Tired of Toolkits
Post after post. Email after email. Is anyone else exhausted with the tired and overused buzzwords that incessantly barrage our screens every few minutes? Toolkits. Presentations. Webinars. Quotes. Workshops. Everyone has an opinion on leadership, organizations, life in general — and their opinion, insight, process and perspective is somehow unique, fresh and original. What they are doing, saying and thinking is “what you need” and somehow makes them and their vantage point so very special.
No. I don’t have a solution, idea or remedy to address this social malaise that must be affecting so many others. All I have to offer is my experience and criticism (sorry) of what I see and experience every. single. day. It is rare that I experience a truly unique, informed, interesting and compelling thought piece from someone on social media. Not because I am hard to impress, but because there seems to be a severe lack of deeply informed, thoughtful and reflective thinkers offering original perspectives on issues with a mature sense of intellectual humility.
However, there is hope. Thinkers like Alis Anagnostakis at Vertical Development Institute (VDI), Dave Snowden founder of The Cynefin Co, John Vervaeke’s Awakening from the Meaning Crisis, and Rev. Susan Beaumont (leading through liminality) are thought leaders that have recently captured my attention, imagination and respect. It is abundantly clear when I encounter someone that has grappled with the grueling mental, emotional and spiritual work of processing complex and challenging issues so that they now have something useful and helpful to say.
Folks like this rarely post about their latest toolkit. Nor do they randomly post a spontaneous quote devoid of context. So many people are posting whatever enters their heads, their feeds, their stream of consciousness and it overwhelms the rest of us with BLAH. It is a discordant cacophony of BLAH. It has a grinding effect on our souls and if we listen closely we can hear our inner voices desperately pleading “stop,” “no,” “not again,” “please…just don’t…”
I am tired of toolkits. Not because I think a toolkit can no longer offer any value. It’s more that we have collectively created a culture that expects and (quasi) believes that a toolkit can offer a simple, practical, yet powerful means for us to experience a significant positive difference in our lives. We all hope for (and feel that we need) a quick “life hack” that will help change our busy, chaotic lives for the better. And while there can be significant benefit derived from the occasional toolkit, it usually follows the Pareto Principle (at best).
These days, I find myself longing less for toolkits and more for deep, honest and transparent reflection on subject matter that addresses the essentially human issues that we all face irrespective of location, sexual orientation, gender, religion and race. All of these facets of identity matter, and they must be seriously considered. However, they aren’t, in and of themselves, the core issues of our collective human experience.
There is so very much that we have in common — a common struggle that plagues us all. School shootings. Meaningless work and personal lives. Access to affordable, quality healthcare and education. International hostility and war. Bullying and hate crimes. Yet it seems that we are so hell bent on asserting the unique and individual experience of “my struggle,” that we polarize ourselves and ultimately demonize those that are “not like me.” We trivialize their issues. “They don’t care about me and my issues, and I don’t care about them and theirs.” Sadly, there are deeply rooted social, psychological and spiritual issues affecting us all — issues that require our best thinking and effort….the very best of our selves to come forward and change the world for the better.
The issues we are facing today…the issues that really matter…will not be helped by yet another toolkit. So, before you feel the need to post about your latest inspiration, idea, insight…or toolkit…please be kind to our screens and consider not posting. We’ve had enough. Give our bleeding eyes and our weary souls a brief moment of solace and don’t post about your toolkit. And that generous act of kindness will make the kind of significant difference in the world that your toolkit never could.
