#Leader - an insult for 2018?
Yesterday a colleague was attending an FMLM event where they saw me in a group photo. They whatsapp’d me saying #leader. And my heart sank.
I was being identified as one of those people who uses #Leader in their tweets. I thought a bit more about this and questioned why I immediately reacted in this way. I was so excited to have the opportunity to join the FMLM Trainee Steering Group (TSG) and, at that moment, I didn’t want to identify with them. I asked myself who tweets #Leader. A spot check on Twitter yielded the following.
Sports team: 1
Insult to leaders: 2
Inspirational message: 11
Political (not UK): 4
Medical leader: 1
Something about 5* hotels: 1
American schools: 1
Then I checked medical Twitter accounts that could be using #Leader. The Leadership Academy used #leadership once in the past month, FMLM used #clinicalleadership and #futureleaders only twice and the FMLM TSG are opting to use #medlead.
So why do I not want to identify as a #Leader? The answer is in the table above. It’s easy to write an inspirational message on Twitter, but far harder to demonstrate that you live by those values. Because of that it’s easy to challenge those that use #Leader. When we consider the current challenges the NHS faces, and the well publicised morale issues, as well as recruitment and retention for junior doctors, it is easy to see why people are sceptical; #Leader becomes an insult
We need to change the narrative. People who are interested in leadership may be wanting self-promotion. But those who I’ve met have been inspiring, work with a genuine motivation to make things better, and to make a difference and help others. Leadership is often about teamwork and communication, so what’s wrong with being identified with that? If I truly believe this then I need to take ownership of the hashtag and embrace it. I can’t alter how others interpret my actions but I can continue to live by my values openly and, if I want others to embrace leadership, then I need to show that it’s not about empty hashtags. It’s about standing up for what you believe in.
So, I better continue tweeting #Leader as it's time that more people got involved in finding a better way to work together.