6 Thought Leadership Topics Trending in 2024 [Ideas + Examples]

By Intelligent Relations Team

October 11, 2023

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In the world of thought leadership, high-quality content is king. 

Each week, 54% of decision-makers say they allocate an hour to consuming thought leadership content. But the majority of those same decision-makers claim that more than half of that content falls flat in terms of valuable insights. 

Something is lacking. What’s missing? What makes thought leadership content valuable? 

The problem is seated in content derived from thought leadership topics that are deficient in originality and a fresh perspective. If you’re just reiterating on well-covered territory, your content will come off as bland. It will blend into the background of other mediocre marketing efforts.  

Valuable, insightful thought leadership content, on the other hand, is bold and backed by research. But it begins as a compelling and relevant thought leadership topic.

How do you find strong, relevant thought leadership ideas? 

Research. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the current top trending thought leadership topics. But it’s still up to you to put an original, fresh spin on them. 

Here are 6 thought leadership topics trending in 2024 to spark discussions, drive conversations, and spur on innovation: 

1. Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) 
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning  
3. Remote Work and the Future of Work 
4. Health and Wellness 
5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
6. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

In this comprehensive overview of thought leadership topics, we’ll also cover: 

• What is a Thought Leadership Topic? 
• 6 Thought Leadership Topics Trending in 2024
• 7 Tips to Generate Thought Leadership Ideas

What is a Thought Leadership Topic?

A thought leadership topic is the subject or area of expertise that forms the foundation of your thought leadership endeavors. At its core, thought leadership is the ability to influence, inspire, and shape the conversation within your niche. Selecting a good thought leadership topic can help you do that.

But what makes a good thought leadership topic?

Characteristics of Good Thought Leadership Topics

The key characteristics of good thought leadership topics are PURE:

Passion

• Your passion for the topic should shine through in your content and discussions. Authenticity is key to successful thought leadership.

Let’s look at Carols, a nutritionist and tech startup founder. Carlos runs a US-based diet and nutrition monitoring app, Health4All. The app seeks to encourage health-conscious dietary practices and promote nutrition, particularly in food-insecure communities. 

He’s experienced food insecurity firsthand, so he’s passionate about his mission. 

Carlos has been considering thought leadership for some time. He not only wants to identify thought leadership topics he can talk about, but also wants to find a social responsibility initiative for his company. So, he knows he needs to find something that sparks his passion.

Naturally, Carlos was devastated when the global food crisis was exacerbated by an onion shortage earlier this year. Onions are a crucial, antioxidant-rich ingredient in many common dishes worldwide. Carlos knows right away that he can channel his devastation into passion. 

Uniqueness

• To stand out as a thought leader, your topic should have a unique angle or perspective. Avoid rehashing well-trodden ideas; instead, bring something fresh to the table.

Carlos settles on the onion shortage as a unique talking point within the larger conversation of food insecurity and nutrition. He notices that not many people in the industry are talking about it since it’s not happening close to home yet. 

But as far as thought leadership topics go, Carlos knows that he must also come up with a great angle if he’s going to be heard. He knows he needs to draw on his vast nutrition knowledge, but also come up with some truly innovative insights to spark conversations and inspire solutions. 

Relevance

• A thought leadership topic should be pertinent to your industry or niche. It should address current issues, trends, or challenges that your audience cares about.

The thought leadership topics Carlos chose to touch on initially centered around nutrition and the onion shortage, and then he decided to branch out to larger issues affecting food insecurity — climate change, sustainability, supply chains, etc. 

Expertise

• You should have deep knowledge and expertise in your chosen topic. This is crucial for gaining credibility and trust among your audience.

While Carlos predominantly relied on his own experiences and niche of expertise, he knew he could benefit from other subject matter experts (SMEs) within his company. He also reached out to experts in related fields to maximize the value of his thought leadership topics and content. 

We’ll learn more about Carlos in a later section, and how he generated ideas for thought leadership topics that influenced his thought leadership strategies and set him on a path of education, content creation, and true thought leadership. 

Pro Tip: Use these characteristics to pinpoint potential thought leadership topics that will form the foundation from which you build a solid thought leadership strategy. 

