TLFT Awards 2026

The TLFT Awards celebrates original ideas that lead with authority: shaping thinking, influencing decisions, and driving change.

Across five specialist categories, these awards recognize visionary initiatives and organizations whose thought leadership cuts through complexity to deliver insights that resonate across sectors and make a measurable impact in the real world.

The TLFT Awards will follow the Thought Leadership for Tomorrow Event 2026, held at The Harvard Club in New York City on June 4, 2026.

Celebrating distinctive thought leadership

The TLFT Awards focuses solely on excellence in thought leadership, recognizing and amplifying the diversity and nuance within the discipline.

Entries are evaluated within specialist categories, allowing initiatives to be celebrated for their specific strengths and contributions. Judging criteria include the 4Rs of thought leadership success: Revenue, Relationships, Reputation, and Real-World Impact, as well as research integration, and storytelling.

Thought leadership is being held to a higher standard than ever. In 2026, being visible is easy, but earning trust and influencing decisions is what separates serious thought leadership from noise. The TLFT awards matter because they recognize work that holds up under scrutiny and moves the conversation forward. This is about celebrating ideas that don’t just sound good but actually make a difference.

Ty Heath

Global Director, Thought Leadership GTM at LinkedIn
Head Judge for the TLFT Awards 2025 and 2026

Why enter the TLFT Awards?

Showcase Your Creativity

Shine a spotlight on your team and strengthen your organization’s reputation by sharing your most original and impactful contributions to thought leadership.

Benchmark your work against other thought leadership initiatives, using robust and meaningful evaluation criteria.
Celebrate your distinctive thinking and expertise with recognition across specialist thought leadership categories.
Sustain the momentum of your initiative by sharing your vision and insights with our expert judges and a global community of thought leaders.
Connect with other industry peers, experts, and influencers to expand your network and inspire your next big idea.
Ready to showcase your strategic prowess?

Tell us about your best campaign before March 20th

What are the judges looking for?

Brilliant thought leadership can challenge our worldview in many different ways, making it impossible to fully appreciate big ideas with in a single category. The TLFT Awards features five categories designed to spotlight outstanding achievements from commercial and brand success to great research and storytelling.

Judges will score submissions based on evidence of the central pillars of thought leadership success: Reputation, Relationships, Revenue, and Real-world impact. Initiatives must have taken place in within the last 18 months, with supporting data, results, and evidence drawn from the most recent 12 months.

Can you demonstrate how your insights have improved brand sentiment? Has your thought leadership radically improved business connections? Do you have a stand-out example of exceptional ROI? Is your work making a measurable impact on a sector or community?

TLFT: A community like no other

Thought Leadership for Tomorrow brings thought leadership experts together to share data-driven creative thinking, celebrate success, and shape what comes next. Our conferences inspired the formation of the industry-defining Global Thought Leadership Institute and continue to serve as a meeting point for the industry’s most focused and influential minds. Backed by leaders across the industry, TLFT and the TLFT Awards bring the thought leadership community together to recognize excellence.

Whether you’re an established authority or an emerging voice, the TLFT community offers an opportunity to engage with other strategic thinkers and spark your next big idea.

About iResearch Services

Thought Leadership for Tomorrow and the TLFT Awards are powered by iResearch Services, a global B2B thought leadership and marketing agency that supercharges growth through the fusion of data-driven insight, expert guidance, and strategic activation.

Our evidence-based knowledge empowers global brands across industry sectors to connect with their audiences, build digital trust and, in return, be respected as thought leaders. Through our work, we see how thought leadership can benefit society, which has inspired the Thought Leadership for Tomorrow conference and, the TLFT Awards.

We believe that bringing the thought leadership community together is the best way to spark even bigger ideas, push the boundaries even further and create even greater change in the world around us.

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