Tuesdays 5:00pm - 6:00pm (EDT)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
What is a thought leader? And why is is important even when you are happy in your job and have no interest in becoming a social media influencer or starting your own businesses? Do you ever get frustrated by how some people gain visibility and others do not in an organization? In this episode, you will learn 3 reasons why it's a smart idea to promote yourself and share your big ideas, even if you're happy in your position and never want to apply for another job.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
Whatever your professional goals, it's likely that sharing your big ideas will help you attain them. No matter what stage of your career you're in, learning how to share ideas, even those that feel "half-baked," signals that you are thinking about the future, looking to collaborate with others to make progress, and seeking buy-in and alignment to advocate for resources. We'll discuss how to gain visibility to reach our career goals using the concept of thought leadership.
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ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Emily Crookston is a best-selling business book ghostwriter, author, and developmental editor. She specializes in helping leaders, experts, and business owners find and share their big ideas. As the Owner of the Pocket PhD, she builds thought leadership ecosystems to support her clients’ professional goals. For leaders and experts, that means writing white papers, keynote speeches, and other high stakes content. For business owners, it means writing a book that sells.
Emily’s first book, "Unwritten: The Thought Leader’s Guide to Not Overthinking Your Business Book," is out now. She is also a speaker and former philosophy professor. When she’s not writing intensely, she’s most likely practicing yoga intensely. She lives for desserts topped with *real* whipped cream.
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IF YOU ENJOYED THIS EPISODE, CAN I ASK A FAVOR?
We do not receive any funding or sponsorship for this podcast. If you learned something and feel others could also benefit, please leave a positive review. Every review helps amplify our work and visibility. This is especially helpful for small women-owned boot-strapped businesses. Simply go to the bottom of the Apple Podcast page to enter a review. Thank you!
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LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE:
Guest LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilycrookston
Guest Website: https://www.thepocketphd.com
Guest Find Your Big Idea Mini Course: https://the-pocket-phd.kit.com/c2d1b21976
Our website: www.gotowerscope.com
#thoughtleadership #unwritten #bigideaexpert #The HardSkills
Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
00:00:51.040 --> 00:01:04.150 Mira Brancu: Welcome welcome to the hard skills show where we discuss how to develop the most challenging soft skills required to navigate today's leadership complexities and tomorrow's unknowns. I'm your host, Dr. Mira Bronku.
00:01:04.730 --> 00:01:07.289 Mira Brancu: Let's say you're really happy in your job.
00:01:07.410 --> 00:01:13.119 Mira Brancu: You have 0 interest in becoming a social media influencer or owning a business.
00:01:13.330 --> 00:01:16.639 Mira Brancu: or let's say you do own a business.
00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:22.399 Mira Brancu: Why is it important, regardless of these roles, to own your visibility?
00:01:22.450 --> 00:01:30.040 Mira Brancu: And how can the mechanism of thought, leadership help you attain your professional goals regardless of your situation.
00:01:30.550 --> 00:01:35.429 Mira Brancu: That is what we will learn in this episode with our guest today. Emily Crookston.
00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:43.359 Mira Brancu: Emily Crookston is a best-selling business book, ghostwriter, author, and developmental editor.
00:01:43.390 --> 00:01:48.909 Mira Brancu: She specializes in helping leaders, experts, and business owners find and share their big ideas
00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:57.000 Mira Brancu: as the owner of the pocket. Phd. She builds thought leadership, ecosystems to support her clients, professional goals
00:01:57.300 --> 00:02:02.930 Mira Brancu: for leaders and experts. That means writing white papers, keynote speeches, and other high stakes content
00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.389 Mira Brancu: for business owners. It means writing a book that sells
00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:08.500 Mira Brancu: Emily's 1st book
00:02:09.020 --> 00:02:28.889 Mira Brancu: called Unwritten. The Thought Leader's Guide to not overthinking your business book is out now. I went to her lunch party, so I do know her, and I should say she's also a speaker and a former philosophy professor. So that's Dr. Emily Crookston to you, except she doesn't go by that. But I will reference that because that's important
00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:39.380 Mira Brancu: when she's not writing intensely, she's most likely practicing Yoga intensely, and she lives for desserts topped with real whipped cream. So
00:02:39.690 --> 00:02:41.219 Mira Brancu: welcome, Emily.
00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:46.549 Mira Brancu: really glad to have you on the show, and let's talk about real whipped cream first, st
00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.259 Mira Brancu: I mean, what's the difference? Why is it better?
00:02:50.640 --> 00:02:51.610 Mira Brancu: Can the rest.
00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:52.230 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:02:52.230 --> 00:02:57.550 Mira Brancu: Of the dessert world. Art be artificially flavored except for the whipped cream. What's the deal.
00:02:58.068 --> 00:03:08.509 Emily Crookston: Yeah, thanks, Mira, for having me. I'm super excited to be here. I could talk about dessert all day, all hour. But yeah, you know I just I just
00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:26.339 Emily Crookston: who wants to eat whipped oil. That's my only thing you know I love. I love Dairy. If you're Vegan, I'm sorry you can't do the dairy. I get it, you know. Cool whip is a fine replacement, I suppose. But if you're gonna really do it, go for the real thing that's my feeling.
00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:31.640 Mira Brancu: I do kind of agree. My mom makes it from scratch, and that's, of course, by far the best.
00:03:32.010 --> 00:03:37.999 Mira Brancu: And speaking of dessert and loving dessert a little too much last night.
00:03:38.474 --> 00:03:45.840 Mira Brancu: Which is a Monday night. By the way, Emily, Monday night. My daughter and I love insomnia cookies, and we ordered.
00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:46.650 Emily Crookston: Like.
00:03:46.650 --> 00:03:49.379 Mira Brancu: Literally like 7 insomnia cookies
00:03:49.510 --> 00:03:54.050 Mira Brancu: and practically demolished it. That's us. That's our thing.
00:03:54.272 --> 00:03:54.940 Emily Crookston: I love it.
00:03:54.940 --> 00:04:01.315 Mira Brancu: Insomnia cookies. By the way, insomnia cookies, I I welcome your sponsorship of the show.
00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:03.660 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:05.289 Mira Brancu: In fact.
00:04:05.290 --> 00:04:06.390 Emily Crookston: You need to deliver.
00:04:06.390 --> 00:04:07.719 Mira Brancu: You don't have to pay me.
00:04:08.770 --> 00:04:10.840 Mira Brancu: Deliver every night.
00:04:11.530 --> 00:04:22.169 Emily Crookston: That's right. I'll take the free cookies. Yeah. Oh, my gosh! And Thanksgiving is coming. So you know, you gotta make your whipped cream decisions, you know, for your pumpkin pie. Seriously.
00:04:22.170 --> 00:04:24.059 Mira Brancu: Very serious people you need to make.
00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:24.870 Emily Crookston: We've created.
00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:25.540 Mira Brancu: Vicious.
00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:33.915 Mira Brancu: Julie and I
00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:39.919 Mira Brancu: are comfortable with each other because we met in a local women's entrepreneurship group
00:04:39.950 --> 00:04:45.880 Mira Brancu: and although that is no longer around. Many of us have continued to maintain good connections, so.
00:04:45.880 --> 00:04:46.440 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:04:46.440 --> 00:04:52.453 Mira Brancu: Just again a plug for the impact of community. I mean, that community was around in 2018 and
00:04:52.920 --> 00:05:00.190 Mira Brancu: you know. 6 years later. Here we are like still hanging out so impacted community folks.
