to different industries other than businesses and corporations. For example, studies show a huge percentage of the student population is stressed and burnt out – my knowledge applies to their situation. I also speak to nonprofits about improving morale and implementing more purpose and meaning into their daily actions. So just because you have one area of expertise does not mean you are limiting yourself.

“In terms of becoming a thought leader,” Randy said, “it’s about having the confidence to literally lead thought.”

Haters Are Going to Hate, But Don’t Let It Get to You

“What about people who criticize and condemn us?” I asked Randy.

“We all have haters,” Randy said. “But as you develop true self-confidence, it’s a matter of pushing past the haters and putting your best stuff out there to the world. That’s what will cause you to really make a difference.

“I spoke at the million-dollar roundtable at the National Speakers Association conference in Washington, D.C. – these were all speakers who were making an income in the millions. I gave them the top ten essentials of truly being a thought leader, and one of them was having haters,” Randy said.

It is what it is. Having haters is a simple byproduct of having expanded reach and influence. It’s not a pleasant experience, and I wish it weren’t the case, but it is one thing to watch out for as you really zero in on becoming a thought leader in your area. I want everyone to like me, but what I’ve realized is that this won’t always happen. Do your best and be true to yourself; if some people aren’t ok with that, forget about them and switch your focus back to your purpose and power. As Randy says, “in order to become a thought leader and make a difference, you must give up the need to be liked.”

Don’t change for every critic. Disregard the naysayers. Realize that their errant opinions don’t affect your destiny. I’m a sensitive guy, and I struggle with this, but I’m getting better at it every day. And so can you.

This is why the blog posts and books leading up to this one have provided us with such a strong foundation. The soft skills ARE the hard skills: overcoming doubt, mastering your mindset, being authentic, being emotionally intelligent, becoming a leader, trusting yourself, and everything else we covered so far. These are the key characteristics of someone who has the maturity and wherewithal to not be pulled in a million different directions, but rather choose to increase their impact by focusing on one thing at a time.

It takes genuine and authentic levels of courage and confidence to push past the haters when you are focusing on the one area of expertise you are mastering. Don’t let the critics and insulters throw you off your game. Shrug them off and push forward even harder. Randy Gage is the man. Take his advice on this subject and watch your influence expand as you head for the Mountaintop.

Randy Gage was featured in chapters two and six of the award-winning book, Reach Your Mountaintop: 10 Keys to Finding the Hidden Opportunity in Your Setbacks, Flipping What You’ve Heard on Its Head, and Achieving Legendary Goals.