[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Own Your Impact podcast. I'm so excited to have you back this week as we start a new chapter in our exploration of the resonant Thought Leadership system. Last week during launch week, we looked at the five core components of the resonant thought leadership system, core resonance, your authentic voice, your natural genius. Content, your transformational intellectual property central platform, your digital home base connection. Number four, your strategic relationships, your amplification networks, and five commercialization, which are your intentional business models. There's five Cs, core resonance content, central platform connection, and commercialization, and those five pieces form the universal system that I believe all effective thought leaders use to create impact. Today, we're gonna take a little bit of a turn in our exploration because while this system, I believe is universal, how each person expresses themselves through it is uniquely personal. [00:01:00] I had this realization a few years ago. [00:01:02] I was working with several different thought leaders, all of them brilliant, all passionate, all creating meaningful impact. But I noticed something interesting. They were approaching their thought leadership in completely different ways, and they were thriving because of it. But when one client maybe tried to copy another thought leader's approach, it felt forced and inauthentic and it didn't work. [00:01:26] It was a little bit like watching musicians try to move from genre to genre, by playing each other's songs. While a classical pianist might technically execute a jazz piece correctly, if they don't have that improvisational spirit that makes jazz come alive, it just doesn't work. Or a folk singer might technically hit all the notes in an opera aria, but without the dramatic expression inside them that defines that form. [00:01:49] It doesn't work. [00:01:52] And that's when it hit me. Just like music has genres, thought leadership has specific archetypes, distinct patterns of [00:02:00] expression that are just as different as genres of music. There isn't one right way to be a thought leader, just like there isn't one right genre of music. There are just preferences that are multiple paths to creating impact. [00:02:12] So today we're gonna start our exploration of these thought leadership archetypes because they go hand in hand. Resident thought leadership system and understanding your natural archetype might be the key to starting and accelerating your impact in the world. So let's start with a common problem. Many aspiring thought leaders, like I just shared, look at someone successful, like someone like Brene Brown or Simon Sinek and they think, oh, I need to do what they're doing. [00:02:38] Or Mel Robbins just did this on her, on her book launch, so I'm gonna do those things. Exactly. I. They try to force themselves into that mold. The natural writer might reluctantly create video content like Mel does because that's what works. Or someone who is an intuitive coach might try to become a system builder because that's how you scale. [00:02:57] Or someone who's really a visual thinker [00:03:00] and, and just loves to create diagrams and, and work things out in a visual way, might force themselves to write long form blog posts or books that are long with just words because that's how you build authority. But the results are almost always the same. [00:03:16] Frustration, burnout, and a nagging feeling of inauthenticity. I have experienced this personally in my own work. I am a singer. I have been a vocal coach. I've been a performer for many years, and one thing I finally put together in the last year is that I am able to teach more. Effortlessly and get concepts across much more clearly when I speak them. [00:03:42] I am a verbal processor through and through much to the dismay of some of the people who live with me. And when I've relied on writing something down, like sending a typed message instead of a voice note or a video, things do not go as well. They are not communicated as clearly as I would hope. This was [00:04:00] really brought to the forefront for me a few months ago. [00:04:03] I was hoping to work with someone as a side project, I had talked to them, the conversation went really well, sent them a proposal, beautifully typed all the things I had thought through, all the things, crossed all the T's, dotted all the i's, and I got crickets back from this person that I sent this proposal to. [00:04:23] And one of my good friends, when I was discussing this, with her later said, just out of curiosity, I told her that it didn't work out. And she said. You know, you've been thinking a lot about resonance in the voice and as you're, as you're thinking about the things you're teaching, like as an organizing principal, and I know that you are a verbal processor, she said, did you send a voice note with that proposal or like put a video? [00:04:50] I. Inside the proposal and I, you know, just imagine me face palming my forehead. I did not, I did not. I [00:05:00] realized I had gone outside my core way of expressing myself, and it didn't work. [00:05:06] It sometimes works, but man, it just works so much better when I can use my voice. So. That is my most clear form of communication and really important thing to remember as I am trying to find my own way as a thought leader. You know, we talked last episode about my client Luvvie Ajayi Jones. She is a writer through and through and through. [00:05:28] She is also a great speaker. She has a viral Ted talk, but people know her for and love her for her written words, and when we start with her words. Everything falls into place. Her blog posts, her newsletters, her books, her thread posts, the captions in her Instagram. That's where her voice truly resonates, and that is the foundation of her thought leadership and how she shows up. [00:05:52] These different expression