The Corporate Executive Board's Communications Executive Council Forum had this inquiry online today:

"Our CEO would like to be seen as a "thought leader" in our highly regulated industry. He believes that, by doing so, our company can improve its ability to influence legislators and policymakers. Has anyone done this before? How can I help him become a "thought leader"? What are the types of activities an executive should participate in to demonstrate his thought leadership on behalf of the company? Thanks for any/all suggestions."

My answer:

The most important thing is that your CEO must have something really insightful and "game-changing" to share. A thought leader is just that, someone who leads a pack with ideas or insights that are meant to change the way something works. So, from a messaging perspective, your CEO needs to have a really interesting message/idea that is strategic to the company/organization's success as well as valuable/relevant for stakeholders and a broader audience within your industry. It also helps if your CEO is personally passionate about the idea/message.

Second comes availability. One thing is wanting to be a thought leader, and the other thing is actually putting the work and time it takes to influence thinking. Thought leaders pay their dues out speaking in front of audiences, dialoguing with smaller groups, having meetings and conversations with key audiences, and many other formats. So, there needs to be commitment from your CEO to be available and dedicate space to this effort.

Third is generosity and patience. Thought leaders spend a lot of time "experimenting" in the face of unknowns. In other words, unlike the quantifiable world of business management, engaging as a thought leader leads you to paths sometimes where you're not sure whehter you're talking to the right audience (ie, "will this audience actually have an effect on what I'm trying to change"). So, you must be willing to try (and fail) and learn what works and be patient with the journey.

Fourth, you need to have the communications management know-how and tools to phyiscally create platform opportunities for your CEO thought leader to share his/her message. That means a well-oiled machine that is seeking engagements of many different forms and integrating media, social media, follow up, speaking coaching and other communications functions to maximize your efforts.

Last but not least is measurement. What is the strategic reason for doing this? What do you want to change? What action do you want to create? Once you have the answers, gauge all activities on whether they will help achieve these goals.