00:05:00.627 --> 00:05:11.850 Mira Brancu: Yeah. As a reminder, I am your host, Dr. Mira Bronco. I'm the leader leadership, consulting and coaching psychologist. And I'm a founder of taroscope Leadership Academy, which is
00:05:12.190 --> 00:05:26.549 Mira Brancu: a community platform for leaders, especially women and underserved women leaders in disrupted learning and innovation industries. And so if you want to look that up, it's@gotowerscope.com
00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:28.213 Mira Brancu: now with
00:05:29.210 --> 00:05:31.330 Mira Brancu: an upcoming book that I have.
00:05:31.460 --> 00:05:36.079 Mira Brancu: I've been kind of keeping a secret. But millennials, workbook
00:05:36.130 --> 00:05:39.040 Mira Brancu: for navigating workplace politics.
00:05:39.290 --> 00:05:41.290 Mira Brancu: It's coming out December.
00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:43.920 Mira Brancu: We're still thinking it's December 3.rd
00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:52.250 Mira Brancu: But you, as you know, Emily, it's it's always like a guessing game, sometimes with with the layout, and when things go off. But
00:05:52.945 --> 00:06:05.919 Mira Brancu: because that book is coming out, season 6 and the next few seasons are all going to be focused on navigating workplace politics and Season 6 is actually focused on proactive strategies
00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:09.870 Mira Brancu: for positive honest power and influence.
00:06:10.330 --> 00:06:18.670 Mira Brancu: And I really think that thought leadership is absolutely one of those critical, proactive, positive influence skills.
00:06:19.830 --> 00:06:20.400 Emily Crookston: You too.
00:06:20.400 --> 00:06:33.749 Mira Brancu: So. I have personally benefited from applying a thought leadership mindset to my business to when I was a leader within a large complex organization. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. So
00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:39.880 Mira Brancu: let's let's get started with like, what what is thought leadership. Let's get started there.
00:06:40.720 --> 00:07:05.679 Emily Crookston: Yeah, that's a great question. So a lot of the people that I work with actually don't love the term. And I don't love the term myself, either, because I think it's become very much a buzzword. And yes, people do think like you mentioned in Intro. People think of influencers when they think of thought leaders, or you know, I always think about some big coach like Gary Vee running around on stage, you know, with a big screen of his face
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:30.550 Emily Crookston: blown up behind him. And you know, for people who happen to be a little more, maybe introverted like I am, it can be a scary thought that oh, I'm going to be a thought leader. My ideas are going to be out there in front of millions of people. And what if I say the wrong thing? Am I going to get canceled? You know all of these questions kind of start flooding in when we think about that. So I actually prefer to talk about thought leadership
00:07:30.550 --> 00:07:56.920 Emily Crookston: in terms of expertise. So my preferred term is big idea expert. That's you know. I think people are a little more comfortable with the idea of being an expert, perhaps, especially if you're maybe in corporate, or you're in a government job where you know it's not as visible as somebody who wants to be an influencer, right? Not that you couldn't be more visible. Of course we all could be, but sometimes in these roles.
00:07:57.340 --> 00:08:10.670 Emily Crookston: You know. Visibility going viral isn't the number one concern. The number one concern is being showing that you're an expert, and I I talk about it as owning your expertise. And and you know, putting your ideas out there really helps
00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:16.000 Emily Crookston: other people recognize your authority and your credibility. So that's 1 of the biggest benefits.
00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:22.849 Mira Brancu: I really like that? Why is it important for people to show and own their expertise, even if they're
00:08:22.890 --> 00:08:35.750 Mira Brancu: introverted working within a large or even small organization, and they're already known as, or they think maybe they're known as an expert in their field. Why is it still important.
00:08:36.850 --> 00:08:40.939 Emily Crookston: Yeah, I think that you you have to, you know, to move.
00:08:41.039 --> 00:09:04.489 Emily Crookston: move the needle in any way, shape or form, whatever your goals are. I think that thought leadership can really support that. And showing your expertise can really support that. Because whatever you want to do, you need buy-in from somebody you need, either, you know, if you're a leader, maybe all you need is your team to get get in line behind you or your team to help you support the initiatives that you want to get through.
00:09:04.490 --> 00:09:29.339 Emily Crookston: Or if you're trying to get promoted. Obviously you need to get buy-in from the people above you who are making decisions about promotions and who's moving up. And so, you know, you can really do that by sharing your ideas. And one of the most important things that I think being open to sharing ideas gets you is that you're also open to other opportunities that people
00:09:29.340 --> 00:09:43.379 Emily Crookston: might be bringing you. And so, you know, it's really easy to have kind of tunnel vision, and, you know, be very focused on. These are my goals. These are the things that I, this is my agenda. This is what I want to get done. But when you're
00:09:43.410 --> 00:09:51.319 Emily Crookston: in that mode of sharing ideas, and I like to talk especially about sharing half baked ideas, those ideas that you haven't fully
00:09:51.430 --> 00:10:16.199 Emily Crookston: tested or formed, or you know you haven't created the Powerpoint, the 20 Slide Powerpoint or the 50 slide Powerpoint around it. You. You show a little bit of vulnerability. We always talk about vulnerability for leadership, and it just it helps you connect with people when you can just share those ideas, and you know you can even preface it by saying, Look, I have. This is a new idea to me, or this is something I've been kicking around.
00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:41.009 Emily Crookston: and I'd love to get your thoughts about it right? So that in and of itself, kind of, you know, opens the door to other people to share their ideas. And now, all of a sudden, you have more of a collaborative space that you've kind of opened up and created. And in a lot of company cultures, anyway, showing that you know, the ability to collaborate is really huge. It really does help you
00:10:41.010 --> 00:10:48.150 Emily Crookston: get that buy-in get people on your side so that you can, you know, meet those goals and get the support that you need.
00:10:48.570 --> 00:10:49.663 Mira Brancu: Yeah, yeah.
00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:53.159 Mira Brancu: I have a million follow up questions. But.
00:10:53.160 --> 00:10:53.739 Emily Crookston: I'm sure.
00:10:54.030 --> 00:11:00.610 Mira Brancu: My 1 million follow-up questions. Yeah. You started out as a philosophy, Professor.
00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:01.940 Emily Crookston: Yeah, I was.
00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:08.050 Mira Brancu: Thought leadership or this big idea visibility expert? Idea
00:11:08.290 --> 00:11:12.589 Mira Brancu: on your mind even back then how did you get to
00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:15.090 Mira Brancu: sort of this point in your career?
00:11:15.530 --> 00:11:39.629 Emily Crookston: Yeah, yeah, that's a great question. So I would say, yes, it was on my mind, and in a very different form. So I, as a lot of people who get a Phd. My goal was to become a tenured professor. That's all I ever wanted, you know, through my twenties, and while in grad school, and you know, in philosophy and academia, visibility is very different than it is, and
00:11:39.680 --> 00:12:04.019 Emily Crookston: the business world, or even in the corporate world. So what that looks like, and what I thought that looked like was a little bit different. But there's still that element of collaboration. There's still that element of help getting people on your side to get to where you're trying to go. So it goes back to politics. I mean, every workplace has its own culture and politics, and I think half of the battle of getting
00:12:04.020 --> 00:12:27.429 Emily Crookston: getting to where you want to be in a career is navigating all of that, figuring out how to do it. I was not great at it in Academia, and partly that was because I just couldn't understand all the bureaucracy. I couldn't understand, you know people saying to me a lot of the time I had a university position in the South, and the mantra was like, well, that's just not the way we do things here.
00:12:27.430 --> 00:12:43.859 Emily Crookston: and I hated that answer every time I wanted to try something new or try something different. I hated feeling like I needed to kind of subvert the system, to do things the way I wanted to. So I really ran up against that, you know, hit my head up against that kind of wall a lot.
00:12:44.196 --> 00:13:08.750 Emily Crookston: But you know some of the best professors I knew. Just they really figured out this visibility game within the academic space, and they had collaborations, they co-authored papers and books and things with a lot of people, and they just found ways to do the things they wanted to do without pissing everyone off, and I could never figure that part out so ultimately. That's why I ended up leaving, because I
00:13:08.750 --> 00:13:17.160 Emily Crookston: wanted to do things my way. And so when someone suggested starting a business, I was like, Oh, that's that's it. That's the perfect solution to all my problems.
00:13:17.160 --> 00:13:18.719 Mira Brancu: I really appreciate
00:13:19.140 --> 00:13:29.259 Mira Brancu: how you connected this idea of becoming, you know, visible, whether it you call it thought leadership or anything else.
00:13:29.833 --> 00:13:37.990 Mira Brancu: Helping your expertise be visible and learning how to do that in a way that
00:13:38.210 --> 00:13:39.010 Mira Brancu: is
00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:45.440 Mira Brancu: you know, digestible, and that people think of you when they think of those ideas
00:13:45.570 --> 00:13:48.830 Mira Brancu: is part of workplace
00:13:48.890 --> 00:13:52.150 Mira Brancu: politics and navigating complex systems.
00:13:52.270 --> 00:13:54.574 Mira Brancu: And it is also
00:13:55.650 --> 00:13:56.960 Mira Brancu: a part of
00:13:57.180 --> 00:14:17.739 Mira Brancu: how like, if you're an academic, for example, how you get your ideas understood and and digested by people who aren't in your tiny world of you know the people in your research area that. Read your journal articles and things like that which can be a.
00:14:17.770 --> 00:14:23.040 Mira Brancu: you know, fairly small and elite group, who can understand
00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:26.419 Mira Brancu: at that sort of like specific level
00:14:26.550 --> 00:14:32.887 Mira Brancu: of expertise. So how you translate that makes a huge difference. And I remember
00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:41.229 Mira Brancu: a lot of my own successes in my leadership role within a large complex system was being able to
00:14:41.400 --> 00:14:43.719 Mira Brancu: translate complex ideas.
00:14:44.148 --> 00:14:51.680 Mira Brancu: Simply to lots of different kinds of audiences like, if I wanted, it's exactly what you said if I wanted my
00:14:52.482 --> 00:14:58.750 Mira Brancu: medical Center leaders who were generally like Mba types, right business types
00:14:58.810 --> 00:14:59.820 Mira Brancu: to
00:14:59.830 --> 00:15:15.090 Mira Brancu: get excited about the research I did. I wasn't going to get all deep into my methodology. That's what a lot of our researchers wanted to do is like, explain how you know the the sort of nuance around that, but that
00:15:15.130 --> 00:15:36.160 Mira Brancu: isn't digestible, and it's not exciting to some people. And so like, how do you sort of distill it down to the most important things that reach your audience, the the people who are most likely to either buy your product or give you the resources or whatever. So I'm very passionate about this, and I can't wait.
00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:43.600 Mira Brancu: We're reaching an an ad break, so we're going to take a break. But when we come back. I can't wait to talk with you more about like.
00:15:43.700 --> 00:16:09.589 Mira Brancu: how do you implement this, you know? And and how do you think about this as an introvert within a system versus as a researcher versus as a business owner. You know all of those things. So you're listening to the hard skills with me, Dr. Mira Branco and our guest. Technically, Dr. Emily Crookston, author of Unwritten. We air on Tuesdays at 5 Pm. Eastern. If you're with us right now it's live streaming. You can join us on Linkedin
00:16:09.630 --> 00:16:15.309 Mira Brancu: Youtube. Several other locations on Talkradio, Dot, Nyc. And we'll be right back with our guest in just a moment.
00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:33.099 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branco and Dr. Emily Crookston.
00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:35.659 Mira Brancu: author of Unwritten and
00:18:36.600 --> 00:18:48.729 Mira Brancu: We had a blast in a chat. While the ads were going she clearly got us all going around the desserts. We're talking. We're talking about
00:18:48.790 --> 00:18:55.849 Mira Brancu: pumpkin rolls versus cinnamon cookies versus hot chocolate and cider.
00:18:55.860 --> 00:18:59.872 Mira Brancu: Oh, my God, it's gonna be hard to focus on thought leadership right now.
00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:04.690 Mira Brancu: But let's do it. Let's do it. Before we get into
00:19:04.940 --> 00:19:11.710 Mira Brancu: like how to think about it in different roles, and how to how it actually looks like how to apply it.
00:19:12.023 --> 00:19:14.150 Mira Brancu: One of the things that you mentioned.
00:19:14.560 --> 00:19:19.054 Mira Brancu: I really want to sort of dig in a little bit more, because
00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:21.257 Mira Brancu: you sort of
00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:23.570 Mira Brancu: inadvertently juxtaposed
00:19:23.630 --> 00:19:29.110 Mira Brancu: this idea of tunnel vision versus opportunity open being open to opportunities.
00:19:29.210 --> 00:19:32.839 Mira Brancu: Now, when I think about like the messages I've gotten about
00:19:32.950 --> 00:19:37.260 Mira Brancu: how to demonstrate my expertise, and in in a thought leadership
00:19:37.320 --> 00:19:38.750 Mira Brancu: sort of context.
00:19:38.810 --> 00:19:43.960 Mira Brancu: I've been told, be real specific niche, which sounds like tunnel vision.
00:19:44.040 --> 00:19:51.079 Mira Brancu: But what you're sharing is that, in fact, sometimes that could actually limit your opportunities
00:19:51.330 --> 00:19:56.210 Mira Brancu: to. And and so I'd love to hear a little bit more about how do we sort of
00:19:56.560 --> 00:19:59.520 Mira Brancu: both demonstrate our expertise?
00:20:00.306 --> 00:20:05.110 Mira Brancu: And at the same time not make it so that it's
00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:11.530 Mira Brancu: so tunnel vision and so restricted that you're not seeing and open to new opportunities.
00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:20.288 Emily Crookston: Sorry. Yeah, this is a really interesting question.
00:20:20.870 --> 00:20:37.026 Emily Crookston: you know the question of whether to niche down and when to niche down, often comes up in the business world. Probably less so in, you know, corporate positions and things like that where you have more defined roles, I suppose, and there's more guardrails around these things.
00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:39.080 Emily Crookston: but I think that
00:20:39.450 --> 00:20:42.059 Emily Crookston: when it comes to, you know.
00:20:42.070 --> 00:20:50.319 Emily Crookston: thought leadership, you're absolutely right, like you can easily get sort of stuck in tunnel vision on a specific point that
00:20:50.320 --> 00:21:15.219 Emily Crookston: you and just a few experts or a few scholars. If you're in academia. A few, you know individuals care about and want to nerd out with you or geek out with you about it. And I think the big key is sort of figuring out, what does my audience want to geek out with me about? And I do think sometimes there's the danger of going too far in the other direction, sort of dumbing things down so much that you just
00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:41.749 Emily Crookston: sound like every other person in your field. So there is that real delicate balance of you know. I think you can get nerdy, you can absolutely, you know, go deep into subject matter, expertise. And I think people are craving depthy content, especially right now you can do it, and you can. You can go deep without getting too much into the weeds. But it is a delicate balance, and I think the real key is sort of
00:21:41.750 --> 00:22:05.690 Emily Crookston: putting yourself in the shoes of the person you're trying to attract, or the person that you're really trying to reach. So whether that's you know your email list, the people on your email newsletter list, or you know your team and the people that you're talking to within your company, and I think if you're confused, or if you're wondering if you're getting too deep in the weeds or something like that, or if you're not niching down enough. The
00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:30.250 Emily Crookston: the easiest thing to do is just to ask people I've had. I've done some market research, and that was super helpful for me, and it's just a matter of getting on the phone with some people who you think could be good prospects for you, or who could be, or are the people on your email, newsletter list, or the people you're talking to. And just, you know, float. Some ideas like this is where it comes, where I like to talk about testing your half
00:22:30.250 --> 00:22:39.129 Emily Crookston: baked ideas with people again, like, just just share some ideas and get the reaction. And then and then you'll know then you'll know if it's the right way to go. Yeah.