patterns, these different ways of showing up in the world kept appearing across all of my clients. And I started to [00:06:00] recognize as I reverse engineered all of this, that there were distinct archetypes in how thought leaders naturally expressed themselves, and that naturally connected to what their business models were like and how they were showing up in the world. [00:06:12] Some were born speakers who came alive on stage, and when they leaned into that as part of their thought leadership, everything fell into place. Others were thoughtful writers whose words like Luvvie's create deep connection on the page. Some are natural facilitators, like my friend who helped me figure all of this out. [00:06:27] She's so great at creating transformation through carefully designed experiences. It's really like genres of music. Just think about it. We don't expect every singer to excel in every genre. We know that Adele is gonna sing a soulful ballad, and that comes from a completely different place than Kendrick Lamar with his very intricate rap verses. [00:06:48] I. They could switch, but it probably wouldn't ring as true because each of them have found their authentic voice within their natural genre. And again, they could switch because look at people like Taylor [00:07:00] Swift or Beyonce, or Lady Gaga. All of them started with very distinct musical identities and have evolved as they have moved through their careers across different genres. [00:07:10] Taylor Swift started out country, obviously storytelling, songwriting that has remained a thread throughout everything she's done. Beyonce moved from being in a girl group for r and b to a solo artist to incorporating hip hop, rock afrobeats, now country. And then Lady Gaga transitioned from Dance pop to jazz standards with Tony Bennett and then into Folk Influence Rock, and now Back to Dance Pop. [00:07:37] Each evolution for all three of them, they've, they've maintained their core essence. These foundational elements stay consistent for all three of them, even as they expand their genres and their range [00:07:47] in the same way thought leadership archetypes that we're gonna talk about over the next few episodes. They're not about limiting who you can become. They're about recognizing your natural expression pattern. So you can accelerate your impact by [00:08:00] leveraging your strengths instead of fighting against them. [00:08:02] So what do I mean by a thought leadership architect? Just the definition of an archetype. , it's a distinct pattern of expression that shapes how you naturally communicate, what you decide to focus on, who you serve, the transformation you create. And how all of that comes together specifically for you. [00:08:18] Here's what they're not. They're not personality types that are gonna define who you are. They're not rigid boxes that limit what you can do. They're not simplified labels that reduce your complexity. They're a place to start, and they're definitely not predetermined destinies that dictate your future. [00:08:34] Your future is up to you. Truly think of them like musical genres. A genre does not limit what a musician can create. A genre provides a foundation of patterns and traditions and expectations that a musical artist can work within and expand upon and occasionally break away from. The key insight here is that your archetype, because you have one, it's not about limiting who you can [00:09:00] become, it's about accelerating your impact. Because we know where you fit and we know where your natural strengths align, and we can start further down the path. [00:09:11] To understand these archetypes, we need to look at how they express themselves through the five components of the resonant thought leadership system we've been talking about so far. [00:09:20] Each archetype has its own way of approaching each component of the system. So first, their core resonance. The way their authentic voice, like we've been talking about naturally expresses itself. Some connect more powerfully through the spoken word, some through writing others through visual frameworks, others through experiential design. [00:09:38] That's where we start. How does your authentic voice naturally express itself? Second, each archetype has a different approach to content. How they develop and structure their transformational ip. Some of them build very comprehensive education system. Others lean more into frameworks that are visual. [00:09:57] Some document their lived experiences and [00:10:00] teach that, and others take research and translate that into more practical applications. But it's all around the content they create. The third component of the resident thought leadership system is their central platform. And when the archetypes are looked at through this lens, it's how are they designing that digital home base? [00:10:19] Each archetype naturally gravitates toward elements in their platform that showcase their strengths. Whether that's video content, if you're a speaker, written articles, if you primarily are a writer, visual models, community spaces, if you're more the kind of person that needs to facilitate coach conversations, things like that. [00:10:40] Fourth connection. It shows up in how each archetype builds relationships and amplifies their message. They naturally excel at different types of visibility and audience building from speaking on stages to writing viral articles, to facilitating experiences, and finally commercialization models. How they create sustainable [00:11:00] business approaches. [00:11:00] Each archetype has a different business model, and this is actually where this all started. I had tried to reverse engineer all these different business models for different types of thought leaders, and what I realized was that each. archetype, each type of thought leader had a business model that naturally aligned with their expression mode, whether that was their speaking fees, their book