I was still wet behind those journalism ears and learning how to discern fact from fiction, which by the way was a lot easier in those news-gathering cave-dwelling days, and I remember a lesson learned just by watching and listening. Those are two skills that are almost extinct in our current times, and certainly not a hallmark of the younger generation. However, I often cannot entirely blame them, as they are only being led astray by the lack of any real mentoring and leadership from the more veteran side of the coin, who are more eager to make a fast buck than teach. I digress.
The description I lit upon back then and still use to this day is "nonsense". Indeed, it is rather all-encompassing and can mean different things to different people. When it comes to weeding through reality and bovine excrement, however, removing the nonsense from any argument, debate, personal and professional event, is more necessary than ever before.
I came upon an example today, where in conversation with a few C-Level friends, one of them felt the need to "lighten the mood" and discuss the latest from the Donald Trump trial in NYC. Now, before you start tuning up, this has absolutely nothing to do with politics or political leanings. Quite the shame in our current society where it seems making that notation is a first step in seeking rational conversation.
We only had a short time to all be on the same call, and the insistence to inject this topic was made when one of us had to excuse themselves in a "be right back" moment. That's when the offender chirped up with, "Hey, you hear what happened today in the Trump case about his genitalia?"
Silence, but only for a moment. Sad to note one other person was suddenly on the edge of their chair wanting to hear more. I have never been shy. "People, seriously. We only have a few minutes here, so can we please not dive into such nonsense? I really have no desire to spend even a millisecond on this topic".
Three of those on the line immediately agreed. The person who dragged this into a professional conversation went mute. Back came our missing member, and we proceeded in our discussion.
The incident caused me pause for a few moments when the call was completed. My first thought was of how alarmingly inappropriate it was to go there, especially seeing as our group was of mixed gender. My second thought was of how, and if, this person was so comfortable and even gleeful at bringing this into the mix, as if we were all gathered in some frat house poker room waiting for the next round of beers to show up.
We are surrounded by so much nonsense in our daily lives, thanks to social media and what seems to be a boredom of fashioning intelligent conversation. Instead of using our time to engage in thoughtful dialogue, there are those among us who often head directly for the easily amused "partyline" idea. It's a waste of time, and strays us from what could be something meaningful.
Leadership is about being meaningful. It is about focusing on where conversation and action should be directed. It must cut through the nonsense and stop wasting valuable time on things that are both unnecessary and unproductive.
There's that old adage about having a "time and a place for everything". Leaders know when that time is, and will use it wisely.
Seek to not just be that person, but to be part of those groups who understand how we become better in our personal lives and in our craft. by cutting out the nonsense and leading by example. Focus on what is important, and you will be viewed as someone who is worthy of being deemed someone to appreciate and follow. Otherwise, you could be viewed as one who won't get an invitation to participate in a discussion the net time around. I wonder whom that could be?
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