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What is OrgTL?

As you know, I’m passionate about organizational thought leadership, and I hope you are as well!

I make an effort to connect with colleagues and fellow practitioners of thought leadership. I’ve spoken with fellow thought leadership practitioners around the world — Singapore, London, New York, Bangalore and Zurich.

And, do you know what I’ve learned?

I’ve learned that there are a surprising number of us who practice OrgTL — creating, curating, and deploying thought leadership on behalf of our organizations.

Here’s a bit of what I’ve heard from colleagues:

  • Many of Us are New to These Roles: The thought leadership function is relatively new in most organizations. Most heads of thought leadership have been in the role for less than three years. And a lot of people have taken on the TL roles in 2020.
  • Be Able to Measure Success: It’s increasingly critical to be able to show value for the department’s thought leadership work. Many teams are actively exploring ways to measure success and create departmental dashboards to guide their work. Thought leadership needs to be accountable for creating impact.
  • We are a Very Fragmented Profession: Most thought leadership practitioners only know one or two colleagues who have a similar title. If we want the profession to mature, we need to change that.

I’m documenting my journey through a podcast series on organizational thought leadership, short-form videos, and now this newsletter. Here are a couple of examples:

How did you land in a Thought Leadership Role?

The Convening Power of Thought Leadership: An Interview with Nora Super, Executive Director at The Milken Institute.