From Opinions to Thought Leadership: How to Turn Your Experiences Into Positioning. A simple guide for STEM professionals
Why you already have insight worth sharing — and how it can transform how opportunities find you
This is part 3 of the series on Why thought leadership matters and why STEM professionals, scientists, consultants, entrepreneurs, academics and alike should start today.
We may share the same degree, the same job title, or even the same broad opinions — yet we often see the world differently. That difference is not random. It’s your uniqueness.
When you learn to pinpoint how your experiences have shaped your opinions, you unlock the ability to position yourself more sharply. And by positioning, I don’t mean marketing spin. I mean aligning closer to your authentic self — and helping others see exactly what you bring to the table.
This is what author Nilofer Merchant calls the power of Onlyness: the unique spot in the world only you stand in, formed by your history, your experiences, and your perspective.
This article is part of my Thought Leadership series — not the TED Talk kind, but the kind that helps people see you for what you actually stand for, and invite you into the right work.
Also read:
Part 1 — Why Thought Leadership Isn’t Just for TED Speakers
Part 2 — Start your Thought Leadership journey with Clarity
Why Read This
If you’re a STEM professional looking to reinvent your career and design work that truly matters to you, you need to get clear on what truly matters to you and then speak about it confidently.
This article will help you:
Understand why your opinions are shaped by your unique lived experiences.
Learn a 3-step framework to turn those opinions into sharp positioning.
See real-world examples of how professionals and leaders have done this.
Apply the framework yourself with a short reflective exercise.
By the end, you’ll know how to stop blending in — and start standing out as a thought leader in your field.
“Thought Leadership is not self-promotion.
It is value, offered with clarity and intention.
It can shape how opportunities find you”
So how do you actually do this?
Most people aren’t too familiar with introspection but looking at the strong beliefs you hold is an invaluable clue into defining what makes you unique and position yourself with authenticity.
Authenticity combined with value makes you memorable and that’s how opportunities start finding you.
A 3-Step Framework for STEM Career Positioning
Notice your opinion.
What belief do you hold strongly about how things should be done?Understand how your experiences shaped it.
Where does this belief come from? What lived examples made it real for you?Turn it into sharp positioning.
How does this belief shape the way you work, lead, or contribute?
Let’s work through a few examples to help you see how this works.
STEM Career Example: Don’t Give People Tasks, Give Them Jobs
Opinion:
If you give people only fragmented tasks instead of ownership of the full job, they become demotivated and do poorer work.
Experience that shaped it:
Early in his career in construction in the Netherlands, he saw workers thrive when they were given ownership of their tools ( as opposed to shared tools) and job sites. They cared deeply, protected resources, and delivered great results without micromanagement.
Later, in Australia’s financial services, he saw the opposite: highly educated professionals reduced to “task monkeys,” disengaged and unproductive.
The stark contrast crystallized his belief: ownership, not education or job title, is what drives motivation.
Positioning:
“When I lead projects, even whith existing initiatives, I transform fragmented task structures into self-managed teams. I help people see the end goal, not just their slice of the work. That eliminates silos, raises morale, and produces better results.”
STEM & Health Thought Leadership Example: Why Health Is Not an Individual Choice
Opinion:
Health is not just an individual decision. It is shaped by complex societal factors. Poor health outcomes are not a sign of weak character or bad choices — they are often the result of lack of access and support.
Experience that shaped it:
My disabled sister showed me how being born with different health conditions drastically limits opportunities.
My father, too poor to afford safer work, endured harsh conditions that left him almost deaf.
Later, through my work in clinical trials, I saw how access to medicine (or the lack of it) determines life chances.
Together, these experiences taught me that health inequities are not personal failings, but systemic gaps.
Positioning:
“I work in clinical trials because I believe access to medicine should not be dictated by where you’re born or how much money you have. By bringing medicines to patients sooner, I contribute to reducing the gap between those who can and those who cannot access life-saving treatments.”
Example from “The Power of Onlyness” : Hollywood’s Black List
Opinion:
The best ideas don’t always come from the top — and industries suffer when gatekeepers control which voices are heard.
Experience that shaped it:
Franklin Leonard, a young development executive in Hollywood, became frustrated by how formulaic and uninspired the “chosen” scripts were.
He saw how many fresh voices were excluded simply because they lacked connections.
To challenge the system, he ran an experiment: he asked peers to anonymously share their favorite unproduced scripts.
The list that came back became The Black List — which elevated outsider scripts like Juno, The King’s Speech, and Moonlight into award-winning films.
Leonard’s frustration as an insider, seeing the system’s blind spots, crystallized his belief in surfacing unheard voices.
Positioning:
He became known not just as a Hollywood executive, but as the champion of outsider talent — the person who builds networks that give new voices a stage.
You can read his story on his website.
Why This Matters for STEM Career Reinvention
When you connect the dots between:
What you believe (opinion)
Why you believe it (experience)
How it guides you (positioning)
…you move from being another STEM professional with a job title to someone with a clear edge. People know what you stand for, why it matters, and how to come to you.
That’s how you sharpen your positioning.
That’s how you stop blending in.
And that’s how you turn your onlyness into thought leadership impact.
Try It Yourself: A Positioning Exercise for STEM Professionals
Take five minutes today to map your own:
Opinion — What’s one belief you hold strongly about how things should be done?
Experience — What in your life or work convinced you of that?
Positioning — How does that belief shape the way you work or lead today?
Write it down. Share it. See how it changes the way others understand your value.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Your experiences have already shaped powerful opinions. The question is: are you using them to position yourself as the thought leader you’re meant to be?
When you learn to articulate your onlyness, you stop sounding like everyone else. You change the way opportunities find you — and you will never sound dull again.
👉 Fill out the Know Thyself form here to book your free “Thought leadership discovery call” or send me a message
