Is the professional socialization process broken?
Have you heard team leads and managers lament about today’s young employees not being passionate, not having the functional depth, the eye for detail, the desire to pursue excellence? I hear a lot of that constantly.
One can dismiss this away as some generational stuff, but I realize that these are not senior leaders lamenting – these are managers just one generation removed.
Having thought about it for a while, I have a hypothesis to offer. I seem to believe that what people are saying is symptomatic of the fact that the process of pre -socialization and socialization into professional life has weakened significantly over time.
What is pre-socialization for a professional? It is the journey that someone goes through right from college until they start working, through which they understand and internalize the skills, the mindsets, the values and norms of the profession they are entering. It is about figuring out what it will take to be an effective professional.
Why has this process has weakened over time?
For several decades, those in technical and professional fields went through a hands-on apprenticeship or internship process. And this was not just another term for low-cost labour but an intense period of pre-socialisation.
This is when the young employees looked up to someone and learnt from them by just observing and watching, learning by doing it under close guidance. I think we have lost that whole spirit of apprenticeship or internship.
Second, organizations had a genuine training period. That was meant to be a help one understood and absorb the norms and values and expectations of being a professional. In the interest of cost and pressure to on board quickly, we have pretty much done away with traineeships. One is expected to arrive pre-socialized!
Third, managers most managers and leaders have little time for the young people who join them today, to impart the functional fundamentals and the informal insights. Online resources cannot make up for what a manager can and should do.
Fourth, finding one’s first job and establishing oneself with pride and credibility was something that was eagerly awaited and celebrated. There was anticipation, excitement and a deep desire to do very well. For a variety of complex reasons, the innocence of the first job is lost.
And finally and most importantly, for many large organizations, employees are part of their manpower supply chain – raw materials, work in progress and finish goods. The whole focus is on making the supply chain efficient rather than producing good professionals.
Therefore, when someone says young employees do not seem to fully understand what it means to be a professional, there is some truth in that. But the finger needs to be pointed inwards.
How do we reverse this damage?
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/6x27AA41HIM