Learn more about thought leadership strategy here: Thought Leadership Strategy: 14 Steps to Balancing Authority and Authenticity (+ Examples)

6 Thought Leadership Topics Trending in 2024

When it comes to thought leadership topics, keeping your finger on the pulse of contemporary global concerns and trends is paramount. 

What do people care about right now? And how does that affect your industry? 

By understanding the most important issues businesses and audiences are facing today, you can delve into the most relevant, trending thought leadership topics for your brand and offer your unique perspective. 

Here are six thought leadership topics trending in 2024:

1. Sustainability and ESG

As climate change and social responsibility continue to dominate global conversations, thought leaders are focusing on sustainability and ESG practices. 

To get a better insight, consider that 76% of US employees prioritize sustainability in the workplace while half of consumers are willing to pay higher prices for sustainable goods.

Deeper thought leadership topics within this domain center on: 

• Carbon Neutrality: Although 34% of the world’s biggest companies are pledged to net-zero goals by 2050, almost all will fail if the speed of emissions reduction isn’t doubled in the next seven years.

• Circular Economies: Moreover, models for production and consumption continue to evolve as waste reduction factors into the sustainability discussion. 

• Ethical Investing: According to the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing’s 2023 Sustainable Reality report, sustainable funds outperformed traditional funds in the first half of 2024 by a margin of 3.1%.

The data from these subsets express sustainability and ESG as thought leadership topics that not only influence employees and consumers, but signify an overall shift in business practices. 

2. AI and Machine Learning

With AI becoming increasingly integrated into our lives, thought leaders are exploring its impact on various industries, ethics, and the future. 

Subtopics include: 

• AI in Healthcare: Already, 94% of healthcare companies use some form of AI/ML. Budgets for these technologies are set to increase next year to nearly double what they were in 2022. 

• AI-driven Automation: Based on a Deloitte survey of 2,620 global business leaders, 94% of respondents think AI is vital to achieving goals. Plus, there was a 15% increase in the full deployment of three or more kinds of AI in the last two years. 

• The Ethical Implications of AI: As AI integration increases, so do concerns surrounding AI ethics. Microsoft breaks these implications down into eight ethical issues from transparency and privacy to job loss and more.  

As public fears over AI wane, thought leadership topics have shifted from “should we do this” to “how do we do this ethically” — signifying AI/ML as an inevitability. It’s a topic that will only gain steam in the coming years.  

3. Remote Work and the Future of Work 

The pandemic has reshaped the way we work, making remote work a prominent thought leadership topic. 

According to Zippia research, 27% of US workers are now remote and over 36 million Americans will be remote in the next two years. 

Experts are discussing things like: 

• Hybrid Work Models: With more than half of Americans working some sort of remote-hybrid schedule, this thought leadership topic has experts broaching issues related to employee experience and optimizing hybrid workflows.

• Digital Nomadism: There is currently a total of 35 million digital nomads worldwide — over 23 million are based in the US. While the total number is expected to grow, there will likely be percentage shifts in full-time workers, freelancers, and business owners.  

• Mental Health Challenges of Remote Work: Though remote work has proven to be tremendously beneficial in terms of work-life balance, it can also present some mental health challenges. For example, parents are facing increasing  mental challenges as they balance childcare with work. Plus, some find remote work isolating.

Remote work is the future of work. As thought leaders continue to predict and develop methods of fine-tuning hybrid and fully remote operations, this is one of the thought leadership topics that will continue to trend.  

4. Health and Wellness

The pandemic also underscored the importance of health and wellness. It highlighted important hygienic practices that have carried over to the post-pandemic period as well as the growing concerns over mental health and general well-being. 

Earlier this year, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HMISS) hosted the sixth annual thought leadership event in their Thought Leaders series.

The free virtual event featured two days of keynote speakers and a panel discussion to address key issues in the fields of healthcare, mental health, public health, and education.   

Through the broader thought leadership topics of health and wellness, thought leaders are able to spotlight potential strategies and solutions for: 

• Mental Health: What was once a taboo or shied-away-from subject is now at the forefront of many health and wellness discussions. There are smartphone applications devoted to therapy and the importance of mental health help availability. 

