Latest / The Difference We Make: Stories of People Changing Lives / When CEOs Sit With Teens: Building Bridges, Not Just Resumes | The Difference We Make
Transcript
- She stared at the man in the tailored suit and didn’t see a CEO. She saw someone who looked just as lost as she felt, sitting across a table that was far too big for either of them. Let’s look at the hands behind this. In my years as a reporter, I’ve learned that the most important conversations rarely happen in boardrooms or on stages. They happen in the quiet, awkward spaces where two people from different worlds try to find a common language. Last week, I sat with a group of high school seniors and corporate executives in a community center in Detroit. It wasn’t a gala. There were no champagne flutes, no press photographers, no photo ops designed to make headlines. It was just twelve teenagers and twelve leaders, sitting in folding chairs that wobbled slightly when you shifted your weight. At first, the air was thick with what I call 'performance anxiety.' The adults were trying so hard to be mentors that they forgot how to be human. They spoke in buzzwords about synergy and upward mobility. The teens? They were guarding themselves. They had heard it all before. They knew that usually, when someone from the 'upper world' shows up, they’re there to fix something broken or to feel good about themselves for an hour. But this time was different. Because we started not with advice, but with questions. Simple, terrifyingly simple questions like, 'What keeps you up at night?' and 'What does success look like when no one is watching?' Stay with me here. This isn’t just about networking. We often mistake mentorship for transaction. We think, 'I give you career tips; you give me a story of impact.' But real connection is messier than that. It’s about witnessing each other’s humanity without trying to change it immediately. When the silence stretched out, uncomfortable and raw, that’s where the magic happened. That’s where the real work begins. We talked recently about the invisible walls in prison reform, how systems can trap people long after their sentences end. But there are other walls, quieter ones, built by assumption and distance. These walls exist between the corner office and the classroom. They are made of stereotypes. The executive assumes the teen is uninterested or unmotivated. The teen assumes the leader is out of touch or condescending. Both are wrong. And both are lonely. I watched a young woman named Maya, who works two jobs and takes care of her younger brother, sit across from David, a senior partner at a firm that probably handles billions in assets. David didn’t talk about stocks. He didn’t talk about his bonus. He talked about his own fear of failure when he started out. He admitted he cried in his car once because he thought he wasn’t smart enough for the job. Maya listened. Really listened. For the first time, she saw that power doesn’t have to mean perfection. It can mean resilience. It can mean admitting you don’t have the answers. In return, Maya shared the strategy she uses to balance her life. She manages time like a general managing a battlefield. She prioritizes ruthlessly. She protects her peace fiercely. David took notes. Not on a tablet, but on a napkin. He was learning from her. And that shift in dynamic—where the mentor becomes the student, and the mentee becomes the teacher—is the only way these bridges hold weight. If we keep the hierarchy intact, if we keep the adult in charge of the narrative, nothing changes. We have to let go of the need to be right. We have to be willing to be taught. There is a concept in social work called 'radical attention.' It means giving someone your full presence, without judgment, without distraction, without planning your response while they are still speaking. It is rare. It is difficult. It requires us to shut off the noise in our own heads. For corporate leaders, who are trained to multitask, to optimize, to always be moving toward the next goal, this is terrifying. But for teens, who are often ignored or talked over, it is transformative. I remember a moment during one of these sessions when a young man named Marcus stopped speaking. He had been talking about his dream to be an artist, but he trailed off, looking down at his sneakers. Most people would have filled the silence. They would have offered encouragement, a pat on the back, a quick pivot to 'practical' advice. But Sarah, a marketing director in the room, didn’t move. She waited. She held the space. After a long minute, Marcus looked up and said, 'Everyone tells me art won’t pay the bills. So why do I even want it?' Sarah didn’t offer a solution. She didn’t tell him to get a degree in business. She simply said, 'Because it makes you feel alive. And that matters more than money.' That single sentence unlocked something in the room. It validated his desire without attaching conditions to it. It told him that his inner life mattered. That his passion was not a liability, but an asset. This is what mentorship should be. It’s