356: What to Do Now to Position Yourself as a Thought Leader [Thought Leadership Series]

We’re continuing our new podcast series on thought leadership.

We’ve talked about finding and developing your big idea and what your signature talk should be doing for you.

Today we’re diving into what you can start doing now to position yourself as a thought leader.

Yes, you can absolutely be a thought leader - and we need you to be!

Thought leaders have an interesting idea and they're willing to share it in a bigger way.

Most thought leaders are also public speakers because of the built-in authority and credibility you get standing in front of an audience and the broader impact you can make.

But, here's the thing: Seeing yourself as a thought leader doesn't come *after* you've done the thing.

You need to see yourself first as a thought leader and claim that identity.

That's what's going to align your actions and propel you forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What exactly a thought leader is
• How people become thought leaders
• Self-limiting beliefs around claiming an identity, including my own self-limiting beliefs around an identity I need to claim for myself
• Why *you* can be a thought leader
• 6 things to do to position yourself as a thought leader
• How I positioned myself as a thought leader in AI this year

Get the 6 steps to position yourself as a thought leader and a lot more in our FREE guide on Developing Your Thought Leadership at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/356/

Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/

Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 354: Finding and Developing Your Big I.D.E.A.
• Episode 355: What a Signature Talk Is and What It Should be Doing for You
• Episode 342: I Almost Got Stuck in the Expert Trap: How I Created My Recent Successful Conference Presentation

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable