Putting Some Thought Back Into Thought Leadership: Winning Strategies For Personal and Business Growth
I have been hearing the phrase ‘thought leadership’ this year more so than any other, and after speaking with a few industry peers, I decided to write down my ideas and strategies to help move past the noise and take action.
Do we even need to describe ourselves as ‘thought leaders’ is a question I have been asking myself, if so, how can we adopt the right mindset and remove the pressure of titles?
In my opinion, being a thought leader or a leader in general means not having all the answers but being willing to consistently upskill and learn new things every day. I have just spent the August Bank Holiday weekend immersed in reading about Artificial Intelligence, regulations and Quantum Computing. Evolving technology is a scary space right now in cyber security, but also the most exciting. There is beauty in having access to never-ending content online mixed with an industry that is consistently expanding.
If I apply my existing thinking to the principles of thought leadership, it is defined as someone who garners influence and expertise in a particular subject matter area, providing insights, strategy and perspective to others. In an article published by Forbes, the Founder and CEO of Advantages, a brand marketing agency, described thought leadership as a person who knows themselves well enough to stand by their assumptions and defend their purpose.
This means thought leadership can often be referred to as being decisive in one’s argument, offering tangible insights backed up by evidence. I would go a step further and say thought leaders and leaders in general are by-products of their values and purpose-driven statement.
For me, my values focus on mutual respect, self-reflection, authenticity and trust. To help others / live a life of service, I need to do the inner work required first (self-reflection). For this reason, I believe leadership carries a lot of weight, and one must have an enormous amount of conviction in their approach.
Over to you...write down your definition of leadership and two or three values that are non-negotiable.
Existing Trends
The latest adult cohort, referred to as Gen Z, have dominated the last few years by entering the workforce, brand awareness and becoming concrete consumers, emerging from their early to mid-20’s.
Following closely behind is Gen Alpha, now representing close to 2 billion children worldwide born between 2010 - 2025. Both Gen Z and Gen Alpha are generations considered to be exhibiting characteristics including inquisitiveness, assertiveness, free thinking, and a desire to push the boundaries of technology and knowledge.
If we look at current leadership trends, the landscape is shifting already, with employees wanting access to skills development sooner, not waiting for promotion season to be given more responsibility; instead looking for ways to upskill.
Earlier this year, I shared a general leadership article detailing trends surrounding younger age groups. In a survey carried out by the CBRE looking into opinions of 750 individuals across the UK on their workstyle preferences, three-quarters (74%) of respondents expressed business department leadership aspirations.
From what I have seen and heard from my fellow industry professionals in cyber security and cross-industry, employees are looking for employers to offer incentives, rewards and opportunities outside the workplace. For example, training facilities to allow less online slow-paced check-box exercises and more in-person workshops, days in the life/shadow sessions, inspiring stories and courses that can incorporate a wide range of different roles. Events and conferences are additional days away from the office that can be used to introduce employees to a new network of people and community.
In cyber security, I am such an advocate for collaboration, and therefore I have had the opportunity to speak with teams including marketing, personal branding, content creation, and sales which is needed to bring the business brand to life. A big part of being a leader is understanding how different roles interlink together and help the business thrive alongside IT and technology. Involving all key departments in road mapping career progression could be a new way of looking at things.
Adapt and Grow with Your Environment
With the rise of AI, current and future leaders will be expected to think about business shifts in terms of prioritising workload and automation in the future. There are already trends showing how AI will continue to strengthen autonomous SOC capabilities, using AI to help monitor alerts, triage, and reduce false positives.
Resilience means you may not know how each day will pan out, or the challenges you will face, however you approach each day the same with determination and optimism that no matter what comes your way, you will overcome it. Adaptability as thought leaders is key. Take cyber security as an example, every single day a company is breached, shared in the media, and new threat actors identified. As professionals, we must consistently keep updated with industry insights and be prepared to answer tough questions that require strategy and reflection.
What makes me stand out and this is something you can think about too, I listen intently to others, their stories of battling incidents and instead of immediately offering advice, I read the room and focus on where I can offer my services. Sometimes it is just listening, other times I might be tasked with putting together a strategy, looking for gaps in the story that I can help with.
Feedback engages the best results in terms of improvement, allowing leaders to grow with their environment not against it.
Talking to Board members is a huge topic of conversation this year as businesses want return on investment, not only through tooling but conversation without technical jargon.
Roles and responsibilities are shifting, requiring not only security knowledge but business terminology, and the ability to convey this through a humanistic approach. Emotional intelligence if you can master qualities encompassing empathy and compassion will allow you to successfully speak with different teams depending on their situation. Leading with empathy, removing titles and status, having a human conversation will help you to understand strategy, technology and business needs. When reporting to your superior, being the go-to person who can support, mentor, even coach them to deliver high quality trends will build strong relationships and rapport.
