interact in person. Humans are social creatures; they are meant to interact. She stated that the new employees lose their ability to increase their skills through mentoring. They can be outwardly mentored by their supervisors but much of it comes through observation. It’s passive learning. I learned a lot about leadership by seeing what I like and what I don’t like in other leaders. A woman who has owned a temp employment business for 24 years is observing a decline in problem solving skills. Recent grads are digital natives. They did not have to figure things out, they looked it up. That’s affected
the way they handle problems. From my perspective, I observed that parents of this cohort did not allow their children to fall and fail. Hence, they don’t have the ability to pick themselves up after a setback.
I can accomplish more in a five- minute conversation than I can in a series of emails that go back and forth. In the past few years, I’ve observed that many are not setting up personal voicemails nor do they answer the phone. Responses to emails are declining. I’ve gone out of my way to send beneficial information to people after meeting them. I don’t even receive a quick thank you acknowledging that it was received. When I see them again and ask if they received it, the typical response is, “Oh yeah.” Day to day business etiquette is slowly fading.
She’s observed a decline in interdepartmental
communication. Coworkers will send an email to the person in the cubicle next to them rather than talk. As a business owner, I find it frustrating to conduct business through emails. More information is conveyed through a conversation, allowing for additional questions, and opportunities for problem solving.
24.
Speaker Life
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