Welcome to LinkedIn Thought Leadership. You have decided to become a thought leader on LinkedIn. This is a noble and slightly confusing journey, and I am here to guide you through it with the seriousness it deserves, which is to say, almost none.
Here is everything you need to know.
Step One: Discover a Universal Truth, Preferably One Everyone Already Knew
The first rule of LinkedIn thought leadership is that your insight must feel groundbreaking while containing information a reasonably attentive twelve year old already understood.
“I learned that listening is more important than talking.” Yes. Thank you. Humanity has been quietly aware of this since approximately the invention of language. But say it with conviction, on a Tuesday morning, and somehow forty thousand people will feel personally transformed.
The trick is delivery, not discovery. Nobody on LinkedIn is looking for new information. They are looking for old information wearing a confident outfit.
Step Two: Tell a Personal Story That May or May Not Have Happened Exactly That Way
Every great LinkedIn post begins with a story. A barista who changed your perspective on leadership. A flight delay that taught you about resilience. A moment with your child that somehow connects directly to quarterly revenue targets.
The story does not need to be entirely accurate. It needs to be emotionally efficient. If the barista did not actually say something profound, you are permitted, under the unofficial rules of the platform, to make her slightly wiser in the retelling. She will never see the post. She is busy. She has a real job.
Step Three: Use Line Breaks As If They Are Punctuation
This is critical.
Do not write in paragraphs.
Paragraphs are for people who respect your time.
You must instead.
Write one sentence.
Then stop.
For dramatic effect.
Even when.
There is no drama.
Whatsoever.
The line break is the thought leader’s most powerful tool. It can transform “I had a productive meeting today” into what appears to be a TED talk transcript.
Step Four: Arrive at a Numbered List, Regardless of Relevance
Every post eventually requires a numbered list, even if the topic does not naturally produce one. This is non negotiable.
Three things I learned this week:
- Hard work matters.
- Relationships matter more.
- Coffee helps.
It does not matter that these three things have no logical relationship to each other or to anything you discussed in the previous four paragraphs. The list exists to signal structure, the way scaffolding exists on a building that may or may not actually be under construction.
Step Five: End With a Question That Demands Engagement But Accepts No Wrong Answers
The post must end with a question. This is the toll booth of LinkedIn. Nobody is allowed to simply finish reading and leave.
“What do you think? Let me know in the comments.”
This question works regardless of what preceded it. You could write four paragraphs about your grandmother’s soup recipe and still end with “what do you think, let me know in the comments,” and seventeen people will respond with “Great insight!” without specifying which insight, exactly, they found great.
Step Six: Achieve Enlightenment Through Mild Suffering, Briefly Mentioned
No thought leadership post is complete without a small, tasteful reference to struggle. Burnout. A difficult quarter. A moment of doubt, swiftly resolved within the same paragraph.
The suffering must be vague enough to seem relatable and brief enough to seem already conquered. “There was a time I doubted myself” is acceptable. “I am currently doubting myself and have no resolution to offer you” is, regrettably, against the unofficial terms of service.
LinkedIn does not want your unresolved problems. It wants your resolved ones, presented as a gift.
Step Seven: Tag Three People Who Did Not Ask to Be Tagged
For maximum reach, tag a few people in your post. Ideally people with large followings, tangentially related to your topic, who will now receive a notification informing them they have been included in a meditation on leadership they were not consulted about.
This is not rude. This is networking.
A Closing Thought, Delivered With Total Sincerity
I am, of course, being unfair. Genuine insight does exist on LinkedIn, buried somewhere beneath the line breaks and the numbered lists and the suspiciously wise baristas. Real people share real things, occasionally, between the performances.
But if you ever find yourself staring at a blank post box, wondering how to sound profound about absolutely nothing, just remember the format. A vague truth. A slightly improved anecdote. Dramatic spacing. An unrelated list. A question nobody needs to answer correctly.
Congratulations. You are now a thought leader.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
