An Overview of the First Year as Head of Thought Leadership | Tammy Ammon | 338

Leveraging Thought Leadership

Ever wondered what it was like to be the Director of Thought Leadership for a major corporation?

Many organizations don't define their thought leadership role at creation, leaving the shaping of those responsibilities up to the first person to take the position. That's a tough job!

To better understand the first few months in such a role, we turn to Tammy Ammon, Senior Director of Thought Leadership at Acxiom. Acxiom is a corporation that strives to ethically use data and technology to fuel meaningful connections between brands and the people who love them.

Like many thought leaders, Tammy had already pursued a long career in product development and marketing. Senior Director of Thought Leadership was the perfect position to blend her passion for storytelling with her deep knowledge of client needs. Even so, her first few weeks in the role were spent defining the position , mapping existing pieces of content, and aiding with branding, marketing, and innovation at the highest levels of the organization.

Over time, Tammy realized that content creation, a big component of thought leadership, quickly evolves storytelling and strategy at the highest levels. She explains how she learned to define a brand's story, and find the specific themes that will be helpful to support a compelling rendition. By moving through the organization at all levels, she's learned to maintain a broad view of the company and carry that perspective to her audience.

Tammy ends our conversation with advice for those who are new to the role of thought leader in their organization; sharing tips, best practices, and inspiration she learned along the way.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Organizational thought leadership is about making time to learn your industry and understand your audience.
• Thought Leaders can draw insight by listening in on a wide variety of meetings, networking on Linkedin, and taking part in strategy discussions.
• As you grow in the role of director of thought leadership, you will need to learn which topics require your time, and which to pass on to your team.