A Speaker’s Journey and the Power of Thought Leadership

I have found opportunities to stretch myself and think about some of those other layers of Tre’s story. What are some of those other opportunities that I see for myself? One that's been very exciting and something that I've been thinking about for a long time is becoming a professional public speaker.

Speaking engagements are part of my professional work all the time – for several years now. I have delivered a keynote. I have testified in front of a state legislature. I have presented countless conference sessions and professional leadership institutes. I have a podcast. I have been a guest on audio events and podcasts. I have enjoyed this journey of speaking in front of different audiences. And I have enjoyed exploring how I can turn those opportunities into something that I'm doing more regularly and something that’s using my new platform as a founder and entrepreneur. As a systems thinker, I now embrace public speaking as a formal part of my professional ecosystem.

So, allow me to share a little bit about my speaker’s journey and take you back to my childhood. How did I start to conceptualize this as a young girl, growing into adolescence, young adulthood, young womanhood? What did that look like for me? And, as an adult, I'm able to reflect and define those pieces that did contextualize and give some three dimension to my speaker’s journey, this creative part of my professional work. I have an opportunity to start engaging in new communities with people who've been in the professional public speaking world for several years. I continue to navigate that path with smart, innovative, fun, and interesting thought leaders in this space.

Another thing that has risen to the top for me: I hadn't really thought about this idea of thought leadership. As Forbes describes, “Thought leadership is the process of sharing your knowledge and point of view in a way that starts a conversation or even sets the agenda…Thought leadership can also be the answer to the problems of how to differentiate from competitors, win customer trust and attract the best talent.”

Of course, I have heard this term, this expression of thought leadership, for many years around many tables. I know what it means. I know my idea of what a thought leader is, and I know a lot of people who want to be thought leaders. Many try to step into that space… with no real authority behind them to back that up - to showcase themselves as a thought leader.

Admittedly, that takes time, that takes practice, that takes the right influence, that takes the right folks in your network - to build your brand and your thought leadership capacity. Forbes suggests considering thought leadership, “…like the anatomy of a human, where each part has a unique function but works together to make a fully functioning unit. Each thought leadership process is part of a much bigger operation that allows brands to create meaningful content, connect with audiences and drive revenue.”

Believe me, a lot of folks will say: you know, a practitioner with your experience, Tre, 20+ years as a planner, as a social work management practitioner and social impact leader, having those skills and that type of leverage… that type of experience under my belt automatically makes me a thought leader. That is where I exercise my value of growth mindset. Yes, I have 20+ years of community development experience. I am a practitioner, I have been a policy leader, navigating these spaces with people who are at the very top of the decision-making ladder. I have written research focused papers and technical briefing papers; I’ve presented to elected and appointed officials. I have been in school systems, doing work with superintendents and CEOs, and I've developed plans and work that centers DEI + Belonging, sustainability, and organizational infrastructure and culture-building. These are things that I love and are second nature to me. I continue to strengthen my foundation, knowing there is always room to do bigger and better.

I talk a lot about values, and it's the confidence, it's the trust in myself, it's my deep faith - it's that commitment and that relationship that I have, it's the power that I see in the work that I'm doing, it's the influence, it's the excitement, it's the communities that I'm building, it's so many things that have really given me this push and this emphasis to start along this new journey.

I have set the stage a bit and given you some insight about what it means for me to take this next step, this pivot – and you can dig deep with me and listen in here to learn more about my Speaker’s Journey.