I am naturally more introvert than extrovert so when I started going to meetings for work I listened to what everyone else was saying, weighed up the options and only then offered my view.
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where everyone talks but nobody quite gets around to saying anything useful, you’ll recognise the dynamic.
Over time I realised that, while listening matters, you cannot sit back forever. At some point you have to stick your head above the parapet and take a position. I didn’t need to be the first to the conversation, but I did need to be the clearest.
The same dynamic plays out in markets every day.
Companies often assume that influence comes from volume: more posts, more campaigns, more webinars, more noise. Marketing calendars fill up quickly with a barrage of tactics and CTAs.
For a while that activity creates the appearance of momentum. But markets are very good at filtering out noise and, like in meetings, eventually people tune out.
Authority comes from having a point of view that genuinely helps people understand the problems they are trying to solve. It means knowing where you stand, understanding why it matters and being able to explain it clearly and consistently.
It also requires listening. Markets change, technologies evolve and customers see things from perspectives you might not have considered. Companies that build real authority are constantly absorbing signals as well as broadcasting ideas.
Too often marketing is measured in activity: how many posts, how many campaigns, how many leads generated this quarter. But communicating to be heard is not the same as communicating to be understood. And understanding is the foundation of authority.
Building that kind of authority takes work. It usually requires organisations to step back from the day-to-day marketing cycle — the campaigns, the posts, the constant pressure for leads — and ask some harder questions. What do we actually believe about our market? Where do we disagree with the prevailing narrative? What do we understand that others might not yet see?
Once those answers are clear, communication becomes far easier. Every article, presentation, interview or conversation reinforces the same underlying perspective.
And over time you see the change. You no longer need to shout the loudest to be heard, because people are already listening.
