What a stimulating talk I had recently with thought leader gurus Mitchell Levy and Michael Procopio!

They have a unique angle to thought leadership. “M and M” showcase a person each week who has a unique point of view. But instead of having them go on about their subject matter they conduct an informal and free ranging conversation focused on how to become and remain a thought leader.

One of the ideas we discussed was what I call “

Thought Collaboration.” For me, being ahead of the curve involves connecting and communicating with other people. I use Twitter as my preferred social media platform. When there I am exposed to articles from publications I wouldn’t normally read. I follow people in the arts, in science and politics and also learn from my speaking audiences.

And then I share and retweet other people’s ideas. Besides learning and growing myself, I have found my Twitter followers to have increased substantially when I do this.

I have also learned from introverted quiet influencers that spreading ideas is a critical part of the thought collaboration equation. We share new findings, challenge each other’s ideas and we all become better informed and knowledgeable.

M and M and I discussed how introverted thought leaders and collaborators can use social media to reach a wider audience. A thoughtful use of social media helps you to move people to action, develop and grow a wider audience, achieve visibility and teach and learn.

So what can you do to become a Thought Collaborator today? Start by listening and watching the slew of great interviews the thought leader guys have already posted.

Thought Leader Life shows here.

Guest Post by Bill Treasurer

I am so honored to have my good friend Bill Treasurer join us this week for a guest post. Bill opened doors for me as a first time author and  continues to challenge me to be my best. He is the author of the newly released edition of Leaders Open Doors, one of my favorite books about leadership. It is short, powerful and filled with stories and applicable actions. Successful introverted leaders consistently demonstrate the four factors Bill beautifully describes below. And true to Bill’s nature, he is donating all the proceeds from the book to programs that support children with special needs. 

Providing people with meaningful, skill-stretching opportunities is a leader’s most important job. That’s not an overstatement. Providing people with enriching opportunities is so important that Albert Einstein said, “All that is valuable in human society depends on the opportunity for development accorded the individual.”

Einstein knew that opportunity has always been life’s most powerful motivator. People will move mountains for a leader as long as moving the mountain provides them with enriching opportunities. It’s in the pursuit of opportunities that people can try themselves, test themselves, better themselves, and even find themselves. A big part of a leader’s job is to provide people with opportunities to grow, progress, and evolve. Leaders have to be opportunity-creators.

Think of a leader who has made a positive impact on your own career or life. Pick someone you actually worked for, not someone on the world stage. There’s a good chance the leader was someone who gave you an opportunity to prove yourself to yourself. The leader likely included you on opportunities that were exciting to pursue and helped you sharpen your skills in the process of pursuing them. Finally, the leader likely stayed involved by guiding, coaching, and supporting you too.

Leading through opportunity requires matching the opportunity to the person and then helping him or her exploit the opportunity for all it’s worth. Doing that means attending to these four factors:

• Know Your Employees: Be knowledgeable about the backgrounds, needs, and desires of your employees. Ask them directly about their career goals and aspirations. What do they want to get out of this job?
• Match Suitedness: Draw connections between the opportunity and the developmental needs of your employees. When opportunities are identified, ask, “Whose growth and development would pursing this opportunity most advance?”
• Envision the Desired Results: Have a clear picture of the desired benefits that given opportunities present for the employee and the organization. Do some “future-casting” with your employee, thinking through the potential benefits that could be gained if the opportunity is successful. Also identify the actions that will maximize the probability of success.
• Provide Ongoing Support: Genuinely want, and support, your employee’s success. Stay involved by periodically asking what support they need from you, removing barriers that might block their progress. Offer encouragement and guidance when they meet roadblocks and bottlenecks.

When you really know the aims of your employees, when you’ve assigned them to juicy opportunities that are ripe for their skills, and when you’ve worked with them to develop a clear picture of a successful outcome, you can’t help but take a strong interest in their success. And when your people are successful, you’re not just an effective leader, you’re an opportunity leader!

Bill Treasurer is the Chief Encouragement Officer of Giant Leap Consulting and author of Leaders Open Doors, which focuses on how leaders create growth through opportunity. 100% of the book’s royalties are being donated to programs that support children with special needs. Bill is also the author of Courage Goes to Work, Right Risk, and Courageous Leadership, and has led courage-building workshops across the world for NASA, Accenture, CNN, PNC Bank, SPANX, Hugo Boss, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and many others. Contact Bill at btreasurer@giantleapconsulting.com, or on Twitter at @btreasurer.