WHY – College graduates struggle in their first years in the workplace

Have you ever been in a meeting and watched the new employee say something that was a bit awkward? Have you watched the new employee present way too much information than would have been appropriate for the situation? Or have you personally experienced a time in which you didn’t know how to match your approach to the client or to the person to whom you were speaking?

There have been many studies over the years about personality and behavior styles. In the 1970s Carl Jung pioneered the study of personalities, and today there are tools such as Meyers Briggs, DISC, People Skills, and others. With all these tools and methods to teach people how to work with people, you would think it would be one of the first things college students learn. Unfortunately this isn’t the case is neither high schools nor colleges this subject is rarely taught.

A few years ago, I collected feedback from over 1000 employees and the two most frequent items they pointed out that leaders needed to do differently were: #1 – Value differences in their employees. #2 – Provide better coaching to their employees. Over the last 20 years, I have seen many examples of new employees struggling with this important leadership skill in the workplace. And when combined with cultural differences, the lack of skill in understanding differences and being able to flex ones behavior style can result in tension, poor relationships, lack of productivity, loss of customers, and conflict in the workplace.

Here are some practical tips to brush up on this skill:

1. Build your awareness of differences - Read or take a class about personality and behavior differences. After using many of these tools with people around the world, I have found the People Skills from the Effectiveness Institute to be one of the more practical and useful tools on the market. Learn about other cultural tendencies.
2. Practice looking for the differences – How fast is the person speaking? What is their body language? How quickly do they make decisions? How much content is in their email? Does the person focus first on the relationship or business?
3. Flex your style towards the other person – I am not suggesting you try to be someone completely different, but with a little practice you can match the appropriate style with the other person and thus increase the effectiveness of the conversation.. For example, speeding up your presentation for someone that makes decisions more quickly. Or, for the appropriate person, you could respond to the email with a few bullet points vs. lots of detail. Or, for the person that focuses on relationships, you could share something about your weekend before jumping into business.

The above are just a few examples of things you can do to keep yourself out of embarrassing situations. As a certified facilitator of several of these tools and after teaching these principles to hundreds of leaders, I have had the opportunity to watch the positive impact a little skill in this area can have. There is no question that this subject should be a part of any professional’s curriculum. Whether you have recently entered the workplace or have been in it for many years, consider investing in this important leadership skill. Otherwise, with the lack of strong interpersonal/cultural skills, you might quickly dismiss what appears to be a simple “faux pas” instead for something that results in poor relationships, additional cost, and lost business.