An Interview With Dina Aletras
Be generous, with your ideas, thoughts, experience, and energy. Thought leadership is a conversation. It dies in isolation. It must be a dialogue, and it must be shared consistently. This is how subject matter experts become thought leaders, and how you build trust. Thought leaders can share their insights, predictions, and innovative ideas through various platforms such as speaking engagements, publications, social media, industry events, books, conversations with prospects, employees, consultants, and peers, case studies, white papers, blogs, and more.
As part of our series about how to become known as a thought leader in your industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Klee.
Ryan is a true believer in the power of authentic connections, strategic storytelling, curiosity, and mutually beneficial collaborations. After honing his PR, marketing, business strategy and development skills over nearly 15 years at some of Atlanta’s best marketing agencies, and the world’s leading online boating marketplace, this constantly curious, challenge-seeking, lifelong lover of learning, words, and stories embarked on his entrepreneurial career. Ryan’s extroverted nature, communications skills, natural inclination for collaboration, and desire to impact others and do good work in the world melded into the perfect combination as a thought leadership consultant helping entrepreneurs, founders, leaders, businesses, and organizations grow their brands and scale their businesses.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! Our readers are eager to learn more about you. Could you provide some background information about yourself?
Of course. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story with your readers. My name is Ryan Klee and I’m the co-founder of Rootstock, a thought leadership consulting firm. We work with company founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and other ambitious leaders to grow their brands and scale their businesses by tapping into the potential of their best thinking, honing their stories, and sharing them with the right expanded audiences.
I graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a degree in Telecommunications Production, and then jumped into the marketing agency world in Atlanta. I spent a decade at that first agency, where I eventually showed a knack for public relations work and became the PR Manager, then PR Director, and built up the fledgling PR Department. We worked heavily in media relations, communications, events, and media buying for large healthcare organizations, big non-profits, and big events.
As much as I loved that work, I felt there was more out there for me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, but I know I needed something else. I had a best friend that was doing digital ad and content sales in the yachting industry with the online marketplace industry leader. He enjoyed it, made good money, and worked from home. They had an opening, I interviewed, and got the job.
During this time, I learned a couple key things about myself: I don’t like linear, transactional sales, and I’m not a quota-driven sales guy. Also, that relationships are important (even in that transactional world) and I’m a natural relationship-builder and connector.
After a couple years there, I was recruited as a Business Development Director and Senior Account Director for another marketing agency that focused on the outdoor/lifestyle industry. I was so unhappy at the sales job that I took a notable pay cut and committed to a long drive just so I could get back in the creative agency world. Though I enjoyed the work we did, it became clear pretty quickly that I wouldn’t be there very long. This is when I started getting the entrepreneurial itch, and began seriously contemplating striking out on my own. So Ryno Media (my first company) was born, and I went full time solo in October 2017. From there, I began picking up more work and collaborating more frequently with a good friend who had his own narrative agency. Eventually, we realized we had a solid thing going and should give it a proper name. We merged our two agencies and formed Rootstock, where we would focus on thought leadership, which made perfect sense for our combined skillsets. It was also a path I had started down years earlier but didn’t realize it at the time, when at the last agency I had drafted a thought leadership initiative in the form of a sample business development plan.
What establishes you as an authority on thought leadership? Could you briefly share your expertise with our readers?
Rootstock’s entire mission is to build thought leadership for leaders. Through positioning, messaging, strategy, and execution, our work cultivates professional, personal, and brand growth for smart leaders who have bold visions and ambitions for themselves and their organizations.
Rootstock’s approach to thought leadership storytelling was created by people who understand the power of storytelling and how it can impact business. My former co-founder, Tom Bell, is a former journalist who loves asking questions and having deep conversations. Our current Editor and Chief of Staff, Terra McVoy is an award-winning, eight-time published author who is an incredible writer and storyteller, and is also one of those rare unicorns that can use both sides of her brain with equal ferocity. She not only creates captivating content, but also built the systems and processes that power our work. Combine all of that with my PR, comms, media relations, strategy, and business development background, and we built an agency that can help all kinds of ambitious, visionary leaders grow their brands and scale their businesses through our thought leadership storytelling approach.
