The Water Cooler: Why Posts on LinkedIn About Leadership Are Engaging Decision Makers in the Consulting Industry

With its more than 645 million members and record levels of engagement in the feed, LinkedIn is fast becoming the global water cooler for professionals in all industries — and the consulting sector is no exception. 

In July, we examined what kind of content decision makers in the consulting sector were engaging with on LinkedIn. The results show that consulting industry decision makers are spending their time engaging with content designed to make them better leaders and intended to help them create a stronger culture for their employees. 

The top three (and seven of the top eight) posts that garnered the most engagement from decision makers in consulting covered leadership or culture in some way. The top post, for instance, “Good Leaders Don’t Try to Be the Smartest Person on the Room,” shares that effective leaders listen more than they speak and hire people who are smarter than they are to create diverse and successful teams. Humility and wisdom are two qualities that leaders need to have to drive growth and innovation.

The next post on the list, “Positive Reinforcement,” outlines the power of leaders’ providing positive reinforcement to their teams. And the third post on the list tells the story of an employee who took her talents elsewhere, where they were appreciated and where she has thrived.  

Here are the top 10 posts that engaged decision makers in the consulting industry in July: 

1. Good Leaders Don’t Try to Be the Smartest Person in the Room By Brigette Hyacinth
2. Positive Reinforcement By Ramesh Krishnaram
3. Don't Stay Where You're Tolerated, Go Where You're Celebrated By Raja Jamalamadaka 
4. Homeless Man Builds Beaches in People’s Backyards and Becomes a Millionaire By Mobarza Khan
5. A Real Leader Is Someone Who Gives a Damn About You Even if You Leave By Cory Galbraith
6. The 7 Things You Must Give Up When You Become a Leader By Wally Schmader
7. Be Somebody Who Makes Everybody Feel Like Somebody... Because You Can By Ilsye Craft
8. Just Be Nice — It's Not That Hard By Josh Jones 
9. SBI Managing Director Anshula Kant Appointed MD and CFO of World Bank  
10. We Spend Too Much Time Celebrating 'Start Ups'​, Not Enough Celebrating 'Keep Goings'​ By Josh Jones

Lessons for Salespeople

A key takeaway for sales professionals is to understand what is on the minds of their prospects, in this case decision makers in the consulting sector. The top 10 posts on LinkedIn show that these decision makers are focused on being better leaders, more effective managers, and improved business strategists. 

Taking note of these interests, sales professionals should be prepared to discuss more than their products and services. They should also be able to talk intelligently about broader business interests and strategies, because that’s what their customers want to talk about.      

Dive deeper into what decision makers are reading on LinkedIn by taking a look at the previous Water Cooler posts. And to keep pace with the latest thinking in sales, subscribe today to the LinkedIn Sales Blog.