Learning from the young people

Do our cultural orientations allow this?

Do adults know better?

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My 25+ years of working experience means that in my office I have team members who are in the age range of 21 years upwards. I am living in an era where many things have changed – for example the growth and use of technology, the diversity of people working in organisations and the generally different terrain of today’s work place.

A growing number of Africans are living and working in other African countries. People from varying religious backgrounds are working together in teams. People with different belief systems and experiences find themselves having to collaborate at work places. The workers are also becoming younger and younger in most organisations.

I am interested in how we can tap into this diversity for knowledge transfer, learning from each other, mentoring, coaching and promoting innovative ways of working.

I worked as a computer programmer in the 90s and early 2000s. I then became a manager of technical teams. I know that I have much to learn from the young people concerning the current tools and platforms that are being used for example by systems developers/programmers in this new age. I admit that young people know certain things that I do not know.

My experience of working in some countries in Africa is that the young people’s voices cannot be easily heard in organizations. The older people have the final say. The young people will not speak up and oppose the views of an adult. I find that this suffocates learning, collaboration and knowledge transfer.

How I learn from young people

1.  I established ‘Tuesday Meetings’ where the department meets to share. The golden rule is that everyone’s views matter.
2. We hold joint learning sessions. This is based on an agreed area of joint learning. Young people get the opportunity to research and present as a method of joint learning.
3. I assign young people to solve real organisational problems. This is of course done under supervision, but they lead the process.

Advantages of having young people in the work place

1. They have more energy and zeal
2. They are technology-savvy
3. They have new ideas. With guidance some of these ideas could benefit organisations
4. They quickly adapt to new environments

What the older people bring to the work place

1.  Older people bring valuable experience. Nothing beats experience. But experience must not come in the way of new thinking
2. They know people and have networks associated with their profession
3. Loyalty – the young could benefit from this
4. Have more organisational skills

We can benefit from understanding the value that young people and other diverse groups can bring to the organisations. If diverse teams are properly nurtured – this can result in organisations that easily ‘learn’, ‘adapt’ and anticipate new directions to take.

Thank you for reading my article. What has been your experience as a young person in an organisational setting? What has been your experience if you are an older person? Do our cultural orientations promote learning from the youth?