On the Road Again, This Time PSU
On the Road Again, This Time PSU Happy Valley

OnTheRoadAgain
Earlier this week, I shared with you my venture to New York City to help my daughter move to her apartment on the Upper East Side. The same week, I was on the road again. This time, PSU Happy Valley.

It seems something is always happening at Pennsylvania State University (PSU Happy Valley). As my husband and I checked into the quaint historic Nittany Lion Inn, no less than ten events occurred over the weekend.  I am sure there are many occasions to celebrate with James Franklin as the new face of football, rebuilding the stellar blue and white image with their new brand initiative, “Penn State Lives Here.”

Not much has physically changed since my last visit to University Park in May 2009 when our daughter graduated; however, as we traveled to the banquet, I noticed the reasonably new Lew Katz Law School Building on the left and across the street the another Arboretum, opening later this year.

My travels took me to PSU because my husband, an attorney from Dickinson School of Law ’80, received The Student Bar Association’s 2014 Alumni Diversity Award for Leadership in the Legal Profession. The Student Diversity Banquet was created in 2013 to celebrate, highlight, and recognize the achievements of Penn State Law’s diverse student body, faculty, and staff.

Currently, four generations are in the workforce:
1.  Silent Generation (1928 – 1945)
2.  Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964)
3.  Generation X (1965 – 1976)
4.  Millennials (1977 – 1998)

Per my husband’s speech, cultural, educational, and workplace trends have remained consistent for generations. Each generation is losing touch with books and paper, gravitating toward technology and less personal interaction. Modern-day employees place their individual needs above the demands of the workplace.

What can a boomer attorney who graduated from law school over thirty years ago offer a diverse group of millennials, some of whom were not even born in 1980?

I want to share some of his intergenerational points to consider to bridge the gap:

  •  Develop awareness, effective communication, and active listening skills
  • Practice sensitivity, fairness, tolerance, and objectivity
  • Cultural Intelligence:  Cultural intelligence or competence functions effectively in the context of cultural differences.  It is the policies and practices of an organization or the values and behaviors of an individual that foster effective cross-cultural communication and the ability to see through the lens through which others view the world.
  • Customer Service – the customer is always right!
  • You are exercising critical thinking and judgment in responding to satisfying the needs of your customers and clients.
  • Networking: Networking is the ability to create and maintain an effective, widely based system or resources that benefits oneself and others through the skill dimensions of using relevant information, having good working relations, and maintaining and communicating a good record of accomplishment.

Develop Your Network:  How Do You Do This?

  • Acknowledge – gifts, leads, information, ideas; support, i.e., send handwritten notes.
  • Stay in touch when seeking nothing
  • Be aware of who is in your network
  • Keep people in the loop about leads, projects, and contracts
  • Don’t leave people dangling.
  • Know etiquette and net-iquette
  • Treat people kindly.
  • Volunteer in your community.
  • State and local bar association members are strongly encouraged to join to stay visible, especially in professional organizations. Bar association memberships provide networking, peer support, and many opportunities to emerge as legal profession leaders. Bar membership is an incredible credential for practice and client development.
  • Be aware of the value of mentoring, both formal and informal. Both roles will significantly contribute to your success.
  • Try to develop your E. Q. – Emotional Intelligence.  Your ability to recognize and manage your emotions and use this awareness to manage yourself and your relationships with others.
  • Leadership is the glue that brings it all together – the ability to accomplish your goals and help others achieve theirs.

I hope you find this information helpful for any graduating law students.  I admire the loyal PSU fans/alumni who will take to being on the road again for the 1:30 PM kick-off for the annual Blue/White Game on April 12th. I’m sure they will enjoy the renewed energy surrounding the new coach and the continued support and excitement for the PSU football program.