Thinking Out LoudIf there’s anything that makes anyone feel old, it’s not understanding the language of the young. What is a Sigma?
It’s something my students taught me when I overheard them debating who, among them, was The Sigma, or the Lone Wolf elusive leader who rizzles with charisma, who separates from the pack and is not interested in taking on boring Alpha leadership.
“You’re all Sigmas. I think that you’re all Sigmas.” My response was half-hearted and humorous. The whole point is that not everyone can be The Sigma.
I had prepped for just this moment with dinner table discussions on Gen Alpha language with my own children. There is some delicious irony in the fact that this new generation of Sigma-squabblers has been labelled “Alpha”. Apparently, I am a garden-variety Alpha leader, and I should be happy with that. But our students and our kids want more.
Every generation wants to make its own mark, set itself apart from what came before. But the Sigma ideal is elusive. Wolves operate in packs. Indeed, Abby Wambach wrote a book for female leaders called Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game. Wambach asserts: “Life is not meant to be lived as a Lone Wolf. We all need a Pack.”
The Bible tells us that Jesus is a shepherd, not a wolf, who undertakes a high-stakes mission to rescue the one sheep who is lost from community. It’s a vision of life that says that we’re less without each other. I wonder why everyone wants to be a Lone Wolf- is this a new pack mentality? Surely the real Sigmas aren’t bothered by what anyone thinks about them?