Together is Better than One - A Message of Inclusivity
Focus on Simon Sinek, Leadership Consultant.
Are we living our lives as accident or by design?
Simon Sinek provides some valuable insights about leadership, teamwork, and relationships. His new book, Together is Better than One is instructive as we continue to work on building a more diverse and inclusive workplace and community.
Jay Shetty interviews Simon in the following YouTube segment:
In one interview about Millenials, Simon talks about why this generation may have a difficult time dealing with change with advancements and technology. He also talks about how some of the older generation may not understand how they are adapting.
Simon describes four issues related to the current situation:
Parenting. Many millennials were told they were special and can achieve anything in life. Many were honor students who did well. Some participated in sports and were rewarded irrespective of how well they performed. Some were given medals even if they came in last which helped to shatter their self esteem and to lower personal self esteem. As adults they now struggle with not getting everything they want, have lower self esteem than previous generations, and lack the ability to ask for help.
Technology. This generation is overly consumed with social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and others. These platforms diminish the ability to build personal relationships at a deeper level. They get more instant gratification by interactions on these platforms which are highly addictive and release dopamine which makes them feel good in much the same way as smoking, drinking or gambling. In other words, they become very addictive and become substitutes for deeper personal relationships.
Instant Gratification. Because of these tools and practices, millennials want instant results and gratification. They are less willing to spend the time to build deeper more meaningful relationships in personal relationships and at work. Many become impatient quickly at not making progress at work and have not learned effective coping mechanisms. Organizational leaders are not very good at mentoring and coaching these young people as they are overly focused on short term results. As result these younger professionals struggle with finding joy in their work.
Environment. Employee development strategies are not effective in building trust and loyalty among these professionals. They are very inexperienced in helping this generation find joy and meaning in their work. Many of the millennials blame themselves for their situation. Trust forms slowly by steady, consistent reinforcement. These young professionals are entering the workforce with a social deficit and there is a greater need now to help them build productive relationships at work.
The video interview is well worth listening to.