00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:39.745 Mira Brancu: Yeah,
00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:42.979 Mira Brancu: So let's say, I'm I'm a leader
00:22:43.040 --> 00:22:45.340 Mira Brancu: within an organization
00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:46.295 Mira Brancu: and
00:22:47.310 --> 00:22:51.588 Mira Brancu: and or like, you know, a researcher who is a private. I mean a
00:22:52.280 --> 00:22:56.680 Mira Brancu: a principal investigator. Right? So I'm I'm leading a lab right?
00:22:57.220 --> 00:23:02.670 Mira Brancu: and I'm doing great work. I'm getting funded or
00:23:03.290 --> 00:23:11.699 Mira Brancu: you know I I've sort of started establishing my sort of area of expertise and and and things like that.
00:23:14.090 --> 00:23:14.970 Mira Brancu: What
00:23:15.530 --> 00:23:17.050 Mira Brancu: am I missing
00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:18.510 Mira Brancu: about?
00:23:19.320 --> 00:23:22.200 Mira Brancu: Why, that might not be enough
00:23:23.260 --> 00:23:25.340 Mira Brancu: for me to be
00:23:25.530 --> 00:23:26.640 Mira Brancu: seen
00:23:26.800 --> 00:23:30.489 Mira Brancu: as an expert, even though, like I am an expert, right like a lot.
00:23:30.490 --> 00:23:30.820 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:23:30.820 --> 00:23:31.680 Mira Brancu: Leaders.
00:23:32.850 --> 00:23:35.599 Mira Brancu: just, and especially people who are experts
00:23:35.850 --> 00:23:41.860 Mira Brancu: like to keep their nose down. Keep their head down. They're doing their work like people will know that I'm an expert
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:42.920 Mira Brancu: and.
00:23:43.560 --> 00:23:45.089 Mira Brancu: Clearly.
00:23:45.530 --> 00:23:51.599 Mira Brancu: that isn't the reality. So what are what are they missing about? The the disconnect between
00:23:52.330 --> 00:23:53.909 Mira Brancu: knowing they're an expert
00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:59.240 Mira Brancu: and demonstrating it, and then other people seeing it and seeing them in that way.
00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:11.719 Emily Crookston: Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing they might be missing is just what what's the goal, you know, if you want to be known as an expert and among experts. Then that's a very different visibility goal from.
00:24:11.889 --> 00:24:12.060 Mira Brancu: No.
00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:19.690 Emily Crookston: Wanting to be known more widely, wanting to win a Nobel Prize, or wanting to, you know. Have your work read by.
00:24:20.020 --> 00:24:35.849 Emily Crookston: you know. Get your work into scientific America versus you know the the specialty journal for your for your specific, you know molecular biology, whatever it is. So I you know, I think that it just is again in terms of thinking about
00:24:35.890 --> 00:25:04.490 Emily Crookston: who's the audience for the expertise. And you know I understand that, too, because I, how often do you feel like? Oh, I'm doing such good work, and no one knows about it. We I think we all kind of feel that whether you're an expert or a business owner. It's easy to kind of feel that shouting into the void sort of a thing, or only 5 people know what the good work that I'm doing here. Only my supervisor. And you know, my, these these other few people. And
00:25:04.490 --> 00:25:14.889 Emily Crookston: and it's hard. It's very hard to break into sort of that wider, broader influence space that we try to get into. I like to think in terms of ecosystems.
00:25:15.228 --> 00:25:34.550 Emily Crookston: It's it's a lot like, you know, networking. And I know that sometimes that's a scary word for introverts and for people who are experts and a lot of the time. But it is. It's a matter of again reaching out and talking to more people and seeing what you can say. That's going to sort of.
00:25:34.550 --> 00:26:00.169 Emily Crookston: you know, bridge that gap like you were talking about translating that expertise for for others who are out there. You know, it's really just a matter of who can I talk to about this thing, you know, and and asking around, you know I've got this presentation. I want to give. What associations should I be talking to, you know, start, start small, start with the people within your circle and then start to expand out from there.
00:26:00.260 --> 00:26:02.420 Emily Crookston: Yeah, I think that's the best piece of dice.
00:26:02.760 --> 00:26:08.129 Mira Brancu: I'd love to hear more about this ecosystem idea. But before we get there just
00:26:09.033 --> 00:26:10.100 Mira Brancu: I wanna
00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:12.879 Mira Brancu: highlight. What you said about
00:26:13.500 --> 00:26:17.940 Mira Brancu: the the point is is the goal to influence
00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:19.799 Mira Brancu: or not. And who?
00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:24.400 Mira Brancu: And I think that's really important, because you're right. If you're trying to influence
00:26:25.020 --> 00:26:27.289 Mira Brancu: people who are experts within your field.
00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:35.180 Mira Brancu: you know. Then it it makes sense. They they might already be aware of you through other mechanisms, like writing in a journal right? And things like that.
00:26:35.671 --> 00:26:43.868 Mira Brancu: But if your goal is, I want to make a greater impact. In the public realm, for example,
00:26:44.390 --> 00:26:45.550 Mira Brancu: or
00:26:45.570 --> 00:26:54.229 Mira Brancu: I want to get some resources from administrators who have no idea and no understanding of what I do.
00:26:54.690 --> 00:26:59.339 Mira Brancu: But I think that it could lead to like a win-win situation where I can like
00:26:59.510 --> 00:27:02.630 Mira Brancu: grow a center within the organization or
00:27:03.116 --> 00:27:13.009 Mira Brancu: build visibility. That helps me and helps the organization like that's a larger impact, a higher level. That's kind of some of the reason to influence right?
00:27:13.050 --> 00:27:13.725 Mira Brancu: And
00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:24.020 Mira Brancu: that's really what we're talking about here. So tell us more about ecosystem. What do you mean by that? And how does that relate to to networking or influencing.
00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:53.410 Emily Crookston: Yeah. So you have to think about. You know the people in your network and your goals, and whether the people in your network can help you reach those goals, because, you know, I think we all get to a point where we've sort of we feel like we're hitting a ceiling with the people that we know? We feel, you know we're asking around. Where can I speak? Where can I, you know, go? Where can I give this presentation. And we're not getting really good answers, or we're not getting answers that we haven't thought of ourselves.
00:27:53.410 --> 00:28:02.110 Emily Crookston: It might be time to expand the universe that you exist in, expand your ecosystem. And so you can think, okay, well.
00:28:02.110 --> 00:28:25.459 Emily Crookston: who look around, who has done what you're trying to do. You know, that's a really good place to start. A lot of people are so generous, and they will talk to you for days about what they've done, especially if you flatter them a little bit and say, You know, I see what you're doing, and it's amazing right? We'd love to be seen. So if you can say, look, I see what you're doing. It's amazing. I want to know how you did it like, can we get coffee? Can we talk about it?
00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:34.829 Emily Crookston: You know that's an easy way that that I found that works for me, that works for my clients. Just just kind of expand that audience, expand that network a bit.
00:28:34.860 --> 00:29:03.609 Emily Crookston: And then another piece of the ecosystem is the kinds of content you're creating the stuff that you're putting out into the world. Right? You have to think about how that also aligns with those goals. So it's a matter of connecting the things that you're good at, the things you love, the things that you know, you feel like could create that influence, that ripple effect that you're trying to create and then connecting that with the people right? The people who can help you get further. The people who need to hear what you're trying to share.
