The truth is that us as parents learn as much from our teens as they do from us. There are plenty of things that you can learn in general and learn about yourself especially with a rebellious teenager. Not all of these things have to be negative as the younger generation has traits that can help you professionally now.

Social Media Savvy

There have been plenty of articles written about how social media can help a person’s career. With that being said there are plenty of parents that think simply by having a LinkedIn or Facebook account that they are doing what it takes social media wise. Try to find more connections on social media and tweet or post about the things going on in your industry on a professional profile that you have set up. Even teens now know that things stay on the internet forever so they do not put certain activities that may be deemed inappropriate online. Steer clear of politics on your feed as this can have negative impacts on your career regardless if this is moral or not. For jobs like photography finding real Instagram followers or followers on other visual social media platforms can help market a new professional for free.

Following Up and Knowing When To Stop

The world of teenage dating is extremely complicated with couples and friends being able to talk instantly via text or a quick call. Knowing when to follow up and when to stop from being too annoying when following up with clients is a thin line that many people do not know how to toe. Clients can be busy and following up multiple times in a matter of a day or two unless the project is time sensitive is over the top. Clients love to work with those that remind them about things without being too pushy. While some clients might be on top of their projects there will be some you need to contact and other to wait on contacting again.

Direct Conflict Resolution

There are those teenagers that will deflect conflict but then there are those that are straightforward about it. This can be done in a mature way professionally especially if something has been bothering you at the office. Not saying anything about something you have an issue with is not going to help solve this problem. This could be the lack of professionalism between coworkers or even unfair workloads. Most people are scared of conflict and will do nearly anything to avoid it. Take a lesson from some of our more confrontational younger counterparts and tell people really what is bothering us. This will show the office you are confident and will not tolerate certain behaviors or unfair practices.

As you can see these are just a few of the things we can learn from teens that will help us in the office. The office can be seen much like a high school hierarchy with those confident employees rising to the top and those lower on the totem pole. Teens don’t just need to be taught but they can also be teachers when you examine some of their behaviors.