What do you need to become a thought leader?

Who comes to mind when you picture a thought leader? Someone who is famous in their field, someone who is vocal or prolific, someone who has deep subject matter expertise - or all three? 

We asked Ellevate Members what's necessary to "thought leadership," and you might be surprised by the results: 39% of members agree that being authentic is the most important thing you need to become a thought leader. Publishing content, social media activity, and speaking engagements are important, but members believe authenticity and ideas reign supreme. 

Many members weighed in from their experience:

The most important things you need to become a thought leader is the courage to to take action and the resilience to find a way to move forward while finding your voice and advocating for yourself in spite of any fear, uncertainty, self-doubt and rejection that you encounter along the way.

 Crucial to being or becoming a credible and sought after thought leader is striking a balance between a strong visible and accessible personal brand coupled with the experience and work, successful or otherwise to confirm your solid background in your area or industry. 

Interested in learning more about thought leadership? 

Read: How To Stand Out - In Your Company And In Digital

Watch: How to Create an Authentic Leadership Brand to Increase Your Impact, Influence, & Income

Read: My Metric for Success: It's All About Impact

We regularly ask the Ellevate community how they feel about topics that are important to professional women around the world. See More Ellevate Insights.