Kill the Messenger, Perhaps?

The facechat twittergram is alight with images of cheesy sayings slapped over stock photos loosely related to the content thereof. Every cubicle farm and company hallway I’ve been in is lined with motivational posters so below witty and entertaining that it almost hurts to read them.  The great comments of leaders past and present have been reduced to media marketing fodder.

It is for these reasons that I believe that these saying hold some serious weight. Everything original nowadays has been warped, distilled and screen printed onto something that people are meant to buy. Skateboarding, off-roading and parkour are now so mainstreamed it’s almost as unique to forego them as activities. Most of what you see started out as pure, original ideas that some marketing group recognized the appeal of and decided to make money with it.

So why do we want to be surrounded by the thoughts of great leaders?

In a nutshell, we want to learn. While everyone might not want to be a leader, everyone wants to know how to lead well. By analyzing the famous thoughts of great leaders we can get a glimpse into what they were thinking, especially when they are talking about leadership itself.

What was the style of the leader who was in charge last time this happened? Were they nurturing? Powerful? Did they believe in shut-up-and-do-it? Did they mince words? Did they juice every sentence for content? Did they share only small thoughts at a time, or did they give their audience a lot to think about? Were they humorous? Serious? Confident?  

I tend to follow a two-step attitude when it comes to accomplishing goals: Step 1- Achieve goal, Step 2- Repeat Process. This is why General Patton’s thoughts on leadership hold very strongly with me- “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” Because I identify with him his leadership tools may be something I too can employ effectively.

I fear, however, that these great ideas are being diluted as we become accustomed to reading them constantly. What was once wisdom is now cliché. How many times have you rolled your eyes when instructed to ‘lead by example?’ How many poster boards with a big “ATTITUDE” slogan have you coldly walked past lately? Both of these concepts are neigh invaluable to leading others, but we are so sick of hearing them in a bubblegum media kind of way.  I almost want to take another less effective route just for the sake of breathing room.

I guess all I’m saying is hate the messenger all you want, but appreciate the message.