This letter to MicDrop members is the most important thing I’ve written all year…

It’s about community evolution, thought leadership, and what it actually takes to become sought-after for your ideas. I've decided to make it public, in the hope it inspires you to share something with your own audience over the next few weeks.

Happy Holidays,

Alex

What a year it’s been. I feel incredibly grateful to be building MicDrop with such a thoughtful and generous group of people.

Almost everyday something happens that fills me with a huge sense of pride.

Sometimes it’s the tangible stuff - landing a talk, hitting a new milestone, seeing your ideas really take off.

But more often than not, it’s the everyday stuff that has moved me the most. Watching you support each other in moments of doubt, collaborate together on podcasts, talks and even your own events, and celebrating each other’s successes.

It really has been extraordinary, so thank you.

A personal reflection

Running a community is completely different to running a course.

Courses are rigid. They have a start and finish. A clear curriculum. Everyone moves through the same steps, in the same order towards the same outcome.

Communities are alive. They shift with the people in them. They respond to what’s happening in the world. They evolve as you evolve.

And next year, we need to evolve too.

So I thought I’d write you a letter, to share where we’re going and why.

—

When you’re building a business, there’s enormous pressure to show tangible value. To add more. Offer more. Do more.

We’ve felt that pressure acutely this year.

The result? Overwhelm. For you, and if I’m honest, for us too.

The truth is, one of our greatest strengths is also one of our biggest design challenges…

We bring people together at very different stages of their journeys; with very different goals.

Many of you are building portfolio careers - consultants, authors, coaches, investors, advisors looking to grow your businesses and generate a secondary income from speaking. We have leaders inside world-renowned organisations, using speaking to build their personal brands and affect change both inside and outside their companies. We have entrepreneurs using speaking as a growth lever for their businesses and those of you in career transition thinking about what’s next.

We've been trying to serve all of you, at once, in the same way.

And we can do better.

So we’re making some significant changes in 2026.

Not more. Better.

All of this has led me to reflect more deeply on what MicDrop is really here to do.

Communication is changing 🌀

MicDrop has always been and will always be a community rooted in public speaking.

But you know and I know, that the stages are just one part of it. You’re sharing your ideas across a variety of different mediums - social posts, newsletters, books, podcasts and videos.

We will always be ‘voice-first,’ but what unites us all isn’t the medium, it’s the active pursuit of clarity and resonance so that our ideas truly land.

And this pursuit matters now more than ever.

I don’t know about you, but on a macro level it feels to me like the way the world communicates is converging. LLMs and algorithms have this gravitational pull thats dragging us all towards this sea of noise, ridding us of all personality and original thought. TEDx talks have become parodies of themselves. LinkedInLunatics, a Reddit dedicated to ‘sharing ‘insufferable’ LinkedIn posts now has 930k followers.

And yet, amongst all this noise there's a small group of people who's content work I always look forward to consuming (whether it’s talks, podcasts, videos, newsletters). I could listen to them all day.

They teach me, challenge me, entertain me, frustrate me, inspire me. They deepen my understanding of their world and ultimately, they help me grow.

They’re outliers.

Because they communicate like thought leaders, not like content creators, or ‘professional’ speakers.

While everyone else is being sucked into the middle; they’ve found a way to create their own gravitational pull that draws people in towards their point of view and their subject.

Their thought leadership is what makes them sought-after.
And that’s the work MicDrop is here to nurture.

So let’s be clear about what that actually means - because most content isn’t thought leadership.

The Influencer Trap 🪤

Everyday we see 'influencers' trading intimacy for engagement (after all it is the low hanging fruit), it's no wonder we can feel like this must be what it takes to become a thought leader.

But sharing your story isn't thought leadership, nor are tips and tricks, frameworks or viral hooks.

[Side note: These types of content all have their place. As do our stories. Sharing and understanding them play a crucial part in finding our voice and developing our own ideas; when they’re used in service of an idea, they play a part in thought leadership too. The mistake is becoming reliant on them.]

Sometimes our stories are the perfect way to bring an idea to life. But often they aren’t. It’s why so many of the thought leaders we admire look beyond themselves to history, science, culture, nature, technology, data and art. No wonder their ideas never feel stale.

Thought leadership isn’t content for content’s sake. It doesn’t involve posting consistently. Nor is it about trading intimacy for engagement or chasing virality.

