Exposure and Desire

by Zina Cooper

The act of mentoring and motivating young African American professionals requires the ability to tap into their desires and then to help them realistically determine the probability (or improbability) of obtaining them.
One of the most common factors I have found with young people, in general, but particularly African American youth, are lofty goals with lack of preparation or exposure. The very key to helping this demographic to tap into their strengths is to first assess their experiences. I have held many conversations with young professionals who aspire to greatness but have no baseline experiences to support it.
For example, I held a conversation with a college student working as a material handler, who is by the way a very bright young man. He was somewhat frustrated with the way his company was operating. He clearly identified productivity inefficiencies, safety hazards, morale issues and areas of waste in the business. I then asked him what his ultimate goal was and he stated to be a General Manager. “In fact”, he stated emphatically, “I could run this place today”. As our conversation continued, I was able to convince him if he were placed in the position today the probability of his success would be quite low. He was able to understand that he had no exposure to key elements of business management that needed to be developed in him first. By the time we discussed profit & loss statements, business & sales taxes, supply chain, scheduling and human resource management (which the General Manager ultimately has responsibility) he conceded he was only at the beginning stages of his development as a professional. It’s like wanting to play in the NBA and never having seen a game from the inside. It looks easy enough but when you try to place the ball in the hoop with 9 other people around you, from a distance, that takes lots of exposure and practice.
Let’s tap into your desires, understand your exposure (experiences), and then create opportunities for you to develop the skills that will lead you to success.