Always Eight Years Old

A few days ago, a woman I know from high school posted to Facebook that her son had said, "Mom, I wish I had friends." He's 7 and recently diagnosed with Asperger's. He's going through a lot. Understandably, his wish broke her heart. I instantly replied. "I'll be his friend! Does he want a pen pal from the West Coast?" And that was that. He's really into Lego's and very worried about the first day of school, so I'm dropping a card in the mail tomorrow. I'm including this mini action figure too! Whenever he needs to remember that he has a friend, he can reach in his pocket and know that I'm there. Why am I telling you this? Because some of the best coaching I ever got in my career came many years ago when I was struggling to work with a client. The HR VP reminded me that, "Our needs as adults are essentially the same as when we were eight. We just want to be liked." And she was right. It's Monday, and that means tons of new hires will be arriving at all of our companies today. And they will worry about making friends and all the other things we worry about when we're 8. So be someone's superhero today. Go out of your way to make them feel welcome. Trade lunches, let them play with your toys, be a really good human.

#onboarding #leadership