Friday, January 10, 2014

Letting The Clock Dial Turn

"Today's generation want it now." A common phrase expressed by everyone. Now I could probably take the time to research about the statistics behind this and how it's probably contributed to video games, touch phones and other smart technology. But what I really want to share are the consequences. 

Where will this behavior land us?  

For the most part we'll keep getting a new project, a new desk, a new team and so forth. In my 'Create Your 2014' post, I spoke about what steps I took last spring to be in the position I am today. Although they were objective and strategic steps, there were soft skills that landed me the respect I needed. 

The best part about so-called 'millennials' is the short attention span and go-getter behavior. We're very adaptive to change and even thrive off of it. However, there are a few traits we can learn from our predecessors and patience is number one. 

Although I agree with a saying I recently read- "good things don't come for those who wait for it; good things come to those who work for it," I've learned that patience has sculpted my leadership style. 

My co-worker always tells me: 

"Teach the change. Give them the tools to make the change. When the dial goes from 12 to 1, applaud the change. Then teach the next change to go from 1 to 2." 

So I'll be 30 by the time we get through the entire life cycle of a clock?! 


But the message here is how we must embrace the moment and the little wins we achieve to keep the engagement and the motivation, especially if your team consists of those two to three times your age. 

The other trait I want to bring up again and again, is humility. We don't know it all. We may be more technical. We may be faster. We may be more alert on everything that's happening through twitter and Facebook and google+. 

But if we stop and ask more questions then giving answers, we'll develop even more rapidly and have a team of followers behind us. 

Arrogance gets you nowhere. And if you're standing in a meeting with a bunch of senior leaders, don't jump to the conclusion that you know what they're referring to. There is always a piece of information you don't have that someone else can provide to you and speaking up on a topic prematurely will just deplete your credibility bucket. 

So our generation must learn to push on the brakes when there are other cars around us on the street.

Of course, when we're on highway I-10 halfway between Phoenix and LA, just step on it. You know where you're going. You know how to get there. Go and get it. 

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this reminder this morning, Tima! Us twenty-somethings think our world needs to change so far because of how we see trends moving on Twitter, etc. but we have to remember that real life is not social media.

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