Relationship Trumps Social Media Technology!

You be the judge of whether or not face-to-face relationship trumps social media technology.

Today we all need to be technology-savvy and are pretty much “on” 24/7.  Some of us do better than others in setting boundaries so that technology doesn’t overshadow our relationships at work, at home and at play.

We have all heard and how seen families, couples, and co-workers are disconnected more than connected with the overuse of mobile phones, video games, tablets, etc.  What we need is to really appreciate the cost we pay when we don’t pay attention to disbalance.

Recently during a women’s network function, an accomplished senior-level executive shared a learning that etched in her that relationship trumps technology and productivity.  She shared that she had recently been promoted and was seen as a rising star only to find herself laid off a few months later.  She went on to explain that when her boss changed jobs and a new one came in she did what she always did, kept her nose to the grind stone and focused on communicating at work through technology.  Needless to say she never really developed a relationship with her new boss.

She is not alone.  Many of the young, emerging professionals I have had the pleasure of coaching work with me on attending  to the challenge of balancing technology in favor of  saving a marriage, building friendships, getting along with colleagues and networking most effectively by enhancing relationship and communication skills.

I have the honor of teaching at the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication every summer in Portland, Oregon.   In the class, students from around the world explore communication styles based on theory, models, and experience.  Invariably the conclusion is that three-fourths of the world favor an attached style which is relationship driven, expressive and engaged.  Certainly we need to pay attention to favoring interaction beyond technology to navigate and sustain our relationships, both personal and professional.

While Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other tools are great aids, they cannot, I repeat, cannotreplace the human connection.

I dare say,  face-to-face relationships will trump social media technology hands down!