• Holistic Well-being: Total well-being requires support that goes beyond mental health needs. Companies are increasingly looking at employee well-being from a human resources perspective and adopting holistic wellness models to benefit their workforce. 

• The Intersection of Technology and Healthcare: Clinician burnout is an often overlooked issue in healthcare, but it is being talked about more as AI-integrated solutions arise to provide a positive measurable point-of-care impact. 

If you’re looking to throw your two cents in on this thought leadership topic, there are plenty of health and wellness thought leadership events to keep you informed. Just identify any gaps or pain points in the plethora of sub topics and you’ll be able to provide an expert hot take that your industry will notice. 

5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion has gained significant traction in recent years. 

One reason is that studies show that DEI boosts business performance. People Management — the UK’s largest HR publication — has drawn a direct correlation between diverse teams and better decision making. And when it comes to capturing new markets, the Harvard Business Review reports that diverse companies are 70% more likely to do so. 

Thought leaders are exploring and mining DEI for thought leadership topics and strategies for: 

• Inclusive Workplaces: As thought leader Gena Cox notes in part 2(a) of her LinkedIn workplace inclusion observations series, inclusion remains a strong topic of interest for most Americans, and academic institutions are incorporating DEI into curricula.

• Combating Bias:  As companies move away from implicit bias training, it’s falling more on the individual to challenge their own thinking. Thought leaders are encouraging self-assessments of unconscious biases. Now, more people feel comfortable talking about bias in the workplace than ever, driving progress and healthy conversations.

• Advancing Social Justice: According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), greater social justice is needed globally. It highlights international opportunities to increase human-centered and rights-based strategies. 

Because DEI values are prized by workers and businesses alike, it will remain an imperative thought leadership topic as the world turns toward a more equitable future. 

6. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

CSR encapsulates all of the aforementioned thought leadership topics. It’s more obvious with sustainability and ESG, but to truly be accountable to the public, stakeholders, and themselves, companies must take all of these topics into consideration. 

Companies’ contributions to and enhancements of society are now top priorities for consumers, workers, and investors. 

• More than half of consumers worldwide factor a company’s CSR into their purchasing decisions. 

• Over 80% of workers would quit their jobs if their company acted in a socially irresponsible way. 

• Nearly 80% of investors rate CSR as a key evaluation factor. 

• More than 60% of CEOs place CSR at the center of their business strategy. 

Pro Tip: By examining these thought leadership topics, identifying audience pain points and market gaps, and carving out a niche of expertise, you can inform your thought leadership marketing strategy and generate the most impactful content to shape your industry.  

For more on thought leadership marketing, check out our article: Unlocking the Power of Thought Leadership Marketing (Benefits + Best Practices)

7 Tips to Generate Thought Leadership Ideas

Coming up with compelling thought leadership ideas requires creativity, a deep understanding of your audience, and a strategic mindset. Here are seven tips to help you generate thought leadership ideas and inform your choice of thought leadership topics:

1. Identify Your Expertise

• Reflect on your strengths, skills, and experiences. What areas are you most knowledgeable about? Where do you excel?

• The thought leadership topic you choose should align with your expertise, ensuring authenticity and credibility.

Remember Carlos? 

Well, he knew that his nutrition and tech knowledge was where he excelled. So, he decided to use it to make some serious strides specifically in the world of onions. 

He started by framing his choice of topic in nutritional terms, pulling in the larger thought leadership topics of sustainability, social justice, and health and wellness. All major topics people care about today. 

His main idea – as climate change continues to impact food supplies, it will impact health and wellness. It’s not enough to meet the minimum necessary caloric intake needed per day. It’s also important to have a variety of the right food, especially vegetables.

Yet, Carlos understood that this idea wasn’t enough to create compelling thought leadership.  He knew it was also important to hone in on relevant subtopics.

Carlos decided to look into tech solutions to see if there were any emerging tech trends that could help provide a solution to these problems.

2. Analyze Trends and Industry Challenges

• Stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and challenges your audience face. Ideas for thought leadership topics can come from niche, industry conversations just as well as larger, general conversations.

