What’s in your oatmeal?
Oatmeal is perhaps one of the blandest dishes humans have ever concocted. It is at its essence, oats that have been bloated with water and then heated to make it more palatable. The very best and very worst bowls of oatmeal all look the same. There is nothing either distinct or remarkable about a bowl of oatmeal, but it will get the job done when you’re hungry.
There is an enormous amount of pressure on leaders today. We are asked to be at once, a visionary, a shepherd, a counselor, and a manager. We are expected to be firm, gentle, bombastic, humble, shrewd, and forgiving. And if that wasn’t enough, we must find ways to stand out among the myriad of would-be leaders. We must create a brand, write a book, get a Ted Talk, and have at least a million followers on social media. Is your brand of leadership getting noticed? That’s the new definition of modern leadership. Or put another way, different is the new oatmeal.
As a leader, and organizationally, do you find yourself conforming so that you’ll be part of the latest leadership fad? Are you afraid to take a stand or be different because it’ll turn the spotlight on you? It seems that being different is now the new way to conform. Traditional and timeless seems to be out of sync with modern culture. Instead, we are asked to be relevant leaders with organizations that are constantly affirming the latest definitions of normal. I am not suggesting that we don’t strive to stay current, but we need to be aware when we begin to erode our principles in favor of trying to be attractive. In doing so, we become neither distinct nor remarkable, like a gray forgettable bowl of the mushy stuff.
Take five minutes and consider:
Is my leadership timeless or just timely? Am I leading for the clicks or leading from the heart?
I believe that in many ways the elite leaders are the ones who stick to the timeless and pursue the eternal. Don’t sacrifice what makes your leadership distinct in pursuit of a sphere of influence that only disappears when you can no longer keep up. Instead of just getting the job done, like a bowl of oatmeal, give them something that will change their life.
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