Don’t just be a thought leader. Be thoughtful.

Do others in your field of endeavour look up to you for leadership, tutelage, direction, inspiration, or guidance? Are you so knowledgeable and skilled, such that your expertise and contributions command respect? If your answer is “yes”, you are a thought leader. People see you as the one to go to and as a source of authentic information or knowledge. Thought leaders have so much influence. If there is a thought leader in your field or work, you can learn a lot from them and glean from their wealth of experience. However, thought leadership may not be effective if the so-called leader does not add thoughtfulness to their knowledge. Have you seen a rocket scientist that, due to character flaws, cannot build the relationships needed to achieve much?

Those who are thoughtful engage their minds in paying attention to the things that really matter. For example, they think about the needs of others, their relationship with others and the implication of their actions. They know that being smart is not enough but being wise is even better. You and I need to add thoughtfulness to our thought leadership. An effective leader is a person of influence and character. Leaders think deeply, take time to reflect, are empathetic and do not make decisions on impulse. Being thoughtful means careful and considerate thinking. It means thinking to consider factors surrounding an issue before acting on the issue. Thoughtful people are apt.
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Strong, brave, and supportive people normally gravitate toward thoughtful leaders. In that sense, a thoughtful leader will attract to themselves those who will help them succeed. It is not surprising that thoughtful people are successful people. However, someone who is very bright and smart but finds it difficult to attract good people to work with or who repel kind people should check their thoughtfulness level. Don’t just be a thought leader. Be a thoughtful leader.

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Actions for the week

1. Conduct a personal examination of your level of thoughtfulness when dealing with issues and with others. Are you a thoughtful person?
2. Commit to practicing thoughtfulness in everything. Remember, what you do and how you feel affects other people around you. Be thoughtful.
3. Write 3 ways you can be thoughtful or intentional in doing something for someone this week. Go ahead and do the 3 things.

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A quote to remember
The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind. – Wayne W. Dyer.

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Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
​Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books