not about molding kids into miniature versions of successful adults. It’s about helping them become fully realized humans, capable of navigating a world that often feels indifferent to their dreams. We need to talk about agency. Too often, philanthropy is framed as charity. A gift given from the top down. The giver holds the power; the receiver holds the gratitude. But when we build bridges between generations, we must flip that script. We must view teens not as projects to be completed, but as partners to be engaged. Their perspective is not secondary; it is essential. They are growing up in a world that is fundamentally different from the one their parents inhabited. They understand digital culture, social justice, climate anxiety, and global connectivity in a way that many older generations struggle to grasp. When corporate leaders engage with teens as equals, they gain insight that no consultant report can provide. They learn agility. They learn empathy. They learn to listen to voices that are traditionally marginalized. This isn’t just good for the teens; it’s good for the leaders. It sharpens their intuition. It challenges their biases. It reminds them that leadership is not about command, but about connection. I’ve seen hardened executives soften when they hear the hopes and fears of a seventeen-year-old. I’ve seen them cry. I’ve seen them change their minds about how they run their companies, how they treat their employees, how they invest their resources. This is the gritty, unglamorous work of repair. It’s not flashy. It doesn’t come with a tax write-off that looks impressive on a quarterly statement. But it builds trust. And trust is the currency of any lasting relationship. Without it, we are just shouting into the void. With it, we can build something that lasts. Something that actually matters. Imagine if every corporation adopted this model. Not as a PR stunt, but as a core value. Imagine if leaders spent ten hours a month not reviewing spreadsheets, but sitting with young people. Listening to their stories. Learning from their experiences. What would that do to the fabric of our society? It would weave threads of understanding across divides that seem insurmountable. It would create a network of support that extends beyond the individual, touching families, communities, and future generations. Consider the ripple effect. A teen who feels seen and valued carries that confidence into her home, her classroom, her workplace. She treats others with kindness because she has been treated with kindness. She advocates for change because she knows change is possible. She becomes a leader in her own right, not because she was handed a title, but because she was given permission to lead. And the leader who sits with her? He returns to his office with a renewed sense of purpose. He sees his team differently. He sees his customers differently. He sees the world as a place of possibility, not just a marketplace of transactions. This is interconnectedness in action. We are not isolated islands. We are part of a larger social fabric, and every act of kindness strengthens the weave. Every conversation builds a bridge. Every moment of radical attention plants a seed. These seeds grow into trees that provide shade and shelter for those who come after us. We are planting forests today, even if we never see the full canopy. That is the gift we leave behind. Not wealth, not fame, but the capacity for love and understanding in a world that desperately needs both. So, what can you do? You don’t need a corner office to build a bridge. You just need to show up. Look around your community. Who is being left out? Who is silent? Maybe it’s a neighbor’s child. Maybe it’s a colleague from a different background. Maybe it’s a stranger you pass every day. Reach out. Ask a question. Listen to the answer. Stay with the discomfort. Don’t rush to fix. Just be present. If you are a leader, invite someone new into your circle. Not to impress, but to learn. If you are a young person, speak your truth. Your voice matters. Your story matters. You are not waiting for permission to be heard. You are already worthy of being listened to. Let’s stop treating mentorship as a transaction and start treating it as a transformation. Let’s stop building walls and start building tables. Big tables. Tables where everyone has a seat. Where the food is shared. Where the conversation flows freely. It starts with you. It starts now. One conversation at a time. One hand reaching out to another. One heart opening to another. This is how we change lives. Not with grand gestures, but with small, consistent acts of courage. Courage to be vulnerable. Courage to listen. Courage to believe in the potential of another human being, even when they can’t see it themselves. That is the difference we make. That is the legacy we build. Thank you for sitting with me today. Thank you for listening. I’m Ashling Scallon, and I’ll see you in the next one. Keep looking for the hands behind the story. Be gentle with yourself. And remember, you are never alone in this.