E112 – Thought Leadership featuring Vladimer Botsvadze

Discover the transformative power of thought leadership with Vladimer Botsvadze, a globally recognized digital transformation and marketing authority who's built his personal brand from scratch to 55,000 followers through sheer determination and consistent effort.

For emerging leaders managing their first teams, Thought Leadership isn't just about personal branding – it's about setting exemplary standards that elevate everyone around you. "If you keep your bar low, then you are out of business," Vladimir cautions. Through consistent content creation across multiple platforms, leaders establish credibility and authority that strengthens their position, even when they haven't selected their team members.

The currency of modern leadership, Vladimir emphasizes, is attention. In a world of fractured focus, leaders must create content that captures interest quickly and authentically. This requires shifting from a transactional mindset to a storytelling approach – becoming less like a salesperson and more like a media company that provides genuine value.

Vladimer’s Episode Links:

1. Website: www.vladimerbotsvadze.com

2. Twitter: www.twitter.com/vladobotsvadze 

3. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/vladimerbotsvadze 

4. Instagram: www.instagram.com/vladimerbotsvadze 

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Trench Leadership
• 1:27 Vladimir Botswodze: Global Thought Leader
• 9:26 Building Your Personal Brand From Scratch
• 15:40 Why Content Creation Drives Business Growth
• 21:38 Consistency and Attention as Leadership Currency
• 27:42 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

I would like to begin this episode by acknowledging that I am located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and I am privileged and honoured to live and learn on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

Speaker 2: 0:24

Hello, you're listening to Trench Leadership, a podcast from the front produced by iGlenn Studios, a show for emerging leaders from all professions To hear from other leaders who have led from the front, made the mistakes, had the triumphs and are still learning along the way. And now here's your host, simon Cardinal.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of Trench Leadership, a podcast from the front. We tell our leaders to think, to consider all the possibilities so that we can safeguard our teams, our organizations and ourselves. In short, we're asking emerging leaders to be thought leaders. But what is a thought leader? How does one become a thought leader? Well, I have good news. In this episode, you're going to hear from Vladimir Botsvodze, a thought leader, professor, startup advisor, fortune 500 consultant, speaker, mentor and coach. Yes, he does all of these things. Vladimir is going to help us by offering advice and practical tools for all emerging leaders to be the most effective and efficient thought leaders possible.

Speaker 1: 1:39

Now, before we get into that, I would like to do the visual representation and, as always for myself, I have the black microphone in front of me. I'm wearing my black golf shirt with the red trench leadership logo, my hair is still far too gray, my glasses have a they're black rimmed and the background is a screenshot of the trench leadership logo on a stone wall with a white logo highlighted in purple. Vladimir is wearing a very nice gray suit. It looks like this appears to be pinstripes. He's got a kind of a grayish bluish pattern wall. In the background there's a curtain and a door to the left side. From my perspective, it's the left side right for him and that's it. Here we are. But really, podcasts are about the guests, so I'm going to try and be quiet and go ahead and welcome in Vladimir. Hey Vladimir, how are you doing out there?

Speaker 3: 2:31

Hi, simon, thanks a lot for inviting me to your podcast episode and I'm excited to share my insights with you today. I'm sure that your listeners will capitalize on my practical insights just to hit the ground running and put their best foot forward.

Speaker 1: 2:46

Yeah, we're very much looking forward to talk to you. The concept of thought leadership is something I have heard of in the past, but I would love to talk to you some more about it. But before we do that, do you mind taking just a couple of minutes and tell us a little bit about yourself?

Speaker 3: 3:01

Yes, I'm a well-renowned digital transformation, marketing and social media thought leader, influencer, keynote speaker, startup advisor, internet personality, professor and mentor. I think what sets me apart is my practicality and I have built my personal brand from scratch and I have built my Twitter following from scratch to 55,000 followers through my blood, sweat and tears in the last 10 years, because I was very curious about building my personal brand. And building my personal brand opened so many doors and I have gained ground. Need to forget that. We are salespeople, we are transactional on social media and we just need to care. You know, uh, our consumers, our audiences and the end, the end, uh, uh, the end care, care is, I think, the most powerful marketing strategy. You know, if you care, you can build your brand. If you care, you can build up your following. If you care, uh, you can uh, you hit ground running, you go into overdrive and your efforts perform miracles.