00:29:04.630 --> 00:29:13.659 Mira Brancu: I have never thought about it this way, and I really love this like the you know, when I think of thought leadership, I think about it as such. a 1 way
00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:41.079 Mira Brancu: kind of conversation I have something to share, and everybody must listen, and everyone will most certainly be interested in what I have to share. But a lot of what you're saying is like sharing half baked ideas and putting it out there in the world. Asking people questions, taking people, you know, to to coffee, to like sort of exchange. Ideas. It expands knowledge, not like.
00:29:41.550 --> 00:29:53.070 Mira Brancu: gives knowledge necessarily, but expands it, and it creates communities. It adds the people side of the ideas I love that. Let's pause there.
00:29:53.552 --> 00:29:58.180 Mira Brancu: We're reaching another ad break, and when we come back.
00:29:58.330 --> 00:30:01.800 Mira Brancu: I'd love to hear more about like practical ways.
00:30:01.860 --> 00:30:16.129 Mira Brancu: Anyone can start putting their ideas out there in a way that is less about like me. Me and my ideas, and more about like expanding our knowledge and bringing people into the ecosystem. Love it. We'll be right back in just a moment.
00:32:23.130 --> 00:32:28.830 Mira Brancu: Welcome. Welcome back to the hard skills with me, Mira Bronco and our yesterday Emily Crookston.
00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:32.209 Mira Brancu: So we've been talking about
00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:38.529 Mira Brancu: redefining thought leadership in a couple of ways. One is as a big idea, expert
00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:45.640 Mira Brancu: to show your expertise and sort of translate it for the audience and for the purpose that's needed.
00:32:46.110 --> 00:32:50.689 Mira Brancu: and 2 thinking about it more as an exchange
00:32:50.710 --> 00:32:52.510 Mira Brancu: in order to expand
00:32:52.570 --> 00:32:56.619 Mira Brancu: our knowledge base around that area which I just love.
00:32:56.850 --> 00:33:01.009 Mira Brancu: And so how do people get started doing that? If I have, like
00:33:01.570 --> 00:33:07.449 Mira Brancu: a bunch of areas of interest, and it's like deep knowledge, how do I get started in this.
00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:12.670 Emily Crookston: Yeah, it's a great question. So one thing that a lot of people
00:33:12.820 --> 00:33:21.229 Emily Crookston: love is journaling. You can, you can, you know, start there, start by talking to yourself and and reflecting yourself on on your.
00:33:21.230 --> 00:33:22.959 Mira Brancu: Now, okay, to talk to yourself. Everybody.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:47.929 Emily Crookston: Yeah, start by talking to yourself. You could do it. You can speak to yourself, too. It's okay. Yeah. And then, you know, I love social media for this reason, for for a place to test ideas, a place to gather an unofficial community. There's not a lot of pressure you don't have to say, oh, I'm going to start a community over on mighty networks. And you know, oh, how am I going to fill this
00:33:47.930 --> 00:34:12.719 Emily Crookston: community? Right? You don't have to go to that length. You can just start posting ideas. I think Linkedin is a great place to test ideas. That's pretty much exclusively how I use it. I don't see it as a place for lead generation for my business so much anymore. I just see it as a place where the people who I like hang out and will comment on my crazy, half half baked ideas. And so you know.
00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:37.220 Emily Crookston: the best thing you can do is start being consistent and just putting ideas out there. And you know, this is this can feel very uncomfortable for experts. It's not at all easy if you're very used to only sharing very polished ideas with people only when you have the Powerpoint complete. But just, you know, dip your toe in. You know it could be just a belief that you have, or
00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:52.569 Emily Crookston: you know, it might be something that you see, a procedure or a system that you see, and you have an idea for improving it, and you could simply put it out there and see what other experts think about it. You know, as a way to just kind of start
00:34:52.570 --> 00:35:16.580 Emily Crookston: start talking, start those conversations that can really lead to the bigger ideas. And this is especially true if you really do have the goal of sort of reaching a more lay audience, a less, you know, expert audience, because those folks are on Linkedin. That's where you can reach them or any any social media platform, really. But that's
00:35:16.580 --> 00:35:39.470 Emily Crookston: that's the best way to reach a different audience from from the experts. If you feel like you've been being siloed, and you're only talking to experts. That's what I would say is the 1st step. Just kind of start reaching out and and do it in a way that feels good, you know, if it's once a week, it's once a week. That's okay. That's a perfectly good place to start. But I do recommend something consistent.
00:35:39.705 --> 00:35:53.619 Emily Crookston: So if it's once a week great, if it's once a month. Okay? But you know, just have a plan to do it more than once, so that you know you don't just do it once and say, Oh, that didn't work, and then, you know, get get stuck. So you know you want to try it out.
00:35:54.110 --> 00:35:55.579 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And you know.
00:35:56.040 --> 00:35:59.010 Mira Brancu: just thinking about my own
00:35:59.535 --> 00:36:04.420 Mira Brancu: way that I've leaned into this, you know, like I had to identify
00:36:04.610 --> 00:36:11.039 Mira Brancu: what were the right platforms that felt right to me. And so Linkedin felt right to me.
00:36:11.450 --> 00:36:18.379 Mira Brancu: Psychology today is another place that I write makes sense as a psychologist right for me to write in there now
00:36:18.600 --> 00:36:21.040 Mira Brancu: the thing that I learned as I
00:36:21.220 --> 00:36:26.780 Mira Brancu: dipped my toe in that water, and and and sort of supporting what you said here, is
00:36:27.050 --> 00:36:27.860 Mira Brancu: it?
00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:31.160 Mira Brancu: It is a time to experiment.
00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:32.769 Mira Brancu: not to perfect.
00:36:33.070 --> 00:36:40.029 Mira Brancu: And that was, if you're a high achiever, which nearly everybody who listens to me is
00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:42.200 Mira Brancu: then that means you've
00:36:42.320 --> 00:36:47.469 Mira Brancu: struggled sometimes with perfectionism, struggled, sometimes with fear of failure.
00:36:48.001 --> 00:36:54.679 Mira Brancu: If you're an introvert, you might also have social anxiety on top of that. Some don't, some do, and
00:36:55.090 --> 00:36:57.280 Mira Brancu: that means that this public
00:36:57.440 --> 00:37:00.569 Mira Brancu: stuff is going to feel uncomfortable.
00:37:00.610 --> 00:37:04.609 Mira Brancu: And when I was putting my ideas out there.
00:37:04.620 --> 00:37:09.034 Mira Brancu: 1st of all, like it took a lot of strength just to press, publish.
00:37:09.350 --> 00:37:10.770 Emily Crookston: Yeah, yeah.
00:37:10.770 --> 00:37:15.700 Mira Brancu: And then, when people didn't like my ideas, it took a lot of strength to just sit with it
00:37:16.220 --> 00:37:18.539 Mira Brancu: and allow myself to think.
00:37:19.350 --> 00:37:27.614 Mira Brancu: Is this about the person? Is it about my message? Is it about how I crafted my message? Can I learn anything from this? Besides, I hate this process.
00:37:29.560 --> 00:37:32.609 Mira Brancu: but it was hard. It was really hard.
00:37:32.610 --> 00:37:33.200 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:37:33.618 --> 00:37:38.220 Mira Brancu: But what ended up happening over time? Once I got comfortable
00:37:38.280 --> 00:37:40.290 Mira Brancu: with that level of like
00:37:40.390 --> 00:37:47.109 Mira Brancu: openness, and putting myself out, there is, I started really paying attention to what resonated.
