By Ron Schmidt
You are a 57-year-old CEO of an $800-million credit union in Michigan with six branches and 85 employees. How do you manage in a society where ridiculing and bullying is part of our rough and tumble world, where women are subject to assault by superiors, where pockets in industries are dominated by insecure and abusive men, where we ask ourselves about the world we are handing over to our kids? Governor John Kasich of Ohio, who ran for president, recently stated, “When you look at our culture I begin to wonder, have we lost our way?”
The world and society have changed a lot since you started your career; certainly, technology and regulations have changed drastically, and so has the basic treatment of people. Are you troubled? As the CEO what do you do, what do you say to employees, to members? Do you say or do anything or just turn your back to it all? Is there anything you can do?
I think the first thing you want to do is look in the mirror and remember back when you started your career. What was society like then, and how would society affect you differently if you were starting today? What are the effects on your younger employees?
Connecting with Millennials
The answer lies in sitting and listening to your employees, letting them talk. You’re not there to fix things, only to listen. If you have kids it’s probably something you had wished you did with them. The challenge in listening is your own baggage and insecurities. The questions the 23-year-old asks is: Are you genuine? Are you authentic? Can you be trusted? Can she reveal to you without retaliation?
Listening isn’t agenda-driven, it’s people-driven. Not only do surveys say younger people want this, but you should also want this; it’s a tough world and there are lots of hurdles. Friends of mine with younger kids say they never have news on TV anymore for fear of what their kids may hear. That provides an indication of the severity of the challenges.
Team-building Challenges
The listening process is one of many small steps, it’s not a one and done. It takes time and patience and a commitment from you. And in those listening sessions you may piece together why team building is harder than before, why trust seems borderline, why you are pulling your hair out to get everyone to buy-in. And once you figure out that there is a disconnect, then and only then, do you collaborate to figure a way of breaching the great divide.
Paraphrasing David Brooks in a recent column, as leaders/CEOs we teach one another what is right and wrong by the power of example. But before we teach we must learn how people who are different from us be it age, sex, race or religion see the world. Only then can you build the bridges within your organization to benefit your members and employees.
Ron Schmidt is Managing partner of CBS Certified Public Accountants in Solon, Ohio and creator and producer of upcoming feature movie “This Field Looks Green To Me.” He can be reached at rschmidt@cbscpasllc.com, or 440-542-1536, ext. 28.