As a fully remote, small by design team, we pull in other creatives and specialists as projects need. This includes other writers, strategists, designers, videographers, email marketers, and more, so that we are positioned to best serve our clients and provide first-class work.
Can you recall a funny mistake you made when you were first starting out? What lesson did you learn from it?
Not necessarily a mistake, but a realization I had this year about my path towards being a thought leadership consultant. As I mentioned earlier, the last agency I was at before striking out on my own asked me to submit a sample business development plan during the hiring process to show them how I’d approach biz dev. Without realizing it, I drafted an early iteration of a thought leadership initiative, a strategic, holistic plan aimed at long-term, sustainable growth that included things like getting the agency partners more visible via speaking engagements and editorial, sponsoring and attending events, getting more focused on our positioning and messaging to show off why we were different and better, cranking up the high-value content via social media, a newsletter, case studies, blogs, etc., building the right kinds of partnerships, and basically checking all the boxes in the key areas I’d build future work around: Strategy & Story, Conversations & Content, and Connections & Clout.
My natural thinking put me ahead of the thought leadership curve, creating a vision of how companies and leaders should approach growth. I recently found the old document I submitted to that agency, and it blew my mind to see how, even back then, I was already thinking a certain way about approaching business and leadership growth.
What are the most significant disruptions you foresee in your industry over the next five years, and how can businesses adapt to these changes?
It’ll sound cliché, but AI is one of the biggest threats. That, along with short attention spans, a non-stop firehose of content, and general lack of trust at being sold or marketed to.
We like to counter AI with what we call AHI — Authentic Human Intelligence. This means leading with your best thinking: Know your first principles. Build your thought leadership position. Build your brand narrative. Sound and look better than your competitors. Be visible to your target audiences/Ideal Customer Profiles. Build trust and clout. Use AI as a tool to assist in all of this, but with the knowledge that AI lacks the ability to capture the nuances of your brand’s story, your vision, or the passions that drive your business.
Can you explain the benefits of becoming a thought leader? Why is it valuable to invest time and resources into this?
We believe the power of ideas can make us, the people we serve, and the world better — while also positively impacting the bottom line, growing a brand, and building success for everyone. Deep thinking yields abundance. A leader’s thinking can organically grow their platform, industry status, and brand — helping them stand out in a world of increasing automation, excess, and anonymity. Not for fluff or ego, but for true ROI. The discipline of thought leadership also transforms you into a person with deeper self-understanding and genuine empathy: an actual leader who can guide us all toward a kinder, sustainable, more abundant future.
You do this by strategically sharing your thought leadership position through an ecosystem of conversations, content, connections, and clout. And by working with people who not only believe in the power of stories and ideas, but who are willing and eager to think, question, and deepen both their understanding and yours through authentic, respectful dialogue together.
THE VALUE OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Opening a conversation & vetting potential clients
It’s easier to generate warm, inbound leads from people who are already impressed by your thinking, whether they’re commenting on an opinion piece you publish, striking up a conversation after a presentation you give, or asking you to sign their copy of your book.
When you write and speak clearly and boldly about your most important values and beliefs, if prospective clients aren’t well aligned, you’ll both discover that early — saving wasted time and unnecessary stress for both parties
Nurturing a sales lead & guiding a prospective customer or client
If a prospect is interested but not yet sure you can deliver, send them your thought leadership piece on a topic relevant to their needs, reassuring them of your thoughtful expertise while furthering the conversation.
Your thought leadership can help bridge the gap between what clients say they want and what you know they actually need — helping them achieve their goals and become satisfied customers.
Closing a deal & supporting a successful client relationship or project
When included with a final proposal or contract, your thought leadership pieces will help demonstrate why you are the one right person to lead this project. Use your thought leadership content to further educate your clients about what will lead to their success.
Keeping the conversation going
Thought leadership can help you connect more deeply with a past client or customer who may need you again, or one who may refer you to someone in their network.
Can you share an example of a significant challenge you faced in your career and how you leveraged innovative thinking to overcome it?
Like a lot of young companies, we initially grew by referrals and word of mouth, experiencing early sustained success. Also like a lot of young companies, we weren’t actively selling or filling our pipeline as much as we should have (something I swore I would never let happen…). As a result, 2023 was a tough year for us. Personal trauma in my life and my co-founder’s consumed us both for a good part of the year. Then, over a three week stretch in November, we unexpectedly lost two of our big anchor clients. All of a sudden, we’re thrust into chaos and realized we need to bring in more business ASAP.
