1. Close-mindedness: They never listen!
Talking
about his supervisor, your Gen Yers might have put it this
way: She
never defined the big picture or specific goals,
so her commands often seemed vague and contradictory. She
blamed everyone but herself when communications broke down
and things
didn’t get done her way.
When
you’re an expert in your field. You especially must
practice open-mindedness. Often, experts are tempted to close
out other voices, opinions, and perspectives. But if you do that,
you’ll lose the enthusiasm, creativity and productivity
of your young talent.
Your
Gen Yer might have said it this way: He’s domineering,
closed minded and unfriendly—even insulting. He’s
an ineffective delegator with poor communication skills who
has little tolerance for innovation and even less insight
into what
motivates me.
2. Ineffective
delegation: They don’t assign meaningful
work!
Gen
Yers want to be sufficiently challenged with the pace and scope
of the work. Remember, increasing responsibility lights
their fire! If you’re not sure if you’re challenging
them enough, simply ask. Gen Yers will be happy to tell you!
3.
Lack of knowledge and organizational skills: They
don’t
know what they’re doing!
Gen
Yers are forgiving when their manages are less than adept at
technology.
That’s an opportunity for them to shine!
But when managers aren’t proficient in the core competencies
of management—in such areas as organization, planning,
decision making and goal setting—Gen Yers find them lacking
in credibility.
Positions and titles mean little to this generation. Rather,
the person with hands-on knowledge and who can help them get
the job done and accomplish their goals wins their loyalty and
admiration.
4. Inability
to train or to facilitate training: They don’t
know how to teach!
Since
on-going education is so important to Gen Yers, managers who
don’t
provide effective training or any training earn low marks.
5. Disrespect for young people: They treat us like idiots!
The “self-esteem” generation bristles when people
treat them like know nothing kids. They believe that what they
can do is much more important than how old they are.
If
the people you work for don’t respect you, you’re
not going to respect them. –Gen Yer
6. Intimidating attitude: Who wants to work with anyone
like this?
Like
anyone with an ounce of self-respect, Gen Yers don’t
respond well to management by intimidation. Domineering people
with short, hot tempers leave this generation cold. Condescending
people who yell and scream lose their loyalty instantly.
Remember:
Gen Yers have access to highly sophisticated psychological
interpretations of abusive behavior. They’ve been taught
their whole lives never to let anyone treat them in a way that
makes them feel uncomfortable. Consequently, these young people
are not going to sit around and feel victimized. They will investigative,
gather information, interpret and respond accordingly.
The
golden rule applies to everyone. And the yelling thing
has got to go. --Gen Yer
7. Overemphasis on outward appearance: Are they managing the
book or the cover?