00:37:47.120 --> 00:37:49.959 Mira Brancu: Which is another piece of what you mentioned here?
00:37:50.210 --> 00:37:51.300 Mira Brancu: Yeah. And
00:37:51.330 --> 00:38:09.280 Mira Brancu: when I started paying attention to that, I was like, oh, people really like that. They like that topic, or they like. How I put that. Let me write more of that and see what happens. And that continued to help me hone and craft, and hone and craft. And right now I'm writing a book. Yes, a 3rd book,
00:38:09.710 --> 00:38:14.010 Mira Brancu: And it's it's all pulling everything together that I've been like
00:38:14.060 --> 00:38:16.420 Mira Brancu: playing around with for the last.
00:38:16.550 --> 00:38:26.940 Mira Brancu: you know, 6 years, and especially in the last 2 years, as I've honed and honed and sort of seen what people resonate, and then like that helps me think
00:38:27.260 --> 00:38:35.559 Mira Brancu: and get more clarity about what I actually want to say, and to whom and why, which is exactly what you've been saying. But I'm giving like a real, clear.
00:38:35.630 --> 00:38:38.420 Mira Brancu: concrete example of how that looks over time.
00:38:39.010 --> 00:39:03.050 Emily Crookston: Yes, I think this is so great because a lot of authors make the mistake of. They've never posted publicly when they put their book out there. And how scary is that like, talk about that perfectionism, you know, need and mode like? Oh, no! I have to write the book long treatment of this. And that's, you know. And I totally understand that because I often, you know, have a hard time with
00:39:03.050 --> 00:39:19.480 Emily Crookston: writing copy for my website. It's so hard to take a big concept and squish it down into only a few words. That's very difficult for me. And so that's a thing that posting on Linkedin and posting half baked ideas, has really helped me with. Because, yeah, you're right about that
00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:21.650 Emily Crookston: feeling of Oh, my gosh! That
00:39:21.650 --> 00:39:41.470 Emily Crookston: I posted, and no one saw it, or you know, it just went into the void. And those reflection questions you shared, Mira are just gold, you know, like curiosity, like, why, what happened? Why did it? You know it can be as simple as oh, well, that wasn't the right time of day to post on Linkedin. Nobody is around on Linkedin
00:39:41.470 --> 00:39:58.029 Emily Crookston: 2 Pm. Or whatever it is, you know. So you know, stepping back and being able to ask those questions like what went wrong? Why didn't this resonate? And then, when it does, when you do hit on something again asking those questions, why did it resonate? Why, why did it work that time. And how can I build on that?
00:39:58.090 --> 00:39:58.810 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:39:58.810 --> 00:40:02.600 Mira Brancu: Absolutely. Can I also bring out? You just said that?
00:40:03.050 --> 00:40:04.940 Mira Brancu: some of this stuff like
00:40:04.980 --> 00:40:06.430 Mira Brancu: distilling big
00:40:07.003 --> 00:40:14.999 Mira Brancu: complex ideas into simple copy on a website is very difficult. Hello! She's a ghostwriter.
00:40:15.609 --> 00:40:15.910 Emily Crookston: Cool.
00:40:15.910 --> 00:40:20.059 Mira Brancu: Is a a developmental editor for other people, and this is hard.
00:40:20.060 --> 00:40:20.670 Emily Crookston: And.
00:40:21.020 --> 00:40:23.049 Mira Brancu: Can we normalize that piece, too.
00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:46.570 Emily Crookston: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I often tell people, you know, people make this assumption about me all the time when whenever I have somebody who's going to work with me to write, copy, or do something they're always like. Well, you're a writer, you know it like it's easy for me, and I'm like, Oh, no, like this is, it's easy for me to write other people's stuff, and I'm still not a good copywriter. Period end of story. Copywriting is a very different thing from
00:40:46.570 --> 00:41:11.300 Emily Crookston: writing a blog or writing an article or writing a book. I see those as very different things. But yeah, it's it's just because you're good in one area of one type of expertise doesn't mean that translates into all these other areas. And that's really important to recognize. And I think it's important when you're thinking about trying something new. You're not going to be good at it the 1st time.
00:41:11.300 --> 00:41:32.330 Emily Crookston: I also have a hard time with this. I've been trying to pick up some art, or, you know, do something, you know, with my hands, and I recognize the benefits of all of that. But oh, my goodness, my perfectionist monster just will not let me rest when it comes to that like, and and I have to keep telling myself, but you have to practice. You have to do it a lot to get good at it, you know, and.
00:41:32.330 --> 00:41:32.950 Mira Brancu: Yeah, that's.
00:41:32.950 --> 00:41:34.530 Emily Crookston: True of most things. Yeah.
00:41:34.530 --> 00:41:38.140 Mira Brancu: Absolutely, and and speaking of like overthinking these things.
00:41:38.140 --> 00:41:38.723 Emily Crookston: Yeah.
00:41:39.890 --> 00:41:45.360 Mira Brancu: A lot of the leaders that I work with are also folks who work in highly regulated industries.
00:41:45.590 --> 00:41:52.050 Mira Brancu: and they are very worried or uncomfortable with whether
00:41:52.370 --> 00:41:54.829 Mira Brancu: they can lean into the idea
00:41:55.050 --> 00:42:00.320 Mira Brancu: of sharing big ideas without causing problems for their organizations, or how to represent themselves
00:42:00.540 --> 00:42:04.169 Mira Brancu: versus the organization? How can they think about navigating this.
00:42:05.030 --> 00:42:19.910 Emily Crookston: Yeah, this is a real tough one. And you know, full disclosure. I've never been in corporate. So I've never had to navigate exactly that kind of situation. So take everything I say with a grain of salt. But I think there are different levels of
00:42:19.950 --> 00:42:22.589 Emily Crookston: controversy, different levels of
00:42:22.690 --> 00:42:47.499 Emily Crookston: new ideas that you can be sharing, and you have to do it within the guardrails that you're being given. But I think oftentimes we think, oh, the culture is so closed we have to be. Yes, people all the time. And that's the only way to get ahead in this organization. And when you have that thought. I just want you to reflect on it and ask yourself where it's coming from, because I think sometimes that's like a rumor, or that's like.
00:42:47.500 --> 00:43:12.020 Emily Crookston: you know the the thing that people say. But is that what your supervisor believes? Is that what the higher ups believe right? Who's getting promoted? What are they doing right, asking those questions, I think, is really important, and then figuring out where you can be comfortable, sharing big ideas, and that might be as simple as going to lunch with people within your own industry, just to chat.
00:43:12.020 --> 00:43:38.370 Emily Crookston: just to strategize about how you can navigate the situation and get done the things that you want to get done right again. It's a matter of finding your way through this ecosystem that you have around you, and and figuring out how you can do it. I have a client who's he's the Cfo. Of a law firm, so he's got a lot of guardrails around what he can say, and I've been working with him on his Linkedin posts.
00:43:38.480 --> 00:43:45.370 Emily Crookston: and we started talking about vulnerable leadership, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to go there. But I tell you those posts
00:43:45.450 --> 00:43:51.880 Emily Crookston: have done amazing for him, and it's a matter of getting out of that comfort zone and figuring out where you can. You can make that.
00:43:51.880 --> 00:44:17.019 Mira Brancu: Absolutely the and the good news is, if you're in a highly regulated field, guess what there are rules they have in policies like, I promise you they're there. You just have to watch them. And then often, also checking in with either the legal or the your supervisor, whatever like. Here's what I intend just confirming. I can share this not share. Okay? Good. You know.
00:44:17.451 --> 00:44:26.849 Mira Brancu: So there, there are lots of policies your organization probably has. You just have to go find it and read it alright. So
00:44:27.478 --> 00:44:32.409 Mira Brancu: we're reaching another ad break and when we come back.
