CHAPTER 5

Managing Gen Y

Managing Gen Y – why are they so
“difficult”?

I hear so many stories from organizations I work with about what a challenge Gen Y are proving to be for managers. There are far fewer stories about what a joy they are to manage! Understandably, there is a fair amount of frustration and conflict brought about by the different, styles, expectations and attitudes of the different generations in the workplace right now.

Different world/different expectations

The context in which Boomers and Gen X grew up was one where senior managers or anyone above you in the managerial hierarchy had more status, power and therefore “voice” than anyone below them. This is a largely unspoken (and often extremely unhelpful) characteristic of organizational life. Many Boomers came into the workplace at a time when managers were always addressed as “Mister” (there were few female managers in senior positions), the only contact you had with management was with your own direct boss, and if other managers wanted to approach you for something they would do so via your boss. Things had not changed substantially when Gen X entered the workplace. The external symbols had changed – there was less formality and more focus on “empowerment” – but actually the unspoken, very strong power-based framework prevailed, as it still does today in many organizations.

Gen Ys usually start to realize this only when they come up against a problem. An example of this was a young woman working in a bank. Her alarm failed to go off one morning, so she arrived at work late. Instead of slipping in quietly and apologizing to the manager, she strode into the floor manager’s corner office and said “Damned alarm clock didn’t go off, could you just give me a quick run-down on the markets?” The manager was furious and shouted at the young woman. She couldn’t understand why he was so angry, as she was being totally honest about being late, and she had asked him about the markets as she thought he would be the most knowledgeable person there and so it would be the quickest way of catching up. The young woman clearly didn’t understand the rules of the game. And as we discussed in Chapter 1, neither of them understood where the other was coming from or their intentions.

You could ask why no one would think to tell graduates or warn them, so that they didn’t inadvertently cause problems for themselves and others. The reason is that people are so used to the organizational systems being the way they are that they don’t even think about them, let alone question them.

Rookie Buster

Gen Y grew up in a very different context to that in which their older co-workers grew up. To understand where they are coming from you need to understand that context. Here are the underlying assumptions that the Boomers/Gen X-ers and the Gen Ys have about the world of work. They are often unconscious and therefore often don’t get discussed.

Boomers’/Gen X’s assumptions	Gen Y’s assumptions
Challenging senior managers is a career-limiting thing to do.	Challenging anyone who seems to be wrong is a natural and important thing to do.
If I want to communicate with someone higher than your boss, I discuss it with him/her first.	I should be able to communicate with whoever I need to communicate with in the organization.
If I disagree with a manager’s view or decision, I only voice that disagreement if I am sure I am “safe” to do so.	If I disagree with someone, I say so.
Even if the CEO says he has an “open door” policy, it’s not a good idea to say exactly what you think (unless it’s positive).	The fact that the CEO has to say he has an “open door” policy is odd. I should be able to talk to whoever I like, and to email the CEO any time.
It’s sensible to make sure I look good in the eyes of senior managers and “manage my reputation” with them.	Surely my results speak for themselves and that should be all that counts.
My experience of feedback is that it is usually a criticism, so I dread it. I would hesitate to give feedback to my boss even if asked.	I welcome feedback from my boss and peers so that I can keep learning.
When I was younger I expected to get the boring jobs and do my time before being able to move on to more interesting work.	I have a lot to contribute and want to do so straight away.

So when the generations clash it is usually because one generation does not know that the other is playing by very different rules. If a Gen Y does something that you find unacceptable, pause and ask them what led them to do it. Invariably they will not have realized that their behaviour could be seen as unacceptable, and you will also uncover a good reason behind it.

The behaviour we see Gen Ys display – as shown above – may seem inappropriate, but the intentions behind the behaviour are good. Gen Y aren’t as bolshy, disrespectful and out of order as some people say. On the contrary, some of the organizational cultures and practices that they are inadvertently challenging probably need challenging. Perhaps some organizations could actually benefit from updating their old-fashioned management styles.

Rookie Buster

What do Gen Y want from a
manager?

Here are the qualities Gen Y look for in their managers and mentors:

• Integrity.

• Honesty.

• Openness.

• Supportive style.

• Mentoring style.

The personal characteristics of their manager are important to them, as well as how they actually manage.

Integrity, openness and honesty may be high on Gen Y’s agenda because they are aware of the corporate and political scandals of the last few years. They realize that not all leaders have these qualities, but don’t want to be led by those who don’t. They will not give their respect to a boss just because of his or her position in the company.

The four secrets to successfully
managing Gen Y

1. Mentor, not manage

Really excellent mentors are worth their weight in gold. They provide guidance and support, they fill the knowledge gaps and they help their mentee to learn. This is what a good manager should do too.

The most effective way of managing Gen Y is to stop thinking of yourself as a manager and start thinking that you are a mentor. Mentoring comes up time and time again as one of Gen Y’s greatest desires. They are hungry to learn and do well, and a mentor can help them learn.

Rookie Buster

Here’s why mentoring is so important to Gen Y:

• They are used to having a much more hands-on relationship with their parents than previous generations had. Gen Y’s parents are much more inclined to be closely involved with all aspects of their children’s lives and decisions, and their parents give them regular feedback. This creates a need for on-tap mentoring-style relationships with important older people.

• The huge amount of information available to them at any one time via the internet means that having significant relationships with people who can guide them becomes much more important than it otherwise would. A good mentor can help his or her mentee figure out what is important and what to focus on.

To be a good mentor you need to:

• First of all ask yourself whether you really want to be a mentor. The best mentors really want to be mentors and have a passion for developing others. If you don’t, that’s OK, and you should play to your own strengths, but make sure that others are available to mentor your team. Not wanting to be a mentor is not a problem: it’s pretending you do that leads to problems.

