Let’s Do Life Together
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - Joe Kiedinger
Let’s look to history for the various “ages” we’ve sailed through beginning with the Industrial Age. This was the age of efficiencies and mass manufacturing. That lasted most of the 20th century until the Technology Age hit. This was the computer age. This, in a relatively short time, led to the Information Age. This is the age of big data. Which leads to where we are today, the Connection Age.
We must relook at how we build companies. It’s all about connection. Employees want to feel a connection to their work and those they work alongside. Customers want a deeper connection and will support the brands that support their values.
The old model in teaching leaders how to manage employee emotions was to have them “leave their baggage at the door.” Leaders were taught (especially from HR) that you shouldn’t be friends with your subordinates and that their personal life is private.
Welcome to the Connection Age! Those rules are DEAD if you wish to become a leader in today’s world! Leadership is a personal invasion of a person’s private life. Let’s face it, when something unpleasant happens to us, we do show our grumpy side. We do go down the victim ladder. Younger employees may be dealing with their first home purchase and are stressed due to the unfamiliar process.
Do life with them. You’ve bought a house. Ask them why they’re grumpy, what’s going on? Share your experience, give them some mentoring and help put them at ease. When we approach leaders with this mindset, real progress and teamwork will be achieved.
We must learn how to connect on a deeper level. It’s the reality of where we are today. Electronics have numbed the face-to-face connection. Parents hand their kids electronics as a pacifier and they grow up not knowing what it’s like to be truly mentored. When they experience their first connection, they latch on to it, because that is how we are emotionally wired.
Let’s go there, let’s do life together or be left in the dust by those who figured it out. BTW – it actually leads to a richer life both personally and professionally.
Joe Kiedinger
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