| YVONNE'S TAKE | NEW YORK WALK OF SHAME

I have a question. What did we do with our lives before social media? How did we prove we were working? How did our bosses know we were busy? How did governments account for what they had actually done? How did we survive without the all-important photograph? Because these days, if it didn't make it to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or X, did it even happen? We are living in the age of performative productivity. Everyone is working. Everyone is meeting. Everyone is “engaging stakeholders.” Everyone is “having fruitful discussions.” Everyone is “delighted to announce.” And, thank God, someone is always there to film it. Our leaders travel abroad and, suddenly, we are treated to a tour of their walking skills. Here they are walking out of the airport. Here they are walking into a meeting. Here they are walking through a train station. Here they are sitting on a train. Here they are getting off the train. And here they are walking again. Presumably, something was discussed somewhere along the way. And then there is the presentation. You know the one. Camera at just the right angle. Slides in the background. Hand gestures. Serious face. Occasional nodding. Evidence, it would seem, that work is being done. And I have to wonder: does the videographer get instructions? “Wait, wait. Don't start filming yet. Let me walk in again.” “No, from this side.” “Hold on. Let me fix my hair.” “Okay. Now we're working.” Now, there is nothing wrong with communicating what you are doing. Public institutions should communicate. Businesses should communicate. People should communicate. But somewhere along the way, we seem to have confused communication with accountability. A photograph of a meeting is not the outcome of the meeting. A video of a presentation is not the result of the presentation. A post saying “fruitful discussions” does not tell us what was agreed. And “happy to announce” is not, by itself, an achievement. Whatever did we do before the mobile phone? Oh, I remember. We had performance reports. We had targets. We had deliverables. And those deliverables went beyond the number of hashtags delivered during one's tenure. We had results. And someone actually had to sit down and explain and show what had actually been achieved. And folks, this is not just about government. We are all doing it. The professional who posts the photograph of the five-hour strategy meeting. The entrepreneur who is “excited to announce” something that will apparently be announced in six months. The executive who is “honoured to have engaged” everyone from everywhere. We have become very good at documenting the appearance of a life. But documenting the work is not the same as doing the work. Perhaps we need to rediscover a very old-fashioned idea: Let the work speak. Show us what was done. Show us what changed. Show us the impact. Show us what was delivered. Show us the results. You can still post the picture. Just don't mistake the picture for the performance. Because in the end, accountability is not a social media post. It is what happens when we ask: So… what did you actually do?