Ways To Innovate: Personal Branding Stories
I think everyone can spend time honing their personal brand, after all it is personal to you and your journey. A personal brand is built over a lifetime and can constantly be reimagined as you get older and have different life experiences that influence your personal and professional development. Whilst working on the business to help it achieve its market goals, you should be thinking about how you can take your own learning to the next level.
Leadership today requires a person to be front and centre of the business, offering opinions and insight into day-to-day operations.
Leadership can also extend upwards towards your personal brand, which offers a look into other aspects of what makes you tick. For example, having a portfolio that contains your standard CV, past employment and education alongside external interests.
How do you spend your time?
You could start sharing your opinion relating to industry trends online / articles. Create your own podcast or share a curated list of experts you enjoy listening to, create a blog or website, host events, and speak at conferences.
There is so much breath in joining together personal and business branding. After all, a business is run by its people, and they need time to shine.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to working professionals in your chosen field and show a keen interest in their craft. Asking for advice or mentorship can be quite refreshing. I love to speak with those just entering the industry and helping where I can.
You cannot invest in the business without investing in the people who run it first.
Final Thoughts: Future Analysis
2026 is right around the corner, how can you and I help leadership development to grow?
In terms of technology, Generative and Agentic AI integrations into existing and future workflows will be paramount to employee productivity, focusing time and attention on 'people-led' roles. Return on investment will be partly based on tooling, however more organisations are choosing to widen their pool of vendors and expand business model.
We are living in increasingly uncertain times, underpinned by geopolitical tensions, proxy wars, looming inflation and poorer economic conditions. There is and will continue to be an emphasis on community and collaboration, with organisations coming together to share knowledge for the better.
Mental health topics including burnout and anxiety will become increasingly embedded into leadership-styles and ways of working, with top management needing to think a bit more creatively on how they tackle employee productivity and gain trust. Mental health, is defined by the World Health Organisation, as "the state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."
As we make way for a new cohort of leaders to come to the table, taking the time to understand their needs as individuals, road mapping career trajectory and actually asking questions to identify if they want this role will be crucial.
There are already reports indicating workers are uninterested in management, with almost half of UK workers surveyed in a CV Genius poll claiming no desire to be a manager at any point in their careers. Research also shows that many employees find leadership roles unappealing or overwhelming, with one report suggesting a third of those with management responsibilities found them unappealing.
On the other hand, a 2025 poll by DecisionMarketing found that 70% of UK staff feel their senior leaders are not well-equipped to lead effectively, creating a negative perception of leadership roles, making them less appealing.
There needs to be a culture of change taking place to boost employee engagement, showcasing supportive and empowering environments. Regular check-ins should still stand, but what about if in your next weekly stand-up meeting, you spend the last 5 minutes asking everyone to share one thing they are proud of. This can be either work or personally related. Start getting your employees to feel excited about all of their accomplishments.
Why not think about using the allocated employee training budget to decide if certifications are really the way to go about upskilling. Could employees be given options, say attend a conference or summit during their first year, and afterwards move through to completing resources and courses. This will foster support and open up space for community initiatives.
The Importance of Feedback to Help Young Leaders. Include talent in decision making, asking questions such as what would they like to see improve in terms of training, key learnings, and ways forward. If existing training focuses too much on online elements, including video-based content delivered through webinars; workshops delivering real-world scenarios can provide Q/A opportunities in real-time, collaboration between teams, better use of time and resources, and shifts in behaviour. Training could be adapted to focus on outsider influences, such as personal branding, networking, community, public speaking, presentational tradecraft / delivering key message to clients, and business strategy, alongside the courses we already have that focus on technology, frameworks, risk and so on.
Culture, Respect and Responsibility. Create new roles that suit employees if not present inside your organisation. Leaders as solution finders need to strike the balance between steering teams towards real-world hands-on experience, and the need for employees to consistently be upskilling and educating themselves. This ties in culture and longevity in careers.
Togetherness and Championing All Skills. Leaders need to continue to champion all types of employees, from those who are incredibly ambitious and want to aspire to be leaders, and those who are seeking a more moderate lifestyle, but are still able and willing to put in 110% at work however would rather be suited to a role that offers flexibility.
Future Planning. Asking employees ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’ can be the hardest, anxiety-inducing question. Instead, roadmapping expectations in multiple areas of their lives will help drive them towards the next 5 years. In the meantime, you as the employer will be able to create the big team picture which involves areas needing improvement.
