Thought Leadership

Being an expert, or having innovative ideas is not reserved for the executive director or the president. Identify people in your organization whose perspectives would add to the collective understanding in the field.

• Whether it’s a blog post reacting to current events, or a call-to-action advertisement, don’t simply feature the head of your organization. The McArthur Foundation's “Philanthropy, Privilege, and Racial Justice” blog post on Medium is a great example of a public collaboration that surfaced multiple points of view.

• Create opportunities for people in your organization to share their perspectives and ideas publicly. This may be monthly blog posts, contributing articles to various publications, or a highlight on the website. There are rising leaders from all departments and locations who are eager to represent your organization.

• Support those in your organization who seek to share their insights with style guides, language guides, and editing resources.

Learn More: DEI Starts With Us

A leader that strives to create equity recognizes their unique privilege and is focused on highlighting the needs and lives of marginalized voices.

• Examine existing power dynamics between leadership and the communities they’re speaking out on behalf of.

• Don’t just use thought leaders externally. Through mentorship, leaders can empower and equip a diverse array of passionate individuals within your organization with the tools and strategies they need to be vocal about issues central to your organization.

• Cultivate authentic thought leaders who inspire trustworthiness. Leaders who possess humility are constantly learning and adjusting their outlook to better serve community members.

Learn More: 99 Thought Leaders Share the 5 Most Important Things Needed to Become a Thought Leader, Can anyone become a thought leader?

Our society will never change if the only people talking about the negative impact of racism are people of color. Thought leaders who are White have an important role to play in shifting perspectives on this topic.

• Do your research and have an understanding of the impact of racism on everyday lives, the systems that perpetuate it, and its historical roots.

• Find your own voice. Find the perspective that you personally relate to and can articulate to an audience that connects with you.

• It is okay to not have all of the answers. The important thing is to uplift the questions and call people to think more deeply about the norms in our society.

Learn More: You Do Not Need to Be Black, To Know That Black Lives Matter

Leadership involves continuous learning and revelation — it is not all-seeing or all-knowing. Instead, a good leader is one that listens and evolves.

• When reacting to current events, be honest. Employees value transparent, raw, authentic communications. Those in leadership positions should clearly articulate how they’re feeling, and tie it into the broader moment — how did the disparities come about, how does it relate to systemic racism, etc?

• Be curious and comfortable with not knowing. Don’t let your discomfort around topics of racism get in the way of a productive discussion. Humility can be an incredible asset, allowing you to learn, listen, and grow from Black and brown staff members.

• Be internal champions of change before making a public announcement. Your humility must extend internally before you go external with it. Don’t go public with your DEI “victory” before you’ve done the work internally at the leadership level.

Learn More: Building an equitable workplace: Senior leaders’ role

People look up to thought leaders as role models and are influenced by their words. Whether an individual or an organization, how you talk about DEI or racial inequity will influence how other individuals and organizations approach their conversations.

• Use your thought leader’s platform to uplift the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and influence the narrative through these ideals.

• Find opportunities to speak out about racial injustice even when it seemingly doesn’t directly apply to your organization’s work. Every person and community is impacted by racial injustice and therefore, directly or indirectly, it does apply to your work.

• Use the organization’s website to share DEI and racial equity insights and resources. The Heinz Foundation's website is a great example of an organization utilizing their public facing platform to promote and educate.

Learn More: Race Conversations Guide

A leader should never make assumptions about how their audience is absorbing information. Successful nonprofit thought leadership will always promote ideas that are logistically and intellectually accessible.

• In the event space, combat exclusivity by offering recaps, lessons, and free tutorials that run adjacent to the gathering. Use digital technology to your advantage by recording audio or streaming live video with closed captions.

• Stay away from all forms of jargon. Complicating intellectual ideas and spaces is a clear way to exclude large sectors of the population. Use language that anyone can understand in order for all people to be receptive to lessons from leaders.

• When physically gathering and showcasing thought leadership, make sure it’s available in a variety of formats. The last thing you want to do is lock an individual out because they can’t access your event space or your online quiz.

Learn More: How to Ensure Accessible Events

Whether it’s your own conference or one your organization is invited to, encourage staff with non-leadership roles to attend.

• All staff members are stakeholders and representatives of your organization. Create opportunities for staff to attend conferences and meetings to expand their expertise.

• Give your employees the space and freedom to grow as leaders by supporting their individual perspectives and allowing them to share them within the organization and externally.

• Ask for internal feedback. Organization staff members will likely have a keen awareness and familiarity with the subject of the event. Their thoughts and opinions on how things ran will be crucial to assessing how it went.

Learn More: Five Reasons to Send Your Staff to Industry Events