Thought leadership is idea promotion.

As Daniel Priestley once said (annoyingly better than I could):

It’s about putting your subject first, challenging conventional wisdom and having a clear point of view. It requires curiosity to further your subject, courage to take a stand and a willingness to experiment with how you communicate it until your thinking actually cuts through (whether that’s with thousands of people or just the right few).

And that’s hard. Really hard.

Some of you are already established voices in your field. Others are in that messy and often painful process of finding your voice and where it fits.

Wherever you are, the work doesn’t stop.

Our ideas aren’t static. Their place in the world shifts, the conversations around your subject evolve and so do you. The thought leaders who stay sought-after are the ones who can stay relevant as the world changes.

Which is exactly why we need to place a greater emphasis on nurturing this skill and bring you together in more intentional ways. Most people navigate this journey alone. You don’t have to.

So our mission is evolving: To support you in turning your ideas into the very thing you become sought-after for.

So that your ideas become outliers. The kind that change the way people think and feel about your subjects; start movements and open the kinds of doors you didn’t imagine were possible.

EVERYTHING we’re designing for in 2026 is to help you do just that.

We’re making some BIG moves in 2026 ⚡️

We’ve had some amazing feedback and testimonials come through from the 30 of you who’ve completed our end of year survey so far (thank you 🙏).

In the new year, I’ll be sharing a summary of that feedback along with our roadmap. But to give you a taster of some of the things we’re most excited about…

1. Member Masterminds are coming 🧠
   You’ve told us you want to be around people at your stage, working towards similar goals so you can support and accelerate each other’s growth. Think deeper connections, more intentional focus. More on this very soon.

2. A revamped live session calendar 📅
   Including opportunities to test and develop your thought leadership live (just like the old days). Member-led meet-ups and masterclasses. Not every session is going to be right for you. Jump in when it's relevant. Ignore it when it isn't.
   

3. MicDrop x SXSW London (and IRL events) 🎤

   We want to create more opportunities for your ideas to be heard. So not only will we be running our own event at SXSW London, MicDrop Talks; our flagship member event will be back next year too. Stay tuned for applications in the new year.
   

4. Oh, and we’re killing the LinkedIn group 🪦
   Despite the best intentions, it’s got out of control and it doesn’t align with our values. Instead, we’ll be replacing it with a dedicated feed in the hub for your thought leadership across any platform; whether it’s a social post, newsletter, video (name suggestions welcome!).

A quick note on our membership: 
In alignment with our values around quality over quantity, we’ll be welcoming fewer members into MicDrop next year - with smaller intakes spread across three cohorts in February, May and October.

If reading this makes you think that MicDrop might be the right environment for you to nurture your thought leadership in 2026, click here to join the waitlist.

MicDrop looks different for everyone 🧩

There is no right way to be a ‘good’ member.

Whether you’re highly active in the community or just dipping in when you need something specific, you’re all contributing in different ways.

Some of you attend the live calls, share opportunities generously and contribute in the hub and on WhatsApp. Others prefer to work in private, implement our frameworks and connect with members directly.

Permission to use the community in a way that fits with your personality and aligns with your goals.

You might attend one event, have one conversation or ask one question that changes the entire trajectory of your year. What moves the needle isn’t how visible you are or how much time you spend, it’s having clarity on what you need, asking for help and taking action.

Help always comes to those who ask for it.

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that the members who get the most from MicDrop are almost always the most generous; without expecting anything in return.

There’s a lot to be excited about.

But we are human.

And no doubt, exhausted.

So I truly hope you’re able to take some time to recharge your batteries over the next few weeks.

A friend shared something on LinkedIn that really stuck with me this week.

So I wanted to leave you with a resource that might help you do just that.

Every December, I distill my following year onto an A3 sheet of paper and blue tack it to a cupboard door.

At the heart of it, a simple idea: Habits > Goals 🎯

And an important question: What habits will help me move the needle?
You can download the guide here (no sign-up required).

Thank you…

…for all your support this year 🙏.

Everything I’ve outlined in this letter, the focus on thought leadership, communicating big ideas and doing less better will continue to shape how we approach this newsletter moving forward.

If my newsletter has had an impact on you this year, it would mean the world if you’d give us a quick testimonial.

See you in 2026!