The Sincerity of Thought Leaders

One of the common threads that runs through all of the companies and individuals that are often considered thought leaders is the level of individual sincerity that those people and organizations posses. I’m willing to bet that sincerity wasn’t the first thing, or even one of the things that you had top of mind today. In fact, my hope is that it’s something that you live, and not something you think about, but it’s worth examining, and thinking about, in depth for a moment here.

Altruism before capitalism is one of my favorite, albeit sometimes misapplied, phrases to encapsulate the concept of thought leadership marketing. Altruism simply means “the deliberate pursuit of the interests or welfare of others”. I classify the best thought leaders as being more altruistic than not. Moreover, I would also consider them to be more sincere than most. Sincerity is a motivation that drives people, and thus, it’s often called into question by others (how many times have you thought “are they really sincere?”) and has the unenviable trait of being rather difficult to prove to others. That said, thought leaders are the ones who are always prepared and eager to do so. Not that they feel that sincerity or altruism needs proving, but they have the works to backup their words.

So, what’s the point here?

Sincerity is accepted by “others” when the thought leader demonstrates, beyond all reasonable expectations, that they are so engaged in an issue and endeavor so deeply to truly help the market that they serve (think Home Depot and DIY or the local flower shop that offers classes on arrangements) that there’s simply no other explanation then to accept that they are sincere and altruistic in their motivation to first help those in the market before then benefit themselves of their industry.

At the “higher holy calling” level, the previous statement makes sense. However, in practical terms, what all this boils down to is an extraordinary fair exchange of value. All thought leaders need to do to demonstrate their sincerity and achieve a fair exchange of value is to prove to clients and prospects that you have a sincere desire to help them. Asking questions, actively listening and offering up ideas and innovations that the market truly needs are the hallmarks of today’s great thought leaders.