00:44:32.620 --> 00:44:50.229 Mira Brancu: Let's talk through what you sort of immediate next steps. People might want to consider for how to put all of this together and get started, especially if, like, they're new to this. So you're listening to the hard skills with me, Mira Branco and our guest today, Emily Crookston, and we'll be right back in just a moment.
00:46:53.990 --> 00:46:59.670 Mira Brancu: Welcome back to the hard skills with me. Dr. Mira Branku and Dr. Emily Crookston, our guest.
00:46:59.730 --> 00:47:02.090 Mira Brancu: So we've been talking about. How do you
00:47:02.476 --> 00:47:16.040 Mira Brancu: turn your expertise into getting those big ideas out into the world to increase your visibility and influence for a variety of purposes. Whether that's to make a greater impact or to get the resources you need.
00:47:17.140 --> 00:47:19.660 Mira Brancu: if you're brand new to this.
00:47:19.790 --> 00:47:24.786 Mira Brancu: And all of this is like, Oh, my God! Where do I even start? I'm feeling overwhelmed.
00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:28.299 Mira Brancu: what what would you recommend after the sort of
00:47:28.951 --> 00:47:32.139 Mira Brancu: identifying a potential platform like Linkedin?
00:47:32.180 --> 00:47:33.610 Mira Brancu: And then, like
00:47:34.245 --> 00:47:41.760 Mira Brancu: trying to put some ideas out there. Is there some something before you get there, or something right after that
00:47:41.790 --> 00:47:50.109 Mira Brancu: that would help turn the playing around with it into a strategy.
00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:52.929 Emily Crookston: Yeah, I think
00:47:53.150 --> 00:48:22.510 Emily Crookston: the best thing you can do is kind of pick a day, pick a date or a deadline and say, Okay, on this day I'm going to post something, and then, you know, reverse engineer, what do I need to feel comfortable to post something on that day? That's you know, when you're 1st getting started, I think the hardest, the biggest barriers are sort of like. I don't know what to write. I don't know what to say, and so giving yourself some time to really think about it, and just brainstorm without.
00:48:22.510 --> 00:48:52.130 Emily Crookston: you know, without judging what you're writing down, can be a really good way to get started, and then, you know, you might have a friend who could be your support, Buddy, your accountability, partner, and you can say to them, Look, I'm going to post on this day. It'd be really great if you would go and comment on this post once it's up, you know. So you can even get a bunch of people together to to have that kind of be. You know your posse who can come and comment on your Linkedin post that can take the sting out of posting and not having anybody see it.
00:48:52.130 --> 00:49:20.530 Emily Crookston: And so that's a great way to get started. And like we were saying before. Remember that it's experimental. Remember to have fun with it, if it's you know, I always say, try it out for a few months. Right consistent. Be consistent for a few months. So maybe once a week, for 3 months, or, you know, once a month, for 3 months, whatever works, and then evaluate, you know. Then say, Okay, is this fun? Is it getting me where I'm trying to go? Is it helping me? You know? What have I gained from this
00:49:20.834 --> 00:49:25.710 Emily Crookston: and and making that, you know, then, making this choice about whether it's worth your time.
00:49:26.020 --> 00:49:30.040 Mira Brancu: Yeah, I like making it an experiment instead of like feeling like you're
00:49:30.080 --> 00:49:35.689 Mira Brancu: committing to this massive thing. But still being consistent like you said before.
00:49:36.033 --> 00:49:48.966 Mira Brancu: I love the idea of having an accountability partner or partners to like hold you to it, but also to help you feel more comfortable like they're they're gonna catch you. They're out there. They're waiting to cheer you on.
00:49:50.070 --> 00:49:56.270 Mira Brancu: It reminds me again, sort of like going back to how I how I entered this space.
00:49:56.745 --> 00:50:01.180 Mira Brancu: I'm just, gonna you know, use my my myself as as another example of this.
00:50:01.370 --> 00:50:02.990 Mira Brancu: My goal
00:50:03.020 --> 00:50:04.850 Mira Brancu: was to get myself
00:50:04.900 --> 00:50:06.170 Mira Brancu: known
00:50:06.300 --> 00:50:11.539 Mira Brancu: for something I wasn't known, for I was known for Ptsd research.
00:50:11.990 --> 00:50:14.639 Mira Brancu: and I was not known for
00:50:14.890 --> 00:50:16.490 Mira Brancu: supporting women in leadership.
00:50:16.930 --> 00:50:21.510 Mira Brancu: I did that, you know, like a quiet thing that I did right
00:50:21.550 --> 00:50:26.509 Mira Brancu: and but I really wanted people to see me in that way because I wanted
00:50:27.079 --> 00:50:35.810 Mira Brancu: more more business honestly. In that direction, because I love that aspect of my job that was so quiet, right? And so
00:50:36.450 --> 00:50:39.990 Mira Brancu: I started, you know, writing. And
00:50:40.200 --> 00:50:42.609 Mira Brancu: even before then I thought to myself, like.
00:50:43.150 --> 00:50:44.980 Mira Brancu: what would keep me
00:50:45.490 --> 00:50:52.400 Mira Brancu: writing for a long time like, what can I not shut up about when I'm like in conversations with people.
00:50:52.770 --> 00:50:57.409 Mira Brancu: What can I not stop thinking about? What could I like? Generate a billion ideas around
00:50:57.600 --> 00:51:00.579 Mira Brancu: that like will just keep me going. And
00:51:01.980 --> 00:51:08.800 Mira Brancu: when I try to write about something that doesn't excite me, even though, like I do the work. And I want people to know about that.
00:51:09.210 --> 00:51:13.390 Mira Brancu: It's so much more arduous, and it takes so much more effort
00:51:13.620 --> 00:51:17.740 Mira Brancu: right to do that. So that's that's, I think, part of it, too. Right?
00:51:18.370 --> 00:51:19.050 Mira Brancu: Yes.
00:51:19.230 --> 00:51:43.980 Emily Crookston: Yeah, absolutely, you know, goes back to keeping it. Fun. You know. What's you? You created kind of your own experiment like, what can I get known, for like how playful and fun is that like I'm known for this thing. But I want to see if I can find something else to be known, for I love that kind of that's the kind of experiment we're talking about. You know, I'm an expert in this, but I want to. I want a greater, bigger following, you know. And what is that thing that I could
00:51:43.980 --> 00:51:59.199 Emily Crookston: play around with when I was in grad school? I love to do you know, I love to talk about this thing, and I haven't talked about that in a really long time. What? What would it look like to start talking about that thing on Linkedin. I love those kinds of experiments. It's almost like a little mini
00:51:59.200 --> 00:52:05.840 Emily Crookston: personal research project, right it. And and that's a great way to think of it. You know this, this is a research project. Yeah, yeah.
00:52:05.840 --> 00:52:14.640 Mira Brancu: So I'm wondering you. You gave us an example of one of your clients. Who's you know, in the law field? What? What are sort of like common
00:52:15.970 --> 00:52:20.480 Mira Brancu: clients you get? What are the questions you get? What are the challenges you often see
00:52:20.530 --> 00:52:25.650 Mira Brancu: with when people are new to this, and they're just starting out and and trying to
00:52:26.293 --> 00:52:31.120 Mira Brancu: use this big idea. You know, expert
00:52:31.951 --> 00:52:34.779 Mira Brancu: engagement out there in the public.