royalties, course revenues, consulting income or something else. [00:11:22] Combination of some of those things. And what makes these archetypes powerful to me, is seeing how all of these elements come together in distinctive patterns that we can recognize across successful thought leaders. And when all five components align with your natural expression mode, your thought leadership feels authentic and it creates maximum impact, and it gives us a place to begin. [00:11:44] I'm gonna give you a little preview now, but just know that over the next five episodes, we are going to explore 10 distinct archetypes that have emerged from studying hundreds of successful thought leaders. Gonna give you a brief preview of each and we have more to come, but just [00:12:00] listen as I describe each one and see if there's one that stands out for you. [00:12:03] So the resonant orator , someone who primarily is a writer like Levy Ajai Jones. [00:12:10] The digital learning architect. This is someone who excels at creating structured educational experiences for systematic transformation. [00:12:17] We've talked in other episodes about Marie Forleo and B School or Amy Porterfield's Digital Course Academy. Those exemplified this approach. [00:12:27] The experience facilitator. This is someone who creates transformative group experiences through carefully designed processes. Like Tara Brock's meditation retreats, or Byron Katie, she has her framework called the work. [00:12:41] There are several people that lean into this transformative group experience space. A lot of coaches, I. Next, the transformational guide. This is someone who connects deeply one-to-one, and creates profound personal shifts with intuitive guidance and helping [00:13:00] them see where they have walked before. [00:13:03] It could be an executive coach, , someone like Marshall Goldsmith or Rich Litvin, or a transformational coach like Martha Beck. The next type is a strategic advisor. This is someone who solves complex organizational challenges with analytical problem solving, executive guidance. Someone like Patrick Lencioni, I feel like is right here with this organizational health approach that he does with five Dysfunctions of a team or anyone else who really is an advisor that you would bring in to solve a specific problem, often through a framework, a visual thought architect, this is someone who takes. Complex concepts and translates them into powerful frameworks or models for immediate clarity. Someone like Alex Osterwalder with his business model Canvas, or anyone who can take something very complex and make it visual. [00:13:54] Research innovator. This is someone who investigates and translates evidence into accessible frameworks for practical [00:14:00] application. Carol Dweck, um, her mindset research. Angela Duckworth her work on grit. I think Adam Grant sits in this space. This is someone who investigates, really leans into the research and data side of things, but is able to make it applicable. [00:14:17] Category creator. This is someone who challenges conventional wisdom with paradigm shifting perspectives, and they are able to define new categories because of the way they approach things. Seth Godin with Permission Marketing really disrupted that, idea of how we market to people, and he has remained a category creator in this space for his entire career. [00:14:40] He just does things differently. Clayton Christensen disruptive innovation, same thing, like it was data driven, but he created his own category of wisdom , and, and actually completely shifting our way we look at things. And finally, the last one, the principled practitioner. This is someone who teaches through the lived demonstration of [00:15:00] principles derived from personal experimentation. [00:15:02] So someone like Cal Newport with his deep work methodology, or James Clear, James Clear did all of the actual work on habits on himself before he turned around and taught it to us. [00:15:13] Now, each of these archetypes represent a distinct and equally valid path to impact. Just like in music where a rock band incorporates elements of jazz or classical while remaining fundamentally rock, a lot of thought leaders combine elements of multiple archetypes, but they keep that core resonance the same. [00:15:29] We know who they are, and so if that's the case, why does understanding your archetype even matter? Well, as I said it, it accelerates your development when you align with your natural expression mode instead of fighting it. You progress faster. My son is a drummer and he really wants to be a better jazz drummer and he's gonna develop faster as a jazz drummer if he studies with the jazz drummer. [00:15:51] Whereas if he does marching band, he may not develop those skills quite as quickly. In the same way, you'll grow more quickly as a [00:16:00] thought leader when you work within your natural archetype, especially to start. [00:16:03] People will understand you more quickly. You will understand yourself more quickly, and you'll be able to align with people who can. Accelerate connection, accelerate all the different pieces of this thought leadership framework more quickly. Second, understanding your archetype helps align all five of those components. [00:16:20] Your content approach leverages your natural expression mode. Your central platform showcases your natural strengths, your connection strategies puts you in environment where your authentic voice resonates best, and commercialization capitalizes on what you do best. Third archetypes promote authenticity in a world full of generic advice and cookie cutter approaches. [00:16:40] Understanding your thought leadership archetype can help you develop a distinctive voice that stands out because it's genuinely you. [00:16:48] fourth archetypes provide evolutionary pathways. Each archetype has a typical development progression 'cause successful thought leaders have traveled this way before, and understanding