• Identify gaps in current discussions or areas where you can provide unique insights.

Carlos started to look into trends in tech and farming. Smaller, community farms were emerging. The idea of combining old succession farming methods with modern smart farming technologies was catching on. So, he started researching vertical farming and new LED strategies.

This provided him with some great ideas for thought leadership topics. He could already visualize the exciting, promising solutions with the potential to solve the onion shortage and curb food insecurity. 

3. Leverage Your Network

• Engage with peers, colleagues, and industry experts to discuss topics of interest and gather their perspectives.

• Networking can lead to valuable ideas and collaborations.

Recognizing the need for broader brainstorming sessions, Carlos created a biweekly virtual roundtable. It started with subject matter experts (SMEs) within his own company. Then he extended invitations to the horticulture and engineering departments at the local university. 

This free-fire idea zone was a fun and casual environment where Carlos could glean insightful information while collaborating on new thought leadership topics and spitballing potential thought leadership strategies. 

4. Listen to Your Audience

• Pay attention to questions, comments, and concerns from your audience on social media, blogs, or in person.

• Address their needs by creating content that provides solutions or answers their questions.

Using his virtual roundtable as a jumping off point, Carlos decided to expand. He created and joined several social media groups pertaining to his thought leadership topics. 

He dedicates an hour daily to posting new information and replying to comments. He also shares clips with his audience that highlight the most insightful conversations from recorded roundtable discussions — always welcoming feedback. 

5. Experiment with Content Formats

• Thought leadership isn’t limited to written articles. Consider creating videos, podcasts, webinars, or infographics.

• Different formats can attract diverse audiences and showcase your expertise in unique ways that allow you to present thought leadership topics in a new light.

While the virtual roundtable and social media engagement strategies have yielded positive results, Carlos decided to expand his reach even further. 

He plans to parlay an old keynote speaking experience into a podcast tour, a series of bylines, and larger pieces of LinkedIn content. 

6. Challenge Assumptions

• Don’t be afraid to question conventional wisdom or challenge industry norms.

• Thought leadership often emerges from the willingness to explore unconventional ideas.

When it was assumed that the onion shortage was a clear signifier of a worsening food crisis, Carlos peeled back the layers of conventional wisdom and searched for solutions. 

He noticed that while people understood that there was a food crisis, they didn’t care as much about it as things that  hit closer to home. Who cares about a food shortage happening halfway around the world? 

He decided to play on various cognitive biases to make the issue feel more relevant, personal, and urgent to his audience. By challenging cognitive bias norms, he found he could trigger a more emotional response in his audience.

7. Stay Curious and Learn Continuously

• Thought leaders are lifelong learners. Dedicate time to research and expand your knowledge base.

• Seek inspiration from various sources, including books, courses, and TED Talks.

First, Carlos extended his roundtable invitations to include SMEs all over the world.

He now regularly attends conferences on the future of farming, and incorporates what he learns into his keynote speaking engagements and podcast appearances. His company, Health4All, regularly donates to nonprofits related to food insecurity and community farming. 

What started as a search for ideas and thought leadership topics took Carlos on a journey far beyond a nutrition monitoring application. His efforts and insights have solidified him as a thought leader on food insecurity and the future of farming.

Conclusion

Thought leadership is a dynamic and evolving practice that requires continuous innovation and adaptability. Having solid thought leadership ideas serves as the foundation of your influence and expertise. That’s why staying up-to-date with trending thought leadership topics is essential to remain relevant.

In 2024, thought leaders are gravitating towards subjects such as sustainability, AI, remote work, diversity and inclusion, and mental health. By identifying your expertise, analyzing industry trends, and listening to your audience, you can generate thought leadership ideas that resonate and inspire.

In this era of information abundance, becoming a thought leader is not just about sharing knowledge — it’s about trailblazing the future of your industry. 

So, take the first step, identify your thought leadership topic, and embark on an adventure of influence, inspiration, and impact!

Still not sure which thought leadership topics will work best for you? Let us help! Simply book a free consultation with us to get expert insight into which topics will work best for you and your brand.