00:52:35.680 --> 00:52:55.319 Emily Crookston: Yeah, some of the questions I get. I mean, a lot of people just say, I don't know what to write about. And you know. Sometimes it takes brainstorming with other people to figure it out, you know. So if you have that feeling like I just don't know what to write about call a friend, you know. Get somebody to help you kind of think it through. Because I
00:52:55.320 --> 00:53:16.210 Emily Crookston: in these brainstorming calls we'll do them for like 60 or 90 min we'll pull out 30 50 ideas right? They're they're there, they're in you. So if you ever feel like you don't know what to write about. It's it's there you've just got to kind of surface those ideas. And I think the other thing that I get a lot of the time is like
00:53:16.350 --> 00:53:30.810 Emily Crookston: sometimes when you're sort of sharing half-baked ideas, it it tends to be this like monolith, this this huge thing that you're sharing, and it's hard to kind of compartmentalize, and often like, if you write one post.
00:53:30.810 --> 00:53:46.859 Emily Crookston: think about it, could it? Could it be 3 posts right? Could it be some number of posts, because it probably could be you could probably pull out. And that doesn't mean you need to rejigger that post. You could post it as it is, but then you could write 3 other posts off of that post, you know there's repurpose your content.
00:53:47.127 --> 00:54:02.119 Emily Crookston: If you're getting started, you know it's it's it's a great idea to just play with what you already have. If you're feeling stuck, just go to something you've already written, you can probably look at it through a new lens, and you can probably find a bunch more things to say about it. Yeah, yeah.
00:54:02.120 --> 00:54:05.880 Mira Brancu: And you know, just sort of as a final thought around this.
00:54:06.900 --> 00:54:08.980 Mira Brancu: If you told me
00:54:09.770 --> 00:54:17.021 Mira Brancu: that I'd be writing about the thing I'm writing about now, like 6 years ago, I'd be like, oh, that's interesting. I would have never thought that.
00:54:17.637 --> 00:54:18.679 Emily Crookston: What likes that?
00:54:18.680 --> 00:54:22.629 Mira Brancu: That is the experimental iterative process. So.
00:54:23.310 --> 00:54:25.020 Mira Brancu: That's my takeaway.
00:54:25.170 --> 00:54:30.060 Mira Brancu: What is one thing you want people to take away from today with you, Emily.
00:54:31.033 --> 00:54:57.019 Emily Crookston: I just want people to recognize that this doesn't have to be a chore, you know, and and getting visible can be really scary, especially if you're introverted, especially if you're very perfectionist, especially if you're very much a high achiever. But if you can just let those guards down, let the guard down just a little bit and look for the fun. Look for what's what gets you? Your curiosity juices flowing? I think you can have a lot of fun with
00:54:57.040 --> 00:55:00.520 Emily Crookston: this this new research research project that I'm giving you.
00:55:00.520 --> 00:55:00.840 Mira Brancu: And
00:55:01.170 --> 00:55:05.339 Mira Brancu: want a lot more handholding. Tell them where to find you.
00:55:06.150 --> 00:55:31.099 Emily Crookston: Sure there's my website on thepocketphd.com. You can contact me through the contact page. There. You can hop on my newsletter as well, if you're curious to find out more, it's all about, you know. We start with finding your big idea, and from there it often leads to a book. Sometimes it just leads to more content for you. So yeah, there's my Mini course. Find your big idea.
00:55:31.100 --> 00:55:38.310 Emily Crookston: It's a freebie. So if you'd like to sign up for that. You can jump on my newsletter through that. And yeah, you can get a taste of
00:55:38.310 --> 00:55:40.010 Emily Crookston: how I work right there.
00:55:40.010 --> 00:55:47.830 Mira Brancu: All right. So go to the pocketphd.com. I'm obsessing over your website. I'll I'll.
00:55:47.830 --> 00:55:49.550 Emily Crookston: Oh, thank you. Need to sit on that.
00:55:49.550 --> 00:55:50.600 Mira Brancu: For a while.
00:55:51.770 --> 00:55:52.130 Mira Brancu: Okay.
00:55:52.130 --> 00:55:52.880 Emily Crookston: So.
00:55:55.300 --> 00:55:58.019 Mira Brancu: those of you who are listening. What did you take away?
00:55:58.360 --> 00:56:01.360 Mira Brancu: And more importantly, what's 1 small change.
00:56:01.370 --> 00:56:04.359 Mira Brancu: one big idea experiment.
00:56:04.490 --> 00:56:07.490 Mira Brancu: You can implement this week based on what you learned from Emily.
00:56:07.620 --> 00:56:13.319 Mira Brancu: Share it with us on Linkedin. You just found out she's on Linkedin. I'm on Linkedin, so we can cheer you on
00:56:13.640 --> 00:56:20.899 Mira Brancu: talkradio dot. Nyc is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, twitch, apple, spotify and Amazon Podcasts and other places
00:56:21.010 --> 00:56:31.119 Mira Brancu: help us increase visibility. Speaking of increasing visibility. Help us do that as well share it around. Leave reviews. That helps us.
00:56:31.240 --> 00:56:39.190 Mira Brancu: The stuff we talk about on this show is part of our research-based strategic leadership, pathway, roadmap that we also teach in our telescope Leadership Academy.
00:56:39.360 --> 00:56:51.039 Mira Brancu: It's a private coaching and learning community for socially conscious misfit leaders in disrupted learning and innovation industries looking to make a greater impact. And you can do that through your thought leadership as well. By the way.
00:56:51.120 --> 00:56:53.090 Mira Brancu: to learn more about us.
00:56:53.290 --> 00:56:56.529 Mira Brancu: You can go to gotowerscope.com
00:56:57.280 --> 00:57:04.530 Mira Brancu: if you don't have much time, and you want some quick support with the many complex decisions and dilemmas you're facing in your current leadership role.
00:57:04.850 --> 00:57:06.660 Mira Brancu: We do have
00:57:06.810 --> 00:57:08.250 Mira Brancu: a 1 day
00:57:08.380 --> 00:57:12.430 Mira Brancu: fuel forward action lab program. That's what it's called on December 5.th
00:57:12.900 --> 00:57:19.160 Mira Brancu: And we do have a few spots left. You can just reach out to me at mira@gotowrascope.com.
00:57:19.260 --> 00:57:21.759 Mira Brancu: or on Linkedin to learn more.
00:57:21.990 --> 00:57:33.890 Mira Brancu: If you want to reclaim your leadership, voice and vision. Emily is coming back to us to do some more teaching in our program. So join us, join the program, and then you'll hear more from her as well.
00:57:34.060 --> 00:57:37.860 Mira Brancu: All right, thank you. Talkradio, dot Nyc. For hosting.
00:57:37.930 --> 00:57:41.510 Mira Brancu: I'm Dr. Mira Branku, your host of the Hard skill show.
00:57:41.730 --> 00:57:47.780 Mira Brancu: and, Emily, thank you so much for sharing all of your wisdom today. I really appreciate having you on the show today.
00:57:48.540 --> 00:57:49.740 Emily Crookston: Thanks for having me.
00:57:49.740 --> 00:57:51.010 Mira Brancu: Yeah, absolutely.
00:57:51.080 --> 00:57:55.410 Mira Brancu: and have a great rest of your day. Wherever you're tuning in from
00:57:56.672 --> 00:57:59.390 Mira Brancu: go check out, gotowerscope.com.
00:57:59.520 --> 00:58:08.510 Mira Brancu: and find out more about our Leadership Academy, our feel forward program and anything else that you might be interested in to grow your leadership and team development
00:58:08.660 --> 00:58:16.779 Mira Brancu: again, you can reach out to me also at mira@goterrascope.com, or Linkedin to learn more about our fuel Forward Action lab program
00:58:17.340 --> 00:58:18.509 Mira Brancu: on December 5.th
00:58:18.910 --> 00:58:20.330 Mira Brancu: Take care everybody.
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