Art of Accounting: Becoming a thought leader

Katie Thomas, CPA, is not only a thought leader for accountants and other professionals, but she is also a coach for anyone wanting to develop the skills to become a thought leader. I had the pleasure of meeting Katie, virtually, and want to share some of what she does and says. Katie knows what she is doing and also understands the accounting profession having worked at two Big Four accounting firms (in tax and assurance) and has a bachelor’s and master’s in accounting. She is also the owner and founder of Leaders Online, an active resource for CPAs that want to grow their practices the right way.

A thought Leader is someone recognized as being a consistent generator of leading insights. The more innovative insights you provide, the sooner you will become recognized as a thought leader and have your ideas sought out. Here are some techniques Katie recommends adopting to get your insights circulated.

• Owning your narrative and focusing on expertise: A thought leader has a clear and consistent message that stands out. This isn’t just about sharing knowledge but about honing in on a unique expertise and a niche aligned with your strengths and passions. Also, it is necessary to bring your personality into this and become known for seriousness, humor, directness or even a unique style.
• Creating consistently valuable content: Your content should be hyper-relevant and address either important under-discussed issues or tackle big topics where you have a unique point of view. You don’t just want to add to the echo chamber that already exists online. For example, while many might talk about tax deadlines or the need for accurate books, choose something less spoken about but perhaps more significant such as cash flow. You could share a unique take on cash flow not being the main issue but rather an outcome of a deeper issue around receivables, inventory, pricing or customer responsiveness.
• Engaging deeply with your audience: Posting content isn’t enough. Be active in the comments, respond to direct messages, offer your comments to others’ related posts and connect to your audience’s needs through real conversations, not just data. Establishing consistency without appearing to be anxious or annoying is also important.
• Showing your face: While some can become thought leaders without video, connecting with your audience is often easier when they see you on screen or your photo included as part of your messages and signature.
• Balancing data with intuition: Data is powerful, but don’t overlook intuition. For example, Katie was advised against starting her “Dear Katie” segments of her blog because people thought it couldn’t be monetized or would take too much time. But not only did she attract readers, but she also obtained sponsors and brought in subscribers who became clients. When you use your intuition to place good into the world, success usually follows.
• Prioritizing value over self-promotion: Focus on educating and elevating others rather than directly selling yourself or your services. Thought leadership is built on trust and goodwill, so serve your audience first. Success often follows people presenting new ideas and insights.
• Using the right platforms: Choose platforms that your audience is actively engaged with and support it with the kind of content you like to create. For B2B (and many accountants), LinkedIn is king. Not only can you easily find most decision-makers on there, it supports all types of content from video to written to photo content. However, don’t forget to consider other platforms, such as podcasting for in-depth discussions, or TikTok if you can bring value in quick, digestible bites.
• Focus on high-value metrics: Prioritize inbound leads, engagement from your ideal customers, and qualitative feedback like direct messages from your audience. Vanity metrics and even platform metrics often don’t reveal true impact. Unless you’re asking people directly how they found you, you won’t see the full picture. For example, someone might listen to your podcast and then search for your site on Google, which Google Analytics would credit this lead to, but in reality it was your podcast that created the demand—your website simply captured it.

Katie says that anyone can become a thought leader. But it requires them to have leading thoughts, a desire to become well known and to work at making it happen. Start by defining your unique point of view, your targeted audience and how you’d start spreading them. 

Do not hesitate to contact me at emendlowitz@withum.com with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform.