Power in the Face of Nihilism

Progress cannot exist without action. But what can leaders do when their team members are struggling to find meaningful reasons to act? After facing the realities of COVID-era work, employees have lost patience for the hustle-and-grind culture that’s become the default within so many companies and industries. While some are wandering aimlessly through their days unfulfilled, others are jumping ship in hopes of finding something better, and yet others are becoming entirely anti-work. It all speaks to a broader trend: the rising threat of nihilism. That we are helpless to affect the world. That everything is meaningless. That we’re giving up. But beyond the hopelessness of nihilism, there is a deeper problem — nihilism is simply narcissism. We turn inward instead of turning to each other. In the face of real-world problems and the mindsets they bring, how do leaders give power to those who feel powerless? How do they ensure that we’re all able to look beyond our own nihilism to lift each other up? In this talk, Joey Camire, Principal and Managing Director at SYLVAIN, will argue that businesses must understand that it’s not that their employees are anti-ambition — it’s that they are facing a crisis of meaning. Leaders must learn to relinquish some control in order to empower those around them and make progress in the world at-large.