Your Emerging Talent Knows How to Connect Online. But Do They Know How to Build Relationships?

Your emerging talent probably knows how to communicate.

They’ve grown up with texting, social media, LinkedIn, Teams, Zoom and more ways to reach another person than any generation before them.

That’s not the problem.

The question for organizations is different:

That’s a skill.

And like many professional skills, it can be taught.

I have spent much of my career helping people build professional relationships, and one distinction has become increasingly important:

You can connect with someone on LinkedIn in seconds.

You can send a Teams message.

You can exchange texts.

You can sit in the same Zoom meeting.

But none of those things automatically creates trust.

A relationship develops when people learn something about one another, pay attention, follow up, help each other and consistently show up.

That’s different from simply being reachable.

Technology has made professional communication dramatically more efficient.

I use it myself.

LinkedIn can help you research someone before a meeting. Email can make follow-up easier. Teams can keep a distributed organization moving. Zoom can put people in the same conversation when being in the same room isn’t possible.

Those are valuable tools.

But tools don’t replace the human work of building trust.

That’s particularly important for emerging professionals who may have entered the workforce through remote or hybrid environments.

Some haven’t had as many opportunities to watch experienced professionals build relationships in person.

That isn’t a character flaw.

It’s a training opportunity.

The impact goes well beyond networking events.

Professional relationships influence:

• collaboration

• mentorship

• visibility

• career mobility

• referrals

• advocacy

• access to opportunity

People tend to advocate for people they know.

They trust people who consistently show up.

And opportunities often move through relationships.

An employee who can communicate efficiently but struggles to build trust may be technically excellent and still find career advancement harder than expected.

That’s why relationship-building belongs in professional development—not just at the occasional networking event.

One of the simplest things organizations can teach emerging professionals is to become better observers and listeners.

Don’t walk into a conversation thinking:

"What can this person do for me?"

Start with:

"Who is this person?"

Ask questions.

Listen to the answers.

Remember something important.

Follow up on it.

If someone tells you they’re interested in a particular industry, introduce them to someone who works in it.

If they mention a challenge, check in later.

If they tell you who they need to meet, think about whether you can help them get there.

That’s relationship-building.

And it doesn’t require an elevator pitch.

This may be the biggest misconception organizations can help emerging professionals overcome.

The objective isn’t to collect the most contacts.

It’s to develop relationships that matter.

That means teaching people to recognize the difference between a contact and a relationship.

A contact is someone whose information you have.

A relationship is someone you have taken the time to know.

That distinction matters.

Because eventually, careers are built not only on what you know, but also on who knows you, who trusts you, and who is willing to open a door for you.

The Human Skill That Becomes More Valuable

Artificial intelligence and technology aren’t making human relationships less important.

In some ways, they’re making them more important.

As technology becomes better at producing information, automating tasks and accelerating communication, the ability to create trust with another human being becomes increasingly valuable.

Organizations don’t need to teach emerging professionals to abandon technology.

They need to teach them when technology is enough—and when a human being deserves a human conversation.

That’s a very different skill.

And it can be learned.

What Should Organizations Teach?

Start with the basics:

Conversation. Teach employees how to ask better questions and have conversations that go beyond exchanging information.

Curiosity. Teach them to be interested in the other person rather than immediately thinking about what they can sell.

Listening. Teach them to hear what people actually say—and remember it.

Follow-up. Teach them that sending a generic "great meeting you" message isn’t the same as continuing a conversation.

Reciprocity. Teach them to look for ways to help before asking what someone can do for them.

Trust. Teach them that relationships are built through consistent behavior over time.

These aren’t soft skills that employees either possess or don’t possess.

They’re professional skills.

And professional skills can be developed.

Your emerging talent may already know how to connect with almost anyone, anywhere, at any time.

That’s an incredible advantage.

Now give them the other half of the equation:

Teach them how to build the relationship.

Because the future workplace won’t need fewer human relationships.

It will need better ones.

And that is where organizations have an opportunity to develop something technology can’t automate:

people who know how to connect, build trust, and become someone others want to know.

Is networking important for Gen Z professionals?
Yes. Networking can help emerging professionals develop relationships, find mentors, increase visibility and discover career opportunities. The emphasis should be on building relationships rather than simply collecting contacts.

How can organizations teach professional relationship-building?
Organizations can incorporate conversation, listening, curiosity, follow-up, reciprocity and trust-building into professional development and leadership programs.

Can professional relationship-building be taught?
Absolutely. Like other workplace capabilities, relationship-building can be practiced, coached and developed intentionally.