We're doing the next-gen a disservice!

If people really are the foundation of any company's success, we're doing the next-gen a disservice!

Maybe it wasn't taught in their academic foundation. Maybe they've never had a good manager who learned to coach them. Maybe their parents weren't business professionals, and this wasn't ingrained into them at a young age.

Regardless of the causation, a lack of due diligence is the fastest way to kill the first impression in any potential relationship! It's inexcusable to show up to any intro meeting unprepared.

If the primary job of every manager is to help people be more effective in their jobs and to grow and develop, I'd submit that we're grossly under-investing in business relationship development skills, knowledge, and behaviors. The post-pandemic world, where most of us WFX (work from everywhere), has only exasperated this neglect, primarily because the next-gen isn't getting the informal coaching and mentoring they used to in an office with their peers and managers.

How long does it really take to Google my name and look up my website or LinkedIn profile? How long does it take to capture 2-3 "relational onramps" and mention - "did I see that you went to XYZ school," or "worked at ABC company?" and follow it up with, "How was that experience?"

Let's take the great people who want to do well, are capable of doing great things, and come to work fired up to do them and help them flourish in their business relationships. Here are three simple and impactful steps:

1. Teach, or better yet, show them how to prepare for every first meeting appropriately.

2. Educate them on how to create a hypothesis about that potential relationship and present it in a well-thought-out manner.

3. Coach them to convey their credibility through the questions they ask vs. the solutions they provide. You don't know me, know anything about me, my background, experiences, and why I'm on this call. How about instead of jumping in with all that you feel is great about you, you ask 1-2, maybe 3 intelligent questions to better understand where I'm coming from and what I'm looking for most in this potential relationship?

Only when we teach the next-gen talent how to optimize every relationship will they truly be in a position to become the best version of themselves. It starts with those of us who didn’t paint on the grey hair to care enough to take the next-gen under our wings and show them how to build great relationships.

#businessrelationships #relationshipeconomics #businesssuccess #professionalism #professionaldevelopment #rolemodels

David Nour is the author of 12 books translated into eight languages, including best-sellers Relationship Economics®, Co-Create, and Curve Benders. He regularly speaks at corporate meetings, industry association conferences, and academic forums on the intentional, quantifiable, and strategic value of business relationships.
Learn more at NourGroup.com/About.