This past week something interesting happened. I posted an Instagram reel on my LinkedIn about an interview question that Elon Musk asks when he’s hiring someone. If you read last week’s article, you know I told you I’m becoming an active student of hiring. So when I came across this clip, it resonated with me. The question was simple: he asks candidates to tell him their life story. The intent behind it is to understand how someone sees themselves, how they view their struggles, and whether they’re willing to be open about them. I thought it was a powerful concept and worth sharing.
Little did I know it would blow up.
When the Message Gets Lost
The post got a lot of traction on LinkedIn. People whom I didn’t even know, now, I don’t know all of my followers, but some of these people were really in left field, were commenting. And most of them weren’t talking about the interview question at all. It got personal about Elon Musk, his views, his reputation. There was one comment that was just downright mean, and I had to go delete it. People zeroed in on who said it and completely missed what was being said. The depth of the content I was trying to share got lost in the noise.
And honestly? It got me thinking.
Engagement at What Cost?
No wonder so many people out there on social media, in the news, are leaning into comments and content that sit right on the cusp of being controversial. Some are just outright controversial. It drives momentum. It drives engagement. And nowadays, that’s how people are measuring themselves. Are they an influencer? Are people listening? Are the numbers going up? But at what cost?
Here’s where the leadership lesson comes in. Are we, as leaders and as a society, so focused on driving engagement that we’re walking this fine line between controversy and content? Between making a difference and making noise? Between creating value and just creating volume? I think that’s a question worth discussing.
Intentional Leadership
I share content that resonates with me. Sometimes it’s a post about hiring, other times it’s about how we see ourselves. Nobody does it for me. It’s what I spend my time doing, actively learning and then sharing a piece of what I’m listening to, reading, or thinking about. My intent with that post was not to rile people up. That was just a byproduct 😊. My goal was to share something that we all could learn from. As we hire, let’s look at what people’s life stories are and how they view themselves. That was the message.
But the reaction taught me something. As leaders, we have to be intentional about the content we put out and the content we consume. It’s easy to get pulled into the outrage cycle, to react instead of reflect, to engage with the noise instead of focusing on the signal. And if we’re not careful, we start confusing engagement with impact. A post that gets a hundred comments isn’t necessarily more valuable than one that changes how one person thinks about hiring.
So, here’s what I’ll leave you with this week. The next time you’re about to share something, post something, or even react to something, ask yourself: Am I adding value or am I adding volume? Am I contributing to the conversation, or am I just contributing to the noise? Because leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, it’s about being the most intentional one.
