Well I don’t have such a best relationship with LinkedIn. The social medium with all that self -felicization, humblebrag and shameless boasting to promote their own shop. Well, that relationship didn’t get much better last week.
Because since then you can no longer open LinkedIn, or you will be overwhelmed with tips, advice and reflections of all kinds of self -proclaimed ‘experts’ who analyze the visit unsolicited that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zensky brought to Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday 28 February.
What Zensky could have done better. What we can learn from the incident about ourselves and our ‘own organization’. Or even worse: what we can learn from Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Sure, if you are a geopolitics adviser, have studied Russia for years or have been in his dacha with Putin, I can imagine something about it. But all those ‘personal coaches’, management trainers, ‘change managers’, ‘strategic communication consultants’, and ‘team development process counselors’? I am very annoyed by it.
A tie and a jacket
For example, there are the ‘body language experts’ who explain how Zensky could have paid more attention to the ‘non-verbal communication’ of Trump and Vance. The organizational coaches who explain with this’ case ‘as an example that a conflict really solve means’ not only exercising power, but also listening, connecting and collaborating. Do you recognize this in your organization? ”
The ‘strategic communication consultant’ who advises Zensky not to be seduced into defensive answers, but to stay with his own message, to “keep control over the narrative”, and more on Trumps ego by praising him to play the historical role he could play in this crisis.
The ‘Expert in Teaming’ who, very coincidentally (!), Just started a series of lectures on respectful interaction within companies, and Trump advises to look more often in the mirror. An ‘Ambitious Team player’ who suggests to seek rapprochement with China.
It is still lacking that a ‘personal branding expert’ writes that Zensky had radiated more authority with a tie and a jacket, instead of his sloppy sweater. But it would not surprise me if one of the big lights from that sector has now done that. O guys, wtf.
Dutch cauliflower district
The shocking pedanist to think that you will explain this geopolitical nightmare. That you get it at all in your convex head to be shamelessly ticking from your neatly raked Dutch cauliflower district with a Prius in front of the door which “lessons we can draw” from this scary world crisis.
As if Zensky was visiting Trump for an inspiration session about ‘personal growth in times of conflict’. As if we had not been on the eve of WWIII if Zensky had paid more attention to the takeeaways From ‘body language expert’ Johan de Vries from Nergenshuizen.
As if it is not a hero who tries to keep his population the Russian bombs, but about a scrum coach on a Dutch industrial estate that could have recovered world peace with some basic communication tips. As if the impending Third World War is a networking drink, and a nuclear war a chance for personal growth.
What do you mean international horror scenario ?? It is high time to praise your own store, you will mean, over the back of a wartime president. “Book me as a speaker at your event”, “Order my new book!”, “Subscribe to my newsletter” – Rot. You would be ashamed of your eyes if this is your revenue model?
Authentic leader
Do you know what I thought? Perhaps we should explain these people that this is the threat of a nuclear war instead of a ‘Lessons Learned’ for the calibrating Netherlands.
Maybe we should explain to them that this is a life -threatening crisis, instead of some ‘valuable takeeaways’ and ‘insights you don’t want to miss!’
Perhaps we should explain that this is not a 360-degree feedback, inspiring Tedtalk, or a ‘thinking in crisis time’, but the cold new naked world order. That this is not ‘how do you present yourself in a tense negotiation?’-Seminar; But our very own world that is on fire.
Perhaps we should explain that not everything is a ‘learning moment’ that you as an authentic leader can take advantage of, but that we are on the threshold of war.
Or maybe I just need a personal coach myself, a touch-up for my personal branding and a mindfulness course in this uncertain, dark, dead, sleepless times.
That is of course also possible.