(Change Agent is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)

Change Agent

Change agent is both annoying and confusing; though, the annoyance factor for this one is tripled when someone describes themselves as a change agent.

In fact, if change agent was only used when complimenting someone else or when providing a recruiter with the type of individual you want them to find, it might not even be all that annoying.

But, alas, those who like to talk about how they’re crushing it while they hustle and grind will often let you know they’re also a change agent (not to mention a ninja, guru or industry thought leader – or all of the above!).

Like all things in life, when you find the end zone, act as if you’ve been there before.

For the change agents reading this: stop calling yourself a change agent. Just be one… the rest of us will figure it out.

By the way, the rest of us need to shun anyone who calls themselves a change agent, just as we would anyone who gives themselves a nickname. It’s pathetic behavior that should not be encouraged.

If you’re tempted to call someone else a change agent, find a more descriptive word like effective, skilled, talented, or productive; and then follow this with something like “leader.”

We’ll all be better off in the long run.

Replacement phrases: Effective

See also: Disruptor; Thought Leader

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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon