Do you ever get the impression that speakers are saying nothing new…that they all sound the same, maybe even blending in to each other…and that few stand out and are truly memorable?

As a society: do we condition people to conform, to tow the line and not to stick our heads above any oncoming parapets from an early age?

And is this an impediment to better leadership and inspiring communication?

Here’s what got me thinking about this question.

Morning gridlock is back and traffic has returned to pre summer levels. Trains, buses and cars are full of children heading back to schools.

And although most of them are looking very natty in new, un-crumpled uniforms and shiny shoes (that won’t last long) – why do they wear them in the first place?

There are all sorts of sensible reasons – the most common include:

• They can encourage a sense of parity
  • Where children feel they’re the ‘same as’ or ‘equal to’ others in their class when it comes to appearances
• They can save money
  • They can reduce pressure placed on parents (or the children themselves) to buy more expensive clothes, to compete with or keep up with peers.
• They can help children to identify more with their schools

While some, or all, of these arguments may have merit (and I’m not leaning one way or another for whether kids should wear uniforms)…

…They put me in mind of of a very popular and amusing series of videos you can find on YouTube by Sir Ken Robinson – who argues that schools systematically stifle imagination and innovation by demanding conformity instead of nurturing creativity and difference.

In all fairness, he puts this more down to a relentless focus on the demonstration of academic ability as a determinant of success (resulting in less attention being paid to more creative pursuits) versus anything to do with whether your school tie was on straight.

However, regardless of the tangent that drove me to this topic today…

…Does education clip wings and encourage people to be followers of others rather than lead, challenge or to seek change?

Do too many people carry a tendency to conform and follow rules into the work place?

And, if so, are these traits that should be sustained in so many markets that have stagnated or gone into varying levels of decline?

Seth Godin asks similar questions in his fascinating book Tribes – in which he suggests that universal compliance is the last thing the world needs now.

Rather, he believes that traditional, factory style ‘top down’ or ‘because I said so’ management hierarchies are being replaced as businesses (of all sizes) are increasingly managing work through smaller, flatter groups – often resulting in work being managed across organisations, through partnerships or via collaborations with customers and/or suppliers.

And if this is indeed becoming more of a norm, is Seth right when he says it’s time for us all to adopt some new thinking and break away from traditions and outdated behaviours?

Instead, do we need to encourage all and sundry (including ourselves) to ask more questions, to take more risks, to agitate for change and to seek to lead other like-minded people? Can everyone now be a leader of sorts?

These are big topics or questions, huh? And they are not black or white questions – there are any number of shades in between.

But as you think about these things, here’s a certainty – if you make speeches or presentations that don’t provoke new thinking or cause people to consider doing something different from that they’ve always done before…

…You’ve probably just wasted the N minutes your audiences sat there listening to you.

After all, what did they get out of their experience? If the answer is ‘nothing new’, what was the point?

So, my banner cry from this post is this:

Dare to be different when speaking. Your audience will be better off.

What are your thoughts about encouraging more difference, risk taking and broader bases of leadership?

Photo Credit: Pradeep_Kumbhashi