Speaker 3: 4:12

So I have recently been invited as a judge to Gartner Marketing and Communication Awards and I have been invited as a judge to more than nine global award ceremonies throughout the world. And I'm also no, uh, I'm also advisory board member. You know uh. Public speaker. You know uh and uh, and addressing audiences internationally, encouraging actionable change and motivating people to become more confident. I'm guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on global audiences.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Well, there's certainly no question of the level of skill, expertise and experience that you've been creating and building throughout your entire career, which is fantastic, because when I was first approached about the idea of having you as a guest to talk about thought leadership, I had heard of it, but I always love to go and find definitions on the internet, and so the definition that I found that kind of resonates with me and I feel falls in nicely with your experience, is that a thought leader is someone who, based on their experience and industry perspective, offers unique guidance, inspires innovation and influences others. Now, based off of that definition and based off what I've heard about you talking about your experience, I'd like to know what you think, and maybe you could talk about that and also offer your own personal definition of what you believe thought leadership is.

Speaker 3: 5:37

Well, you know, building your brand and building your thought leadership is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and I have always pushed self-education. You know I have followed Warren Buffett's advice to read 500 pages a day, you know. So the reading builds your knowledge. Building builds your confidence. You become a long-term thinker, you start showing more patience and you bear in mind that Rome was not built in a day.

Speaker 3: 6:19

So, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, and year in and year out, you will start producing great results. You know, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, and year in and year out, you will start producing great results. You know I mean, but people don't succeed because they give up. But I have never given up, simon. I never given up. I have reinvested every penny in my website, in my growth, in my personal brand building. I don't keep up with Jonas's. I have never gone on vacation in the recent years because I wanted to. I wanted to use every penny wisely just to, uh, take my success to the next level. You know so self-education is a ultimate driver of business results, because if you check out top top 10 skills of world economic Forum in 2023. Active daily learning is number two skill worldwide and it's imperative just to not to rest on your laurels and to keep up with the latest developments in technology to stay competitive in your world, you know.

Speaker 1: 7:22

Well, I completely agree that the it's in. It's absolutely vital for leaders to stay up to date on the newest trends and even if they don't agree with the trends or understand them, knowing they exist is vital because they may be a part of the. Whatever the technology going forward is that having been said, sometimes it's a lot easier to be able to understand how something is going forward if we realize that maybe it's not something that's going to work for us. For example, I I'm aware that warren buffett had said to read 500 pages a day. I won't read 500 pages a day. That would take me three hours a day to do, just because I'm a slow reader and the amount of time it takes me to digest something I'm but you know, success depends on a backbone, not which bone.

Speaker 3: 8:02

So if you want to stand out as a leader, you have to put in the work, and I believe I have never been inexcusable. I have downloaded all social media channels to understand where consumers' attention is. And, you know, just being close to my global audience has been the backbone of my growth. And the market is a decision maker. The market decides what is good and bad. The market does not care what business school you attended. The market cares when you provide value. The market cares when you are authentic. The market cares that you stand out as a leader. The market cares that you improve your daily performance, your daily results, you know. So then, finally, your results speak for themselves, because you hit the ground running and you always try to improve your results, you know.

Speaker 1: 9:01

Yeah, oh, absolutely, and it is about understanding ourselves and how we're able to move forward with that. So I guess I am curious to know what is your definition of thought leadership? How do you see it?

Speaker 3: 9:17

A thought leader is someone who lives in the future. A thought leader is someone who has built an authority on Twitter and updates the world when it comes to innovation, sharing the best practices and trends in technology, marketing, often featured in magazines, who speaks at global events and who is also a constant guest on podcasts. So thought leadership is not easy, you know just, it takes a lot of hard work. So easy, you know just, it takes a lot of hard work. So whoever strikes while the iron is hot, builds a great thought leadership, you know?

