Today marks the Lunar New Year where many people across the world celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Ox. The personality traits of the ox are reliability and trustworthiness, known for being independent and industrious. However, what defines the ox is that despite its intelligence it works quietly in the background and does not seek to continuously be at the center of attention.

Coincidentally, these traits align perfectly with the characteristics of successful thought leadership. Here are the reasons we should all be more like the ox:

Trustworthy

As a subject matter expert in your industry, your thoughts and views on an issue carry a great deal of weight. Your clients and future clients trust you to offer specialist insight on topics where they themselves may not be as knowledgeable. This gives you a lot of authority with the content you write, so don't shy away from honestly expressing your opinions on a subject that is important to them. 

Reliable

Delivering consistent content is key in solidifying your position as a dependable adviser in your industry. Ensuring that you are regularly commenting on current, relevant industry events and offering valuable views on topics you know the most about will enable you to carve out your place as the go-to expert. Your clients will come to you again and again if you consistently prove to them that you are the thought leader in your area.

Hardworking in the background

The trick of content marketing is to unobtrusively demonstrate your expertise by expressing your knowledge.  Show what you know to drive people to see what you do. Loudly selling and pushing your services is ineffective in professional services firms. Growth in your business will find you when you are patiently working away behind the curtain to ensure all the groundwork has been done before your potential clients even reach out to you.

So this Lunar NY, think about how you can be a little bit more like the ox when you write your thought leadership.