Comments on: Helping Managers develop the Next Gen’s Social Skills

By: 4 Tips for Managing Millennials (Plus a White Paper!) | Jason Seiden | serhat-sine.com | Serhat SINE Blog and CV

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:49:35 +0000

[...] The bottom line for managers: generational differences are complicated by a number of factors, of which one—career phase—is in your control. (The others are demographics, economics, politics, and technology.) Generally speaking, in the first career phase, an individual becomes a functional expert who’s great at doing something. In the next phase, that person stops doing so much and focuses more on organizing/managing people. The shift from the functional phase to the social phase will look different for Millennials than it did for you; be prepared by understanding what they’re up against and how to help. [...]

By: Paul Hebert

Paul Hebert — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:33:31 +0000

As Covey said – and it is true… Seek first to understand before seeking to be understood.

By: Chris - Renegade HR

Chris - Renegade HR — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:17:14 +0000

Regarding the “Gen Y doesn’t like the phone” thing – I actually think this can be not just a generational culture but a business culture. My current organization is email obsessed, regardless of generational cohort.

There are far too many times where something could be easily and quickly resolved via phone, but I end up spending tremendous amounts of time going back and forth on complicated group email chains. You call someone, and they don’t answer. But you send an email immediately thereafter, and get a response almost instantly.

Online and digital networking and communication are great tools, as is the telephone. I think people of all generations just need to realize what the pros and cons of each tool are and learn when its most appropriate to use one over the other.

Great post, Jason!

By: glenn

glenn — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:38:52 +0000

I have something to share:

Too many of the professionals and higher level workers believe that work should be like what they see on TV. The matters they have to work on should be pat and neat, the best of the best. Money is never discussed on TV, when in reality the opposite is the case. On TV, the value is in the fun and desireability of the project, not the need to pay the bills. The x’ers and y’ers, to me anyway, seem to be so steeped in the quality of life issues while being so removed from the financial realities of business that I believe that they are actually shocked when there jobs become at risk as a result of financial conditions.

I have also noted that there little emphasis on the need to do the necessary hard work and sometimes ‘dirty’ projects that are the ones that support the business. Its sexy to sell the big the diamond, make the big commody trade, do the large court case or the picture window corporate project, but it is the small diamonds sold to lots of stores, the single contract trades, the quiet corporate customer service and the traffic cases that support the the businesses.

Maybe its always been like this, however, since there seems to be more highly educated people in important positions, one would not think that it would still be this way. One would think that a more enlightened educated generation is better prepared for the challenges. Experience still seems to be the best teacher. I’m frustrated.

By: HRM Today - Blog Archive » Helping Managers develop the Next Gen’s Social Skills

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:30:28 +0000

[...] Read More… [...]

By: Ryan Simmons

Ryan Simmons — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:04:41 +0000

You noted that it is important to get to know how other people think. The key to understanding how someone acts is getting to know their thinking process. People tend to suprise others when they explain why they do what they do. (For better or worse) To quote schoolhouse rock, “…Knowledge is power.”

By: Bohdan

Bohdan — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:43:56 +0000

A great, and succinct, observation. I hadn’t thought of it that way before and the ‘filtering’ angle helps me wrap my head around the potential use of mass soc media. Up to this point I have remained unconvinced.

I also agree that training with business phone skills is important. Phone conversations can be uncomfortable but practice and training gets past that. Phones are an incredibly useful way to stay connected to people and allow conversations more complex than email, text, or even blogs.

By: Jamie Favreau

Jamie Favreau — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:40:24 +0000

I completely agree with everything that you stated. Though I even find some Gen Xers crossing over into the NO PHONE CALL path. To me it is frustrating because there is a time when you just need to pick up the phone. It is easier to connect through Twitter but it is the personal relationships that you build that make them worth while.

So pick up the phone and make the connection. That is the only true way to enhance your network.

By: Angela Seits

Angela Seits — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:52:37 +0000

I agree that the majority of Millennials could use lessons in phone skills. Sure, we’ve had cell phones since we turned 13 but how often do we use the phone for professional conversations? When I first started in my career, it took me a while to understand that many older people prefer the phone over e-mail and that I have to return phone calls right away. It seemed like common-sense to my managers but it wasn’t. Now, I understand when the best course of action is to pick up the phone or when it’s better to e-mail as well as to track which communication method my clients best respond to.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:34:36 +0000

Very impressive. Two comments:

1. I Intend to use that very observation of yours to have my staff view networking for business as something that they are already doing, but don’t know it or how to channel it. Nice, thx.

2. Next, when I Google Jason Seiden, I was pleased to see that you now occupy the first complete page, wow. G