TLA 10: Graduation

Before you know it, your first cohort of candidates will have put into practise the basics of thought leadership and need to plan their ongoing activities. It is important to acknowledge this milestone. You will need to hold a graduation event to celebrate. 

Thought leadership is a personal journey. Your candidates all started together, in more or less the same place, but they are unlikely to have finished the programme in the same way. It is therefore important to celebrate achievements on a personal basis at the graduation event. This also helps candidates to think about life beyond the thought leadership programme.

One way to do this is to ask each candidate to present two slides. These should cover:

Slide 1

• What knowledge have you gained?  
• How have your social habits changed? 
• What have you achieved?

This invites the candidates to assess their progress over the weeks of the thought leadership programme, and see how far they have come.

Slide 2

• What are your plans for sharing content and expertise in the future? 
• What support do you need to make this happen?

This asks the candidates to look at how they plan to take forward their thought leadership in the future, and make a commitment to continuing their efforts.  It also enables you to see what ongoing support will be needed. After all, your next cohort will be starting soon, and you need to ensure that you have time for both.