• Make sure that you and your mentee are a good match – do you like each other, do you share some of the same values? Is this person someone you would quite like to spend time with anyway?

• Build trust – this means demonstrating that the relationship is important to you by committing to it, not changing appointments, and showing an interest in the other person. You need to keep confidences, share confidences of your own when appropriate, and simply demonstrate that you are on their side.

• Be able to have conversations that are very challenging and very supportive at the same time. If you have built up trust, you will be able to be very challenging, because your mentee will know that you have their best interests at heart.

• Not care about showing how much you know or how good you are – you should only care about asking the questions, giving the advice and feedback that will help your mentee.

• Be willing to get some training and coaching (even if you are already well on the way with the desire and raw talent), so that you can develop your mentoring skills to an excellent standard.

But if mentoring is not one of your strengths, be honest about it and make sure your people have mentors who really want to do it and are good at it. A good manager knows he or she is not perfect at everything and enlists other people to fill their gaps.

2. Give them regular feedback

Gen Y have been brought up by parents who regularly tell them how they are doing and give them ongoing feedback. This is positive as well as negative. The key, though, is that the intention behind the feedback is to help them to learn. Often managers fall into the trap of working themselves up to feedback only if they have a criticism to make of someone. No wonder that we tend to see feedback as judgemental rather than helpful.

Some managers also find it difficult to give positive feedback. Somehow they find it embarrassing and unnecessary.

The ability to give regular feedback (positive as well as negative) is an essential management skill. It always has been, but it is even more essential now that Gen Y have entered the workplace and expect and demand it. Receiving regular feedback is important to Gen Y. They want to learn from it. Give the feedback as often as you can. And if you feel like you need a little bit of help with your feedback skills or confidence, get hold of a coach or go on a short training programme. It will be worth the investment.

Rookie Buster

The basics of giving feedback

• Have the right intention (that is, to help the person to realize what they are doing that is so good, or what they need to stop, and why).

• Always give a reason or rationale for the feedback.

• Give the feedback when you observe the behaviour. “Thanks, that information is exactly what I need for my report,” is of much more use to the person than telling them three months later at their performance review when they probably won’t remember what information they gave you.

• It doesn’t have to be a long conversation. Giving the feedback followed by a “Well done” is all it takes.

• If you are telling someone something that they didn’t do very well, do it in private, make sure you are specific, tell them as soon as possible, tell them why you are giving them the feedback, and ask if they need any help.

• If you find giving feedback difficult or uncomfortable, remember that by doing so you are (a) giving the Gen Y what they want, (b) giving them an opportunity to learn, and (c) improving performance.

• Get some practice – either with a coach or on a training course. The more you practise, the more skilled and confident you will become.

Finally, and crucially, make sure you focus on their strengths. Many managers spend far too much time trying to correct small weaknesses. Great performance comes when a person is playing to their strengths – it is more motivating too. Avoid trying to put square pegs into round holes as much as possible, and you won’t go far wrong.

3. Explain the rationale behind decisions

No one likes being told what to do, or being told of a decision without understanding the reasons behind it. Many managers do this, though. It creates resentment amongst their people, who will not give genuine support and buy in unless they understand the reasons why. All generations get annoyed about this, but Gen Y will speak up.

Ideally you will ask the people who can contribute to do so anyway. And invite others to contribute and ask questions before the final decision is made. If it is a decision that, for some reason, has to be taken by a small group of people or senior management, test it out before you finalize it. And when you communicate more widely, be ready to face questions and give honest answers (even if the answer is “We hadn’t thought of that”!).

Consider using collaborative technologies to solve problems, create policies and make decisions. One media company set up a wiki to create a policy on Facebook usage – there was a wide range of opposing views and lots of discussion. When it got heated, a moderator stepped in with helpful questions. After a couple of weeks a policy had been created. It was sensible and appropriate, because a whole range of people had contributed and so outlying opinions were heard and taken into account. And when it was communicated to the wider organization, everyone accepted it without question because they had all had a chance to participate and, even if they hadn’t taken up that opportunity, they knew that lots of others had.

4. Manage the outcome, not the process

Gen Y work in a very different way to their older colleagues. It’s a way that can appear to be chaotic and random when seen through the eyes of an X-er or Boomer. Technology is at the core of understanding why this is.

The way each generation organizes themselves is different, because they were conditioned in different technological contexts. If a Gen Y has arranged an outing to the cinema with friends, typically they will agree an approximate time and place. But that can change many times in the hours and minutes preceding the meeting. They text and instant message each other, changing plans as they bump into others, have a better suggestion or change their mind. They coordinate their activities rather than plan them.

Their Boomer and Gen X colleagues have been brought up in a world where you make a plan and stick to it, not least because you could not instantly contact someone else with a last-minute change. They tend to stick to the commitments they make and avoid changing or letting people down at the last minute. Their style is more about planning than coordinating.

Neither approach is better than the other. But they do necessitate different management styles. When managing Gen Y it is much more effective to manage the outcomes, not the process (it could drive you wild if you even attempt to manage the process, as it may well seem far too disorganized!). This means that as a manager you need to be an enabler, not a checker. Make sure you are all agreed as to the goal or purpose of the project, then let them get on with it, and give them support and help as they go along if they need it. But don’t check up on them frequently as you might have done if you were following a planned, project management approach.

Rookie Buster

Similarly, in order to make their Boomer and Gen X colleagues feel comfortable, Gen Y may need to learn to work in a “planned” way from time to time, and may need some help and coaching with this.

Coach’s notes

Notes