Speaker 1: 10:10

Oh, I definitely see what you're saying. It's about understanding, as the definition I advised, or I offered earlier, was about understanding the environment we're in and having understanding the perspectives of different people. From the concept of talking to emerging leaders who are new to their first leadership roles and they're trying to be as productive as possible, how can thought leadership help them going forward?

Speaker 3: 10:31

yeah, I mean, uh, thought leadership can help anyone uh to move forward. Because, just it is the easiest time in the history of mankind to be successful, to build your business, to spread the word what you are doing, because downloading Twitter is free, downloading LinkedIn is free, downloading Instagram is free and posting your content is free. Uploading your uh literally uh recording your videos on mobile is free, uploading to youtube is free, and uh so you just to take action and uh to let the world discover your passion, your dedication, your devotion, your commitment. You know so, but uh, we need to build a great confidence in order to produce great results. You know, consistently. You know, and if we want to become consistent, we we have to surround ourselves with smarter people. We need to get inspired by successful people. We need to become open-minded. I believe that open-mindedness is my biggest strength, you know, because I'm now 35. I learn on a daily basis. I read so much, I attend events. I'm always inspired by successful people, so there is always a great deal to learn from successful people, you know.

Speaker 1: 11:59

Well, I think this is a great point you bring up, talking about how, as the leader, it's important that our teams are full of experts as best as we can be, and that the leader does not need to be the number one expert on that team. Keeping in mind, when we're speaking of emerging leaders, we're generally talking about small teams of three to five people, and most often the new leader does not have the luxury of having selected that team. So how could a new leader put thought leadership into effect to help the team be successful?

Speaker 3: 12:31

You know, it's just about setting the highest standards and delivering extraordinary results and to keep your bar high. You know, simon results and to keep your bar high.

Speaker 1: 12:39

You know, simon, if you keep your bar low, then you are out of business yeah, I definitely see that and and what I'm hearing in that is where you're offering that the leader has to set the example for the others to follow. Does that make sense?

Speaker 3: 12:55

yes, yeah, so absolutely. Uh, as they say that if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas, you know. So I I mean you need to be selective and very finicky in your world and just surround yourself with smarter people. You need to read books, you need to watch motivational people, you need to attend events. You need to bear in mind that formal education no longer provides a positive roi. It's all about self-education. Elon musk has become elon musk because he has always pushed self-education, you know, and he has never he has never depended on formal education, you know, and he was working like 80 100 hour work weeks while weeks while other people were working 40-hour work weeks. So if you show great work ethic and if you work like hell, the results will come.

Speaker 1: 13:49

Well, I do think that results won't always necessarily come More off. I do believe in definitely a hard work ethic and I never suggest otherwise. I am curious, though, in the concept of talking about emerging leaders and what happens if that new leader is unable to select the people on their team, because we're talking about people that tend to either be in their first one to two leadership roles or they were brought into a new team for whatever reason that might be, so they did not have the luxury of selecting those people. How can an emerging leader use thought leadership, then, to help make that team and elevate them?

Speaker 3: 14:27

I mean it's all about Simon putting out 100 pieces of content across 8, 10 social media channels. You know, I mean you need to position yourself as a media company and you need to bear in mind that it's all about building a brand, great brand. Why you choose Nike? Right, because Nike has a strong brand, because Nike has always been in storytelling mode and, for example, just Do it commercial has taken Nike's success to the next level, you know, and not like a Nike CEO that does not come to your door, knocks on your door and ask and asks you to buy his product. Right, because Nike is not in sales mode, nike is storytelling mode, nike is in branding mode, you know so. So, nike, we need to position ourselves as a, as Nike, to be dominant, you know, to be in storytelling mode and to collaborate with authentic people and, for example, nike collaborates with top athletes to at the midpoint of this episode. Do you have an?

