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Leadership

Human connection, where are you?!

Unity

How often have you passed by someone in the hallway and said:

How ya doing?

While STILL continuing to walk away?

We’re all guilty.

I am guilty.

You expect the blanket answer of:

Good.

Living the dream.

Fine.

Not bad

….and the list of answers can go on and on.

We are simply used to them.

When did we stop making eye-contact, stop walking, and actually wait for a reply?

Honest question.

I truly can’t remember when that stopped being a thing.

I remember it WAS a thing though.

It was.

We used to actually make eye-contact and wait for someone to reply, and they get this, we would reply back.

I am sure all of your flabbers are gasted at this very thought!

It did happen.

I feel like it was way back when we used to carry a Walkman and add new charms to our charm bracelets.

Ahh, simpler times.

I don’t know about you, but I miss those times.

The times where our faces weren’t buried in our phones and we actually had to make eye-contact with folks walking our way.

Where a casual hello would lead to a meaningful hallway chat and a high-five was the equivalent to a viral video.

I’d even settle for a note written by my officemate that is folded into a triangle and catapulted towards my desk.

We have lost the magic of human connection.

We’re far too worried about what social media has socialized since the last 5 seconds that we scrolled mindlessly.

We may miss that amazing meme that we need to share with at least 2 friends so that they know how funny we are.

You guys, we have even stooped so low that we can’t just quietly do good anymore.

We are taking videos of giving homeless people food or money and then posting it for accolades.

I’m posing a challenge to you in 2025.

In the words of the wise Vanilla Ice:

STOP.

COLLABORATE.

And LISTEN.

The world is so fast and the days and nights go so quickly.

Are we stopping long enough to really connect with our teammates let alone our members?

I recently overheard a CEO of a very large credit union complain that they simply don’t have the time to “roll out the red carpet for every single member”.

Sir, you do have time.

Just as you choose to wake up and show up for the day, you also have the power to make others feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

Internal and external members deserve that time.

You deserve that time.

Let’s get back to the basics and start stopping when we ask how someone is.

Let’s wait for that answer.

Let’s hear what they are saying, and I know this may be a bit much, but let’s also reply mindfully. If Vanilla Ice can do it, we can too.