The lyrics of the song Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young back in 1970 still reverberate in our Twenty First Century world – but they also sang about children teaching their parents:
And you, of tender years
Can't know the fears your elders grew by
Help them with your youth
They seek the truth before they can die
We can and should all learn from and emulate the doyennes of our disciplines – those who through intellect and hard work have achieved a pre-eminent position in our professional world. But perhaps paradoxically we should also if we are humble enough recognise that we can learn from everyone, and even those who are lower down on the rungs of career ladders. When I was made a partner in one of the law firms I worked for I was given the job of managing all the firm’s trainee lawyers. This meant dealing with their initial recruitment including, organising their work experience and engaging the successful ones as assistant solicitors once they qualified. The trainees were generally welcomed and most colleagues engaged positively with their development. There were exceptions - in the days of individual offices (remember those) one well established partner once threw a heavy legal practitioner’s book (remember those as well!) at the trainee he shared his office with. Apparently, he sent the trainee out to buy some cold medicine and he got the wrong flavour. Fortunately the book missed, but I banned the partner from having any future trainees.
But he was the exception, and I firmly believe that most of the lawyers learnt from our charges as we also taught them. In many ways they were by way of example more connected to what was happening in the firm than most solicitors and indeed even some partners. They worked throughout the practice and had a social life together and a sort of jungle telegraph that meant they knew about changes and developments, sometimes before the senior partner. And they brought with them new ways of learning the law and using technology as successive new generations entered the profession. As AI suggests: “Learning from more junior professionals can involve gaining fresh perspectives, new approaches to problems, a strong grasp on emerging technologies, increased awareness of recent trends, and the ability to understand the learning curve of new employees, all while providing valuable mentorship and guidance to help them develop their skills.”
However, I suggest that too often as we advance in our respective professions we assume we are right simply because we have more experience and do not do enough to listen to and foster the contributions of our more junior colleagues. And indeed, they may be reluctant to share their thoughts in the presence of senior more seasoned professionals. I propose we will all benefit by encouraging ideas from all in our professional teams and workplaces including the more junior members. This could, for example, include creating safe spaces by establishing a culture where junior employees feel comfortable providing honest feedback without fear of repercussions. Actively seeking out their perspectives by bringing them into the discussions at a meeting also helps.
See this Forbes article What Older Workers And Younger Workers Can Learn From Each Other which commences “There’s a great cultural and technological divide between younger and older workers, but both can benefit from each other’s knowledge and skills in important ways.” It proposes some things younger workers can teach their older colleagues:
This has all been exacerbated by the opportunities and challenges of remote working in our professional worlds. “Back in the day” in law firms it was pretty much assumed that trainees would be in the office all the time – hence the practice of sharing an office with a more senior lawyer I refer to above. But the advent of more remote working has made that something of a challenge, especially as even if the more junior lawyers are in the office, their seniors may not be. See this interesting article from the Harvard Business Review Investing in the Development of Young, Remote Employeewhich comments “With the ascent of remote and hybrid teams over the past few years, the landscape of our work has undergone a profound transformation. Many young professionals started their careers during this tumultuous period, interviewing for and starting new jobs in remote environments. Smart companies are taking proactive steps to support this cohort’s professional development.” It then discusses some solutions including:
“Identify Reverse Mentoring Opportunities. Often when we think of mentoring, it’s from the vantage point of a more senior professional providing guidance to a more junior member of the team. But it’s important to remember that knowledge sharing works both ways. Mentorship presents a valuable opportunity for early career professionals to forge connections within the company.
Create Open Space for Conversations. When you’re at the start of your career, you may be hesitant to speak up in a team meeting or share an observation with a more senior peer. Dedicating time during the work week for more informal connection is a smart strategy that enables inclusion, especially for quieter voices.”
It is also worth bearing in mind that as we mature in our professional world what goes around comes around as it were, and our trainees and juniors can and will become our managers in due course. Hopefully they will then remember our encouragement when they were young and have a positive view of the potential contributions of their elder colleagues!
As Nelson Mandela said: “Sometimes it falls upon a younger generation to be agents of change.”
