On Becoming a Leader is a biweekly advice column in which Allison Fine, an author, consultant, and expert on nonprofit leadership and strategy, answers your questions about nonprofit careers and leadership. Have a question? Ask Ms. Fine using this form.
Q: Can you help a manager who is a Gen Xer understand why millennial employees text and use their phones during one-on-one and small-group meetings? I find it distracting as a manager and disrespectful, yet I know that is not how it is intended. – Anonymous
A: Hi, Anonymous. You are certainly not alone in trying to navigate the balance between screens and life. Many of us are struggling with this personally (“I’ll stop looking at my email when my kid comes to bat”) and professionally (“What if I miss the important call from my client/doctor/daughter during the meeting?”). The loss of attention is taking a toll on every organization.
Here are a few facts to consider:
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Effective multitasking is a myth. People have the mental capacity of a drunken driver when they try to focus on doing more than one thing at a time.
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Not being fully present in life is rude to the other people around you, whether it is in a meeting or at dinner. In her latest book, Reclaiming Conversation, Sherry Turkle discusses the issue of “technoference,” meaning when technology is interfering with in-person engagement.
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We control our technology, it does not control us. FOMO (fear of missing out) is an entirely made-up construct and a choice, not a necessity, of modern life – even if some young people think they will expire if they don’t respond to every message in 15 seconds.
I asked the participants in a Facebook group created by my friend Beth Kanter how they are seeing this play out within organizations. Commenters pointed out that workplace technology distraction is not only an issue for young people. All employees, regardless of age, are taking calls during meetings, or using their screens purportedly for one purpose – say, taking notes – then sliding into checking mail or surfing the web because the applications are too tempting to avoid.
The key for managing these distractions is for organizations to develop explicit norms and rules for balancing attention and technology. There is no one right way to do this, but it is important for leaders to establish a transparent process for determining what, where, when, and how technology will be used in their organization. Here are a few of the questions that can start the process:
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When and why should in-person meetings be called? It may be that your organization relies too heavily on them, making it hard for staffers to find the time to do their work. As a result, they try to multitask during meetings. When do we have to be face to face and when can we use email for discussions? When can we work independently? Figure out the answers to use everyone’s time most effectively.
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Do we want phones on, on vibrate, or not in the room when we meet? Increasingly organizations are asking people to leave their phones at their desks, or are collecting them before meetings, to avert technological temptation. There need to be exceptions – for example, if someone is waiting to hear if his or her partner has gone into labor – but setting norms about phone usage is increasingly important. Orienting new employees to those norms is critically important so everyone has the same expectations.
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Is it OK to take notes on a laptop during a meeting? Again, if someone is online, it may be too easy to slip into checking email. I am often astonished by how many people at a meeting are surfing the web or answering email on their laptops. Perhaps your organization makes it OK to take notes as long as the note taker is offline.
One last thing to note about your particular situation, Anonymous: Problems arise when we make assumptions about what people should know about organizational life and culture. Young people may not have much experience in a workplace and may not fully understand that once they pass through an employer’s door, their time is no longer their own. We may not think we have to be that explicit with a staff person, but increasingly we do. The key is having clear, written policies that apply to everyone.