We talked, discussed and debated everything from our classes, our relationships, religion and politics.
Dr. Peter Boghossian posted his resignation letter from Portland State university last week. He resigned because the university culture has come to hinder his ability to do his job, which is to teach philosophy, and in particular, critical thinking. He fell out of favor, in large part due to his choice of speakers that he invited into his classroom.
In his letter, he explains that as a college Philosophy professor, he brought a wide range of speakers to classroom, not because he agreed with their worldviews, but primarily because he did not.
Peter explains, "From those messy and difficult conversations, I've seen the best of what our students can achieve: questioning beliefs while respecting believers; staying even-tempered in challenging circumstances; and even changing their minds.
"From those messy and difficult conversations, I've seen the best of what our students can achieve: questioning beliefs while respecting believers; staying even-tempered in challenging circumstances; and even changing their minds." -Dr. Peter Boghossian
Seeing Peter's face in the news brought me right back to my college days at Marquette. "Pete" dated one of my housemates. He often could be found in our living room.
Weeknights after our studying was over, our entertainment was limited to each other and the guests in our living room.
We talked, discussed and debated everything and anything from our classes, our relationships, religion, and politics. Conversations were honest. Some were heated. Some were hilarious.
We laughed a lot. We learned a lot. We really got to know each other.
Even though we had different points of view on many things (and still do), that didn't stop us from talking about them, especially when Pete was around.
By engaging in conversations whether at our house, in-class or at one of the nearby taverns, we learned through trial and error and observing others the essential IRL (In Real Life) skills of verbal dialogue, including hearing others points of view, stating our own, finding common ground, and maintaining respect.
Today young people are spending significant amounts of time online instead of IRL where the skills needed to develop genuine relationships are honed. These are types of relationships where you can question, push, learn and support each other. Plus, you have one another's backs.
Not having forged genuine relationships, an alarming number of young adults are lonely and suffering from mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Ask just about anyone working with students in high schools or universities about mental health. They will tell you about the increase in anxiety-related hospitalizations and deaths of despair. This is a big problem.
Additionally, there is plenty of evidence of professors across the country are having experiences like Pete. They are being blocked from role modeling and encouraging the development of essential IRL business skills, like verbal debate and critical thinking in the classroom. This is a big problem too.
With the digital revolution still raging, organizations will continue to need employees with strong IRL business skills, who can adapt to do new jobs that are ambiguous and require problem solving and collaboration and yes, critical thinking.
Leaders,
You need employees with In Real Life business skills, like being able build relationships, think critically and question respectfully.
Employees with these skills drive innovation, speed up the realization of benefits and promote an inclusive culture.
While the youngest generation in the workforce is tech savvy, earnest and hardworking, because of how they developed and how many of them are being instructed in college, they need a different type of support from you in order to contribute fully.
Three ways you can address IRL skill gaps:
- Encourage your team members to access and work-on their IRL business skills. Offer a self-assessment tool to your employees for them to see what In Real Life business practices they need to focus on.
- Role model relationship building practices. Include junior employees in your virtual and in-person meetings where they can hear the conversations you have to get to know new stakeholders. Include them in the meetings where you start and finish messy and difficult conversations, all the while maintaining respect for all involved.
- Be on the lookout for those suffering from mental illness. Get training for your people managers so they may identify team members suffering from anxiety and depression before it's too late. Instruct them on what to do to demonstrate concern and connect their team members to the support they need.
Key Points:
- Support young professionals by developing their in-person business skills like relationship-building, respectful debate, and critical thinking.
- Leaders must role model real-world workplace interactions and equip managers to identify and support employees struggling with mental health.