And you, of tender years
Can't know the fears your elders grew by
Help them with your youth
They seek the truth before they can die
We can and should all learn from and emulate the doyennes of our disciplines – those who through intellect and hard work have achieved a pre-eminent position in our professional world. But perhaps paradoxically we should also if we are humble enough recognise that we can learn from everyone, and even those who are lower down on the rungs of career ladders. When I was made a partner in one of the law firms I worked for I was given the job of managing all the firm’s trainee lawyers. This meant dealing with their initial recruitment including, organising their work experience and engaging the successful ones as assistant solicitors once they qualified. The trainees were generally welcomed and most colleagues engaged positively with their development. There were exceptions - in the days of individual offices (remember those) one well established partner once threw a heavy legal practitioner’s book (remember those as well!) at the trainee he shared his office with. Apparently, he sent the trainee out to buy some cold medicine and he got the wrong flavour. Fortunately the book missed, but I banned the partner from having any future trainees.
But he was the exception, and I firmly believe that most of the lawyers learnt from our charges as we also taught them. In many ways they were by way of example more connected to what was happening in the firm than most solicitors and indeed even some partners. They worked throughout the practice and had a social life together and a sort of jungle telegraph that meant they knew about changes and developments, sometimes before the senior partner. And they brought with them new ways of learning the law and using technology as successive new generations entered the profession. As AI suggests: “Learning from more junior professionals can involve gaining fresh perspectives, new approaches to problems, a strong grasp on emerging technologies, increased awareness of recent trends, and the ability to understand the learning curve of new employees, all while providing valuable mentorship and guidance to help them develop their skills.”
However, I suggest that too often as we advance in our respective professions we assume we are right simply because we have more experience and do not do enough to listen to and foster the contributions of our more junior colleagues. And indeed, they may be reluctant to share their thoughts in the presence of senior more seasoned professionals. I propose we will all benefit by encouraging ideas from all in our professional teams and workplaces including the more junior members. This could, for example, include creating safe spaces by establishing a culture where junior employees feel comfortable providing honest feedback without fear of repercussions. Actively seeking out their perspectives by bringing them into the discussions at a meeting also helps.
See this Forbes article What Older Workers And Younger Workers Can Learn From Each Other which commences “There’s a great cultural and technological divide between younger and older workers, but both can benefit from each other’s knowledge and skills in important ways.” It proposes some things younger workers can teach their older colleagues:
- New technologies that will impact internal collaboration and their profession and industry and how to use them
- The importance of diversity and how it can benefit the team, since younger employees are the most diverse in history
- How change is inevitable, why the skills of today may not be as valuable in the future and how to learn new skills
- Why they shouldn’t give up on their dreams — research shows that younger workers are more optimistic and can use that to inspire older workers
- The collaborative mindset that will help older workers best interact with them, brainstorm, and come up with new ideas
This has all been exacerbated by the opportunities and challenges of remote working in our professional worlds. “Back in the day” in law firms it was pretty much assumed that trainees would be in the office all the time – hence the practice of sharing an office with a more senior lawyer I refer to above. But the advent of more remote working has made that something of a challenge, especially as even if the more junior lawyers are in the office, their seniors may not be. See this interesting article from the Harvard Business Review Investing in the Development of Young, Remote Employeewhich comments “With the ascent of remote and hybrid teams over the past few years, the landscape of our work has undergone a profound transformation. Many young professionals started their careers during this tumultuous period, interviewing for and starting new jobs in remote environments. Smart companies are taking proactive steps to support this cohort’s professional development.” It then discusses some solutions including:
“Identify Reverse Mentoring Opportunities. Often when we think of mentoring, it’s from the vantage point of a more senior professional providing guidance to a more junior member of the team. But it’s important to remember that knowledge sharing works both ways. Mentorship presents a valuable opportunity for early career professionals to forge connections within the company.
Create Open Space for Conversations. When you’re at the start of your career, you may be hesitant to speak up in a team meeting or share an observation with a more senior peer. Dedicating time during the work week for more informal connection is a smart strategy that enables inclusion, especially for quieter voices.”
It is also worth bearing in mind that as we mature in our professional world what goes around comes around as it were, and our trainees and juniors can and will become our managers in due course. Hopefully they will then remember our encouragement when they were young and have a positive view of the potential contributions of their elder colleagues!
As Nelson Mandela said: “Sometimes it falls upon a younger generation to be agents of change.”
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