This was a big lesson for us to learn and one that made us better as a company. We expanded and refined our offerings to more clearly meet new client needs, and our pipeline has never been fuller.
Now that we have covered that, we’d love to hear your advice on becoming a thought leader. Can you share five strategies that someone should follow to gain recognition as a thought leader in their industry? Please include examples or stories from your own experience for each strategy.
1 . Articulate your thought leadership position.
A thought leadership position is a unique thesis about how an entire field can do better as it rises to meet present and future challenges and opportunities. It is strategically chosen to support the goals of the thought leader, then shared freely with all relevant stakeholders in order to start, advance, and nurture important conversations that lead everyone toward a better way.
Having good ideas alone won’t help you meet your growth goals. Developing, crafting, and sharing your thought leadership position with strategic vision and discipline is required to elevate your industry status and grow your brand.
When we conduct our thought leadership position workshops with clients, there are so many moments where you can see the lightbulbs going off in their head, the dots connecting, the clarity emerging. These are super smart people who just needed some help to unearth and articulate their best thinking and overcome strategic barriers. During those sessions, we’ve been compared to therapists, had clients say, “Ah, I see what’s happening…,” and have borne witness to a client’s strategic shift in the focus of her business in real time.
2 . Create a thought leadership strategy and ecosystem that supports your growth goals.
We build clients’ thought leadership ecosystems around three key areas: Strategy & Story, Conversations & Content, and Connections & Clout. The strategy and story sections help you figure out what target audiences and ideal customer profiles you want to get in front of and how you’re going to talk to them (based on your thought leadership position and your company’s brand narrative guide). From here you can create the kinds of content that those buyers and decision makers need, which will help generate more conversations and connections, all adding up to more clout and opening more doors.
This all looks different for each client, but we’ve helped clients build their ecosystem through tactics such as paid and unpaid speaking gigs, contributed editorial, LinkedIn content, podcasts (both being on them and creating their own), videos, hosting events, case studies, awards, blogs, newsletters, connections, and relationship building.
3 . Be consistent.
Becoming a thought leader is a responsibility and a commitment that requires an investment of time, resources, and energy. It’s not something that happens overnight. It takes consistency and confidence, but progressively this practice creates a dedicated group of fans and followers to help thought leaders replicate and scale their ideas into impactful change that moves everyone involved towards that better way.
We had a fast-growing, founder-led software consulting client that believed there was a better way to build good software than the current practices. We repeatedly and consistently told that story in various ways through various channels, spreading the founder’s thought leadership messaging through case studies, podcast appearances, his own video podcast, his personal LinkedIn, and contributing editorial to industry publications. The media organization liked his position and writing so much that they asked him to contribute to another publication in their portfolio. Then, he was asked to be a co-host on one of their main YouTube news shows and was invited onto their main YouTube show that interviewed high-level CIOs. During the first three years of our engagement with them, the company tripled in both size and revenue. All of this came about from being consistent (and of course having good intel and opinions to share).
4 . Be curious.
Thought leaders need to be curious, to be able to connect the dots between different trends and ideas, and offer a holistic perspective. They aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo, because they believe there’s a better way. They are seen as visionary and forward-thinking, often setting trends and inspiring others with their innovative thinking. Curiosity is paramount.
This led to a previous client, who had laughed at the prospect of ever writing a book, writing and publishing a bestselling book. We were working with a tech-forward branding agency when the pandemic hit. Previous to the pandemic, his agency was growing with clients, and employees. Following traditional agency thinking, he always thought, “bigger is better.” So, you hire the junior person, then another one, because the office needs to look full and sounding big will impress clients, right? When the pandemic hit, this thinking was thrown right out the window. Seeing where we were all likely headed when it came to virtual work, he began wondering, “What does the future of an agency look like?” He realized they could be small, by design, but just as impactful. After a year of conversations and exploration, we worked with him to publish his book, Small By Design, in May of 2022.
5 . Be generous, with your ideas, thoughts, experience, and energy.
