You Do NOT Have to Be a Thought Leader

You Don’t Have to Be A Thought Leader

Curt and Katie chat about the latest pressures on therapists to become “thought leaders.” We look at how thought leadership is defined, what it typically is trying to solve, and other options therapists can take if they aren’t ready to be in the spotlight, start a side hustle, or leave the profession.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

In this episode we talk about:

• The definitions of thought leader
• Why you must earn the title of thought leader
• Thought leadership as content marketing
• Repackaging content, predicting the future, or sharing a brand-new perspective
• The role of luck in thought leadership
• The importance of doing “you” whether you choose to use thought leadership or not
• The option to be a therapist in private practice without doing thought leadership as your form of content marketing
• Assessing values, skills, and energy in your decision whether you focus on thought leadership
• Challenging the notion that you have to leave the career if you’re burned out
• The ability to have hobbies and not monetizing everything
• Other options to address burnout or financial needs or lack of meaning in your work
• The myth of passive income and thought leadership as a mechanism to a better life
• The idea of fixing your business as an alternative
• The focus on the thoughts as the strongest, most aligned type of thought leadership
• Force of personality and Cult-like leadership
• Take an uncomfortable look at where you’re at to determine what you can do going forward
• Identifying a path forward that doesn’t get you stuck (stepping outside of shoulds)
• How to assess what is missing or what you’d like to get rid of
• The concept of self-leadership