My adventure in training the “20 some-things”
What a cool experience it was for me to work side by side with some young people in the recruiting industry. Their desire, passion, curiosity and openness were as energizing to me as a good morning run, the more I worked with them, the more engaged & passionate I became. As I worked with my group of young successful recruiting trainees it became apparently clear to me that these young gen-xer & millennial talent had real power to offer our industry & Corporate America. After almost a week with these young people, I am clear that they are our industries future; they are the ones who will carry the torch long after most of my peers are spending their time on the shores, courses and consultancy agreements of modern day retirement.
Before I headed to their corner of the world, I offered up a basic and challenging homework assignment which most of them politely blew off. As I began the 3 day training and called them on the homework, I got a glimpse into the power and the reticence that is lingering in our young people. The assignment was to list 100 goals that they had, not for this year, but for their whole life. While I could have taken the position of annoyance, my heart called for empathy. My head thought, “How could our youth not have a laundry list of goals, things they are eager to accomplish with their long and luscious lives” and yet my heart told me that they had already become part of the human condition; resigned, cynical and immediate. My head told me that without real written goals a normal human being fails to follow a course and drifts along life like a sail boat missing a rudder goes no where …it just drifts in the water. Before I could really do the work with them I was intending; I had to find out where they were going and how my training would impact and guide them on their journey.
While they resisted me at first they completed the assignment and in that process they began to take me seriously. Granted, the majority of them have promising track records in this competitive and challenging industry they are still acutely aware of their lack of knowledge and experience dealing in business & people matters. It is that awareness that gave me the opening to make an impact with them. Over the course of the week this young and dynamic team began to open up, they tried new things, they failed, tired again, laughed, got embarrassed, tried again and began to move into a the space of maturing in their roles. During the next month they used their new tools, gained confidence and began to move from baby steps to confident strides. In my follow up call with them I heard movement, energy and passion that inspired me. The coolest thing in the world is that they were ready for more. They were pushing me uphill, and they continue to do so.
As the landscape shifts below our feet, our paradigms about young people need to also shift, they are our future. They will lead the way, they are willing to try new things, they about innovation, creativity and growth. Given the work I have done with globalization, the generations of workforce 2015 and, the impending magnitude of the leadership talent gap I am astutely aware that my world, the world of recruiting, employment and staffing as I have known it will never be the same. The reality is that while our youth may not outwardly admit their shortcomings, they are willing to admit that don’t know what they don’t know and if they believe that you have their best interest at heart they will follow your lead as long as you know when to move over and let them drive. I am highly confident that the new generation of recruiter will lead the way in taking our industry out of the commodity game and into executive level partner game. They will offer services most of us never even thought of or were afraid to think about, they will move forward with provocative holistic talent service offerings, they will earn a seat at the talent strategy table and they will be reveled as leaders in the talent management solution.