Thought leadership is a conversation. It dies in isolation. It must be a dialogue, and it must be shared consistently. This is how subject matter experts become thought leaders, and how you build trust. Thought leaders can share their insights, predictions, and innovative ideas through various platforms such as speaking engagements, publications, social media, industry events, books, conversations with prospects, employees, consultants, and peers, case studies, white papers, blogs, and more.
I love events and conferences and believe in the power of them to share your thinking, build connections, and generate leads. Whether in person or virtually, It’s energizing to watch people’s faces light up when a client is presenting because something they just said resonated, or helped them see something in a different light.
How do you foster a culture of innovation within your organization, and what practices have you found most effective in encouraging creative thinking among your team?
I always try to surround myself with people that are smarter than me, that bring different perspectives, skillsets, ideas, and opinions. Our team is just that. We treat each other like humans, and are respectful, inquisitive, and collaborative. And we have fun!
Who do you think is an outstanding example of a thought leader? What specific qualities impress you about this person?
There are so many out there. Some of my favorites are Adam Grant, Shane Parrish, Neri Oxman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Killer Mike, John Lewis, Rich Roll, and Malala Yousafzai, to name a few. They’re all excellent storytellers, are passionate and generous in the sharing of their position, and believe there’s a better way in their respective fields and communities.
How do you stay informed about the latest trends and developments in your field, and how do you incorporate this knowledge into your strategic planning?
I always joke that I receive too many email newsletters. But I do it for both myself and our clients, so I always have fresh thinking and ideas to bring for us to consider. I’m also very active on LinkedIn, trying to learn from all the smart folks in my network and others in their networks.
Some people feel that the term “thought leader” is overused and has lost its impact. What are your thoughts on this?
I can see that. I feel the same way about the term “influencer.” To combat this and ensure people know where we’re coming from, we created our own definition of “thought leader” which is built around somebody elevating their entire field with their thinking:
Thought leaders are visionary thinkers with a unique perspective on present and future challenges and opportunities in their field.
They develop and articulate noteworthy and well-grounded arguments for how their field can respond to these challenges and opportunities to do better than the established best practices of today.
And they share their innovative insights and compelling questions with all stakeholders in order to start, nurture, and advance conversations that lead all concerned toward a better way.
How do you balance short-term business goals with long-term strategic vision, especially in a rapidly changing market?
No matter our circumstances, we always strive to come from a place of abundance rather than scarcity. This mindset allows us to balance those two things by not chasing clients who don’t value our work, or letting clients go who are no longer a good fit. It may sting in the short-term, but it’s best for us in the long-term.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? How has it been relevant in your life?
Oh wow, there are so many that come to mind! I’d like to share two:
- “You don’t know if you don’t ask.” — My mom
- You can’t assume people know what you want or need. I learned to not be afraid to ask for things in my business and personal life.
- “Perception is reality.” — A former agency owner friend and boss
- A great reminder that not everyone sees things the same way. Everyone’s own perception creates their own reality.
Many influential figures in business and entertainment follow this column. Is there someone you’d love to have lunch or breakfast with? They might notice if we tag them.
I’d love to hang with Stanley Tucci! Especially if I got to tag along with him in Italy. I loved his show, “Searching for Italy,” and was bummed when it got canceled. Eating, drinking, and chatting with him would be amazing. He’s a masterful storyteller and you can tell he revels in experiences, which I would love to accompany him on.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-klee/.
You can also find Rootstock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rootstockagency/.
You can learn more about Rootstock, and sign up for our quarterly newsletter, on our website — https://rootstock.agency/.
Thank you so much for your insights. This was very insightful and meaningful.
About the Interviewer: Dina Aletras boasts over 20 years of expertise in the corporate media industry. She possesses an in-depth understanding of growth, strategy, and leadership, having held significant roles at some of the UK’s largest media organizations. At Reach PLC, the UK’s largest tabloid publisher, she served in various director capacities. Additionally, she held leadership roles at The Independent Magazine Group and DMGT. Her extensive knowledge spans editorial, digital, revenue, sales, and advertising.
Upon relocating to Switzerland, Dina took on the responsibility of managing and promoting the international section of Corriere del Ticino — CdT.ch pioneering the English page “onthespot.” She also was the Co-Editor of Southern Switzerland’s first official Italian and English bilingual magazine.
Ryan Klee of Rootstock: 5 Things You Should Do To Become a Thought Leader In Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.