the [00:17:00] patterns that they have followed and the paths that they have taken helps you avoid reinventing the wheel and makes strategic decisions about your own growth and how you want to show up authentically. [00:17:09] We stand on the shoulders of the people that came before us. So you can see that in music so clearly, and it's the same with thought leadership. Finally, archetypes, reveal those hybrid possibilities. Once you understand your primary archetype, you can strategically incorporate elements of other archetypes to make the unique blend that leverages your strengths and remains authentically you. [00:17:32] So let's make this concrete with a few examples of well-known thought leaders in understanding how their archetype clarifies their success. [00:17:38] So we mentioned James Clear already the author of, of Atomic Habits, in this system, I believe James is a quintessential principled practitioner. His work emerged from his own experience with habit formation. He documented it meticulously on his blog way before he wrote his book. He developed the frameworks [00:18:00] that are in his book through his own personal experiments, through research, they documented them on the blog, and then he expanded them to a bestselling book and to implementation tools. His personal implementation journey and experimentation are the core of his credibility and his methodology, and are part of being a principled practitioner. [00:18:18] Or think about Amy Porterfield. Amy Porterfield, I believe is a perfect example of a digital learning architect, her digital course academy, her ability to create structured educational experiences for systematic transformation. [00:18:32] Digital learning architects excel at creating comprehensive educational systems with clear progression and measurable outcomes. Amy has a step by step approach. She's a very systematic teaching approach. She has staged learning journeys. She has 'em on her site. Now, if you look at where you're starting, she has a thing for you to do, whether it's to read her book or take one of her courses, and that journey demonstrates how she naturally expresses herself through those carefully designed [00:19:00] educational experiences that she herself has walked through, which is similar to a principled practitioner. [00:19:05] But the difference is the educational experiences that she has structured to take you through that same transformation yourself. She sees herself primarily as a teacher. [00:19:15] Third example is Patrick Lencioni. I believe he's a strategic advisor. His organizational health frameworks address high value business challenges like working Genius, which is something that I use his five dysfunctions model. [00:19:28] He has a consulting approach to his business model, and he has very practical tools that showcase his ability to solve complex organizational challenges through his analytical problem solving and executive level guidance. [00:19:42] understanding these archetypes explains why these thought leaders approach their content, their platform, their connection, their commercialization in such different ways they're operating from fundamentally different patterns of expression that leverage their unique strengths that have led them to embody these archetypes.[00:20:00] [00:20:00] So as you think about these examples, as you think about the list that I just walked through, I invite you to start considering which archetype most naturally aligns with your strengths. Are there patterns that I just mentioned that resonate with how you naturally approach your expertise and how you share it? [00:20:15] Your budding thought leadership? Do you see yourself in any of these examples? Or maybe do you see yourself in a combination? [00:20:23] So that is a little bit of a flyover of the thought leader archetypes. These distinct patterns of expression that I believe accelerate your impact by helping you strategically leverage your natural strengths. I think that understanding your archetype is one of the most powerful accelerators for your thought leadership journey. [00:20:40] It helps you stop fighting against natural tendencies and start leveraging them strategically. Just like we've talked about, a musician develops faster when they understand their genre, and you, if you understand, your archetype will create an impact more effectively when you understand and embrace it. [00:20:57] So in the coming weeks, we're going to [00:21:00] explore each one a little bit more in depth. Two per episode, examining how they approach content development, platform building, audience connection, and business model design. I am in the process of creating a comprehensive quiz to help you identify your archetype. [00:21:13] That is coming soon, but until it's ready, I encourage you to start reflecting on the dimensions we talked about today. Notice which archetypes naturally resonate with you as we explore them in upcoming episodes. In our next episode, we're gonna dive deep on the first two that I listed, the resonant orator. [00:21:29] The speaker and the wisdom writer will explore their distinct approaches to thought leadership and how they leverage their natural strengths to create impact. Until then, I'm really curious and I'd love to have you. Hit me up on social media or send me an email, which of these archetypes I described today resonate most with how you naturally express yourself? [00:21:50] Let me know on social media. I'd love to hear via email at macy@macyrobison.com. You can also get started in the actual creation of [00:22:00] your resonant thought leadership by downloading our starter kit. That is on my website, macy robison.com, and you can get started that way as well. [00:22:09] Until then, thank you for listening to Own Your Impact. I hope that you'll start expressing your authentic voice in only the way that you can, and you'll join us next time as we start talking about our first two thought leadership archetypes.