You may have it heard said that successful people don’t have failures. They view all events as a learning process towards achieving their goals. If this is the case why is there growing criticism that younger industry talent seem to have lots of knowledge and qualifications but lack the fire to grow their career? Could it be that they lack an ability, to take time, to assess failure as a step towards promotion and success? Whilst mistakes and ill-fortune happen, talented people demonstrate their real skills and true metal; by the way they mitigate such events, possibly turning them into an advantage.
So what, if anything, has given rise to this situation?
Well, turn the clock back only forty years and you’ll find a time when the principle source of learning general communication skills came from within a family. Meals, where all generations ate and interacted together, were a regular feature. Values, traditions, customs, courtesy, social and verbal skills were passed onto younger family members. They were then able to develop them as appropriate for their generation.
But the internet has changed everything. Its phenomenal growth has overtaken what was usually slow social development and replaced it with a potential for an immediate global response. News from all corners of the world impacts on us 24/7. ‘YouTube’, ‘SnapChat’, ‘WhatsApp’, ‘FaceBook’ and ‘Twitter’ are just some of the current social media resources which influence and create social trends. These are outside what were our usual family, community, state and even a Country’s ethos and ambience.
Our younger generation is being influenced in a way which has never happened before. Yes, all generations are impacted by these changes in communication but the great difference is that the older generations have more experience to deal with them. The values of parents invariably influenced their children. This aspect has now, in many societies, been subjugated by what youngsters learn from social media. Values are learnt from the internet which question and challenge views being taught by parents.
Considering this background and applying it in the workplace focuses minds on the way different generations react. Whereas the middle-range and upper-management, generally in their youth, were used to having at least 30 seconds to consider an issue, (as demonstrated by the length of television adverts), today social media and interaction is often limited to 5 seconds. No time for thinking, just an immediate reaction. This is often why tweets and emails sent, with a quick click, lead to instant regret. What is needed, especially in business, is forward planning and considered responses. However this flies in the face of the social environment in which today’s students find themselves. On one hand at university, being required to study for their degrees and on the other hand, being expected by their peers to give fast responses. Clearly there is a potential conflict as it is not realistically possible to completely separate social skills from business skills. They are all part and parcel of the same thing – an ability to communicate and take decisions.
There is also a growing tendency for educators being encouraged to highlight the uniqueness of students. Unfortunately if you focus on believing you are unique, especially when a team member, it has a tendency to set you apart from others. A belief in uniqueness impacts on a person’s assertive nature. Everyone has their own particular unique talent. This needs to be nurtured but not at the expense of it becoming an excuse for lack of success. The claim that ‘YOU’ didn’t nurture my unique talent enough, as a means of blaming others for one’s own failure, is not a sustainable proposition. However it’s a view which can comfort those who lack motivation and determination.
This brings us back to our opening question. The growing criticism, about younger industry talent seeming to have lots of knowledge and qualifications but lacking the fire to grow their career, needs to be addressed. This is an important consideration for a company determined to build on its success. Once we realise and accept how rapidly changing social media has altered the way different generations interact; planning, training, encouraging and coaching younger staff members, within a company’s ethos, can be seen as ‘must have’ approach. Undoubtedly it will add invaluable corporate value to a workforce.
Youth brings a vibrancy that companies need. How a company benefits from this is going to be judged on the way intergenerational trust can be fostered and developed. Personality, assertiveness, bargaining and negotiation skills cannot be successful asserted if they are limited by social media experiences. Short attention spans limit an ability to see beyond failures towards a successful horizon. Herein lies the challenge for a progressive company – how to unlock the social media box and encourage younger talent to take control of their own vibrant potential to flourish.