Speaker 2: 15:41

idea for an episode that you feel is vital for emerging leaders. Leave the idea in the comment section and, if your topic is chosen, you will have the opportunity to join us as a co-host during the recording session. So drop us a note and let's talk. This podcast is made possible by listeners like you, and if you feel we've earned it, please tell your friends and leave a review to help us grow our following. And now back to the show.

Speaker 1: 16:14

I definitely agree that it's about setting ourselves up for the best level of success possible by collaborating with the strongest people, relevant to whatever our particular profession may be. I, I do. I'm not 100 certain how a new leader creating, uh, a twitter account, for example, is going to make their own team stronger. Can you, can you elaborate that a little bit please?

Speaker 3: 16:39

everyone. You know personal branding is is all about now or never. You know, if you don't take action now, then you will, you, you will not be winning in the long term, you know. So it's now or never, just to build your personal brand. You know, because if, if, if they are, you know, if they question the roi of social media and if they don't take action, then uh, then you know they will be driven out of business. You know, because the market decides what is good and bad and whoever has solid presence across social media channels wins, whether they build a great uh retail company or whether they run their agencies or whether you are a marketer.

Speaker 3: 17:21

And you build your sort of leadership and your personal brand. It's all about taking action, it's all about consistent posting and consistent tweeting, and you just need to put your eggs into different baskets. You know. So. You know, just in the the long term, you will be driving great results because you not only depend on twitter or linkedin, but you also have podcast. You appear in uh magazines, you are a guest on podcast. You know you speak at events. You know so you, the more content you publish, the more successful you become perfect.

Speaker 1: 17:57

Thank you so much for that In the idea of so okay, as an example. So I'm I'm a new team leader and and I'm working for a company and I've just been plunked into this thing and the team is struggling for whatever reason, it doesn't matter why. Okay, what ways can I use thought leadership to help that team succeed or bring the team, make them stronger?

Speaker 3: 18:25

You know, I'm an award judge nowadays at more than nine global award ceremonies and I see their determination when they build their success on scratch and when they bounce back from their failures, and I believe that content creation is the ultimate driver of business growth and if you take action, the results will come. You know, if you publish content, you will achieve something. If you connect with your audiences, you will gain ground and you will go places. You know. So it's all about winning their attention. And so you know, simon, marketing is all about winning attention. You know, and you need to know where people's attention is, and you need to storytell where people spend their time online. So, if they are on TikTok, of course it is very important just to put out video content, and you know, for example, I'm not asking my TikTok. Of course it is very important just to put out video content, and you know I'm, for example, I'm not asking my clients, for example, to dance on TikTok, but they need to show what they are made of on Twitter. You know they need to. For example, they need to invest in Instagram story advertising. You know they need to publish content on Instagram as well, on Twitter as well, you know, because they need to publish content on instagram as well, on twitter as well, you know, because I believe that twitter is only a social network left because it is. It's all about communication, it's all about joining conversations, it's all about breaking the eyes. No barriers, no barriers. You know on twitter, you know so. Um, I have a witness in the in the last 10 years how they have built their authorities, how they have built their sort of leadership, how startup from scratch became a unicorn within a few years because they were investing their marketing money properly in Facebook advertising, in Twitter communication. You know, also across other social media channels. And you know there are 8 billion people in the world and 5.4 billion mobile users, 5.2 internet users and 4.8 billion social media users.

Speaker 3: 20:37

If you create content, you can reach global audiences. You know, if you create content, you can reach uh global audiences. You know billions of people throughout the world, you know so, whereas uh it it used to cost a fortune to reach global audiences, like 30 years ago, and you have to pay media to reach global audiences. And now, what is people's, what is people's excuse that they don't want to be on social media and not to, not to publish their content? Uh it, it it's no cost. They can reach millions of people I?

Speaker 1: 21:04

I definitely I understand what you're. I think I understand what you're saying. I'm going to word that better. I I'd be honest, though I do, and I do apologize I don't fully see the connection between how a team leader in charge of a group of three to four people in a particular business, how them them putting content out on twitter or instagram or whatnot, is going to help the team. How is that leader going to help strengthen the team by putting content out? I? I don't see the connection.

Speaker 3: 21:28

I believe that. You know, simon, every, every, every, uh company needs to hire an editorial chief. You know, because it is. It is very imperative to position yourself as a media company and to start producing content. To start making content, you know, whether it is TikTok, instagram, youtube, twitter or Facebook, you need to have a great marketing team. You know you need to hire an editor in chief. You know you need to position yourself as a media company. You know, and if you are transactional on social media and if you connect with everyone on LinkedIn and if you send sales pitches, everyone will disregard you, because people are tired of salespeople. Majority of people are transactional on social media. That's why they struggle with building their authorities and their thought leadership.

Speaker 1: 22:13

You know, I definitely see that, but I'm thinking more internally, like we're talking about. I definitely see that, but I'm thinking more internally, like we're talking about. If I, as an example, I'm the team leader, I'm brand new to a team and I and you're on my team and we have three other people on the team and, for whatever reason, that team is not working out well, how is thought leadership able to help that team get strengthened? I don't. I. I'm sorry, I just don't understand the connection between me putting out content.

Speaker 3: 22:40

You know internally, know, internally, you guys need to be on the same wavelength when it comes to content creation. You know, I mean you guys need to agree that. You know, on several channels in the long term, you start uh publishing content. You know, for example, I have uploaded my 48 videos to youtube and I have uh, uh, my my videos have been watched thousands of people. Uh. So now I have driven positive out of why, because I'm I have become a public speaker. I work with speakers bureaus, I have spoken at global events. I have been uh invited as a guest on podcast. You know I have built my authority. You know so many organizations are revoted my hard work that I have built my twitter from scratch to 55 000 followers. Because I will, I have shown consistency and consistency. You have the consistent action creates consistent results. You know well.

Speaker 1: 23:36

I definitely believe consistency is key. I I see that with the metrics for this podcast itself. If I miss a couple of episodes in a couple of weeks, then I definitely see that it takes a while to get back to the numbers, the downloads and listens that I was experiencing before that happened. So the consistency is definitely vital and I think that's the message I'm getting inside this, as you're talking about whether or not we're creating content. Creating content, whether or not we're we're working, we're a new leader, we're working within a team the. The idea is that we need to be consistent in how we're going to move forward, working with the team, how we're going to create them and make them stronger, because that will, when we all see that we're being consistently working hard or consistently doing all the things we need for the team to succeed, eventually, the, the business will work as well and the business will succeed. Does that make sense?

Speaker 3: 24:25

Yes, you know, the world navigates under one currency and it's called attention.

Speaker 1: 24:30

Yeah, yeah, that's yeah. Quick attention, not long-term attention, quick snap, it's 10, 15 seconds.

Speaker 3: 24:36

So, whatever you create, whatever you create, you have to, uh, win their attention, you have to make yourself conspicuous and you have to be in the limelight and spotlight online. Otherwise, uh, you know, your efforts will not make any sense, you know oh, absolutely, I completely agree.

Speaker 1: 24:55

So listen, before we sign off, I have two final points. Would you like to offer any final thoughts at all? And also, if people want to reach out to you, how can they do that?

Speaker 3: 25:06

Well, you know, I'm very thankful that you know I have given an opportunity, that I moved to the United States at the age of 18. And the United States experience is worth its weight in gold, where I have made lifelong friends and a longstanding business partnership with so many people. And, of course, you know, united States has played instrumental role in my transformation and I have become hungry, the ground running and I have conquered so many mountains in technology that, from scratch, with zero dollar marketing budget and motivation, I have spearheaded one of the biggest personal brands and transformed the marketing industry. Of course, I'm very grateful to the UK as well, because I moved there as a new kid on the block at the age of 22,. There as a new kid on the block at the age of 22, learning, working with 20 offices in downtown london, making uh, making friends with all walks of life and uh becoming more optimistic. I mean uh. Uk also has laid a strong foundation for my success and inspired me to build my twitter, because when I was in london 2010, 2021, I everyone was talking about twitter, about personal brand building, about about uh showing the world what you are made of.

Speaker 3: 26:30

So so I have decided to take action and uh, I have sacrificed everything. You know, simon, I have sacrificed my life. I have sacrificed my, my, my personal life in order to become who I am today, you know, to stand as a leader, to stand as a number one global marketing thought leader. And that, uh, you know, I have reinvested every penny in my growth. You know, and uh, of course, if you reinvest wisely in self-education, if you look to your laurels and if you choose optimism, you know, because you have to become a long-term thinker, because so many people around us are so short-term thinkers and medium-term thinkers, so we need to become long-term thinkers.

Speaker 3: 27:10

You know, we need to think not only what will happen in five or ten months. We need to keep in mind what will happen in five and ten years. You know, so, what your daily effort will bring uh, where your daily effort will bring you in next five years, ten years, you know. So it's very important to bear in mind to choose to be uh, to be selective in your world, to keep your bar high, and uh, to push self-education. And, of course, you know it is the easiest time in the history of mankind, just just to uh be successful. You know. So you have to, you need to put your best foot forward. You need to uh show to be as regular as clockwork every single day and, uh, you know, day in and day out, we can week out and mass in and month in and month out. I'm sure that your hard work will win and action always wins. You know action, everyone needs to take action.

Speaker 1: 28:08

Well, thank you very much for that. And if people want to reach out to you, they want to hear more or know more about you. How might they do that?

Speaker 3: 28:17

People can check out my website at aladimandibotswaticom, where they can read my magazine interviews. They can explore my services, such as consulting, speaking, teaching, mentoring, coaching. Also, they can visit my website, visit my speaking page, where they can discover and learn more about my most requested keynote topics. They can download my brochure. They can also watch my videos. You know so. My website is a goldmine of information if brands want to stay competitive and to learn something useful from the world's number one global marketing thought leader, so they can also follow me on Twitter at Vlado Botswazi. Also connect with me on LinkedIn. Also follow me on Instagram at Vladimir Botswazi. You know so. I always look forward to connecting with people and working on win-win projects. Know, win-win partnerships perfect.

Speaker 1: 29:24

Thank you very much for that and, as always, links to all of those opportunities will be inside the show notes. Vlad, this has been a vladimir pardon has been such a fantastic conversation. I've really enjoyed speaking with you and I'm hoping to be able we. I'm hoping that we can talk some more in the future. Thank you very much.

Speaker 3: 29:42

Of course, Thank you for this opportunity and, of course, you are a fantastic person. Thanks so much for for this invitation, for allowing me to share my global experience and knowledge with your listeners, and I'm sure that you know I I started my whole journey as a side hustle and I was just working from 7 pm to 2 am, so I turned my side hustle into a profitable business that built my thought leadership, built my authority, inspired me to build my website and to build my presence across other social media channels, and it's all about networking these days, because through networking, you can become anything. You can make your dreams come true and take your success to the next level. You know.

Speaker 1: 30:28

Yeah, I completely agree with that. Hard work you can get where you need to go. Well, thank you so much, and thank you very much for staying up later there it's 11 am or 1030 am here and that makes it what 6 30 pm there. So thank you very much for your time and we'll talk soon. Take care.

Speaker 3: 30:48

I fully appreciate it. It was a pleasure.

Speaker 1: 30:50

We heard it from Vlad that thought leadership is someone who lives in the future, Connecting the team's expertise and perspectives to help the entire team be as successful as they can be. Thanks for tuning in and remember leadership without passion limits the depth of your vision.

Speaker 2: 31:06

Never miss an episode by following us on all of your favorite feeds. While you're there, please consider leaving an episode review and let us know what topics you would like to hear about. And let us know what topics you would like to hear about. Be sure to join us next week with your host, Simon Cardinal, for another episode of Trench Leadership, a podcast from the front Produced by iGland Studios Music provided by Ashamal of Music.