An authority is a person, not a place

Hey everybody, Drew McLellan here from Agency Management Institute coming to you again from Pacific Beach, California. This is my last visit for 2019. And you know, I love this place, and I love this surfer culture. I find them fascinating with their dedication, with their commitment to their craft which I have talked to you about before in other videos. But one of the other things that I find really interesting about the surfers is that it's very much an individual sport. While they're out there with lots of other surfers, if they catch the wave, or they wipe out, or how well they ride that wave is all about them. And it is a very individualized and focused skill set. And you know, so much of our work is team focused, right? It's: How does the agency perform? How does the team perform? How does the department perform? But there are times when I want you to think about your work as an individual sport as well. And that is particularly true when it comes to thought leadership. So I'm watching many of you starting to create more content, or create a position of authority for your agency around your subject matter expertise, whatever it may be. But one of the mistakes that I'm seeing some agencies make is that they are doing it as a group project. So your blog doesn't identify who the authors of the blog posts are, or you have different people hosting your podcast. And the reality is that when you think about anyone who is in a position of authority, it is a person. It's not a group, it's not a company, it is a person. It may be a person from a company or from an agency, but it starts with the individual. So one of things I want you to do as you are creating your thought leadership or developing your position of authority, is I want you, the agency owner, to step into that role. I want you to host the podcast. I want you to have the byline on the blog post, or the e-books, or whatever it is. Because what you're trying to do is you're trying to create your position of authority that is backed up by your entire agency that also is filled with people who have a depth of expertise. Why you? Why not someone else? Maybe you're shy, maybe you're an introvert, maybe you don't like the limelight. Well the problem is is that anyone else who works for you might go away. And the last thing in the world that you want to do is create a position of authority for someone in your shop and have them take that position to another agency or another entity. So like it or not, thought leadership is an individual sport just like surfing, and I want you to be able to be the one that everyone sees riding the wave. I want you to be the one that is out front and center, showing your depth of expertise. Do not make this a team sport. This is finally, and rarely, all about you. Alright? Talk to you next week.