Last fall, I reached out to Kimberely Majury who lives in Boston, at the prompting of a mutual friend when she learned we both had sons at Fordham University. My friend said, "Kimberely is brilliant, and she cares about workplace culture and supporting early career employees, just like you ." We connected and learned that our sons not only knew each other, but they were good friends and lived in the same building.
Simply amazing.
We celebrated their graduation together this month along with the families and friends of the other 5,000 graduates in the pouring rain. It was joyous and so much fun.
I love graduations, especially the speeches.
Lead with Love
My metric for a good graduation speech is if someone else is so moved by it that they tell you about it.
Kimberley enthusiastically told me about this year's Babson College undergraduate commencement speech given by Tim Ryan, U.S. Chair and Senior Partner, PwC.
I listened to it (and think you should too.) It was awesome!
Tim Ryan's simple message for the students was: I want you to lead with love.
He shared many stories including one where his professor told him "I want you to give this thing called public accounting a try" and when Ryan protests, the professor waves his finger at him and says "It's business. And business is about people, and I think you'd be good at that."
He also talks about his first day on the job at PwC, which he started right after graduating from Babson in 1988. A colleague takes him under his wing at lunch time and does something so kind that all these years later he shares it with the graduates.
Business is about people. The best leaders know this, and know that people need love, even at work. Share the love!
Relationship Building Skills
Earlier this week, I listened to Josh Bersin and Scott Galloway discuss their Predictions on the Post-COVID Workplace . While they didn't agree on everything, they both stated the importance of managers encouraging those early in their career to work on building relationships.
Bersin advised managers in organizations that do allow employees to work from home to be direct with junior team members to leverage IRL (in real life) relationship-building opportunities. He said to call out key events by saying something like, "If you don't show-up in person for this meeting, you are going to miss this opportunity."
Galloway, who instructs college students, said that young adults need to spend less than 7-8 hours a day at home, and the rest in the real world. He said he tells his students " before you start collecting dogs and kids you need to work on your professional and romantic relationships ."
Recently Galloway posted this:
"If you're a young person, you should be outside, at the office, at cafes, in parks, at coworking spaces, gyms, clubs, bars, friends' living rooms, making connections, risking awkwardness & rejection, forming friendships & work relationships and finding love IRL."
I love this message because doing these things will result in strong IRL business skills that will serve you well in your professional and personal life. Growth comes from being engaged with others.
Key Points
The best leaders understand that business is about people—real connection, kindness, and love are what make workplaces thrive, especially for early-career employees.
In a post-COVID world, showing up in real life—to learn, connect, and build relationships—is the most powerful way to grow both your career and your confidence.