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"Synergy" has a sibling
Recently, I've felt like the word leadership has been around me in every aspect of my life. Chances are good that after this blog, you'll start to feel the same.
Now, first and foremost, I love promoting the idea of leadership. I love soaking it in as much as I can. I was at a conference recently called the Global Leadership Summit. It was incredible and I heard so much about how I can be a better leader. This week I've even been driving some students in the church to be stronger leaders and to realize the leadership potential that they have. I believe that leadership is an influence, and that every person on earth can influence someone else. If we can all learn how to best use our influence and thus lead well, the world would be a much better place.
I'm not here to "dog on" leadership. Not the word, nor the purpose behind pushing it so much. I'm here because I'm cautious of leadership going the way of synergy. You see, words help influence culture. Today everyone is obsessed with leadership because leadership is at its core, singular. The Millenial generation is obsessed with personal branding. With Youtube, Social Media, and just the internet Millenials get themselves famous all the time. The world has shifted to where each person has what it takes if they have a cell phone and an internet connection. Right now you're reading my blog that I want to grow because I want to build a brand for myself. It's simply the culture of our world right now. So, many people will have some sort of "side hustle" where they are trying to grow a personal brand.
Leadership inspires that thought. If I'm a great leader, if I read leadership books and listen to leadership podcasts then people will want to follow me. They'll want to like my posts and share them so that more people read my blogs. Maybe then, I'll start making an income from blogging as well as my day job. Or perhaps you're more interested in becoming a better leader so that your Instagram account really takes off, or you want to be a better leader so that you can build a team to have your Youtube channel get off of the ground. See how the word leadership perfectly ties in with this intoxicating idea of personal branding?
Now, this isn't how the world has always been. It's changed so rapidly that heads are still reeling. Before the internet a huge focus in business was synergy. It's the idea that two things, (i.e. businesses, departments, etc.) can come together and do far better together than either of them could have done on their own. It was a term that was used constantly. To a point where now, it's a ridiculous buzz-word that makes eyes roll. Elisha Hartwig in one article says, "Can you even say synergy these days without sounding like a total tool?" I'd tend to agree with her.
Businesses, people, and organizations aren't nearly as concerned with synergy as they once were. The word was simultaneously shaping and being shaped, by culture. Big businesses were trying to be even more productive and realized it was only possible by having departments work together to achieve even more. Companies were beginning to push advertising on multiple levels and trying to make different forms of advertisements all align and showcase one specific product. Synergy was the name of the game and now, it's mocked.
Want to feel discredited? Walk into an important meeting and lead with, "I want to talk about synergy"
So, what happens when "Leadership" grows into this same position? I think the word itself does not determine if it will end up there. Rather our use, or more correctly, our overuse of the word. If we beat the proverbial dead horse with leadership, we will tire of it.
So, are we overusing it? I think we are.
This week alone, I've seen leadership pop up on every single one of my forms of social media multiple times. I was invited to be a part of a leadership Facebook group, I was invited to take part in a leadership meeting over Zoom. All of these things I'm excited for, but I worry that in a few years, I'll be embarrassed to re-read those few sentences.
I think that we ought to pump the brakes on our overuse of a single word. We can push a topic, or a thought by diversifying our vocabulary. Let's talk about guiding people, let's discuss inspiring people, let's talk about showing a new option. Let's calm down on leadership.