Page 52 - Ignite Change: Unleashing thought leadership - A roadmap to thougth leadership

Master the field

Thought Leaders have mastered their fields through learning and experience. To be
respected as a thought leader, means you will need to (a) obtain educational

credentials and have a sound base of knowledge and (b) demonstrate technical

competence and be highly effective in your chosen discipline/ niche.

In today’s digital age, it won’t be enough to achieve an education certification as a
once-off learning exercise. Industry trends are on the move and radical change

happens seemingly overnight. If you don’t update your expertise, you will quickly
become irrelevant and will lose credibility with your audience.

This means you need to stay informed. Be a lifelong learner - Keep learning about
your discipline and upgrade your knowledge and skills. Continue to research and

implement emerging trends. This will enable you to create content that reflects your
current knowledge and positions you as a leading authority whenever new

technology and techniques emerge.

Also, remember, stay humble and be authentic. Admit what you don’t know and be

humble enough to learn from others and ask for help. Learning from others in your
field is a great way to stay connected to and can spark conversations that could

expand your knowledge and lead to exciting new ideas.

Not sure how to become a thought master? Here are some tips!

– Formalise it. Attain formal educational credentials in your field (for example,
the UJ Masters in Education in ICT)

– Build your expertise. Seek additional Educator/ Industry certifications (eg.
Google Certified Educator certification)

– Keep ahead of the curve. Read up on industry trends, YouTube tutorials,

news sites, podcasts, short courses
– Develop skills and competencies (skills and knowledge): e.g. Develop digital

skills (for online content creation), time management skills etc.

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