Why Pop Culture Matters

Why do leaders need to be concerned with pop culture? Well, with reality TV taking over the airways and airwaves, and shows like “American Idol” and “The Great Race” becoming the most watched television shows in history, it is clear that the language of the masses is more experiential than intellectual. Without deliberating on the value of reality TV or television, let’s instead think of it as one vehicle for the exchange of pop culture.

Wikipedia describes pop(ular) culture as consisting of “widespread cultural elements in any given society…perpetuated through that society's vernacular language…. It can include any number of practices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing, consumption, mass media and the many facets of entertainment such as sports and literature.” Wikipedia goes on to contrast pop culture with “a more exclusive, even elitist ‘high culture’” – I think even the elite (whoever they are) participate in and generate a little pop culture every now and then. Pop culture comes from everywhere and anywhere, includes everything and anything, and applies to everybody and anybody.

Restating the question, why do we have to care about those things that aren’t delineated in someone’s job description or performance expectations or that somehow don’t relate directly to the workplace? Wikipedia states that pop culture “…comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural 'moments' that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream” – or more bluntly, it’s where people “live.” So if you want to relate to people, to “the masses,” then you need to understand them. While it is traditional and cliché to say that people shouldn’t bring their personal problems to work, they do bring their personal selves to work – even people that pride themselves in being private, bring that private person to work with them…everyday.

So, understanding that both Oscar de la Hoya and Rocky Balboa are still boxing, that Survivor was just in Fiji, that Nelly is not the girl from “Little House on the Prairie,” that NASCAR, “Pimp My Ride,” and “Trick My Truck” all have to do with spending a lot of money on cars, that there are desperate housewives on Wisteria Lane and in Orange County, California, and that somehow ringtones are a gauge for our relationships with friends and family, are all important to how we communicate and ultimately how effective we are in the workplace as leaders. It’s about credibility – these bits and bytes about pop culture do matter. Finally, pop culture has potentially great societal benefit. Since it originates from various individual groups (let's say sub-cultures) that are based on race, gender, generation, or whatever else, the universal nature of pop culture can help transcend boundaries and build bridges across sub-cultures and seemingly disparate groups. That’s a good thing.

My advice – check those ringtones. If you don’t know what they are, find out.