Managers Showing Their Laziness

What's with so many managers bashing the Gen Y work ethic? That complaint comes mostly from Baby Boomers - the same people who raised a lot of the Gen Y's. Do you see the irony here? Boomers raise them and then complain that they don't work as hard as Boomers. Huh?

TRUTH: you will NOT be able to convince millions of new workers to give up everything they know just because it's easier for you. (Who's the selfish one now?) And if you try to make them change the way they think, their values and their ethics, then you will end up with an empty space to fill.

You had just better figure out that the workforce is changing - and either you, as a manager, keep up or get left behind. Asking a whole generation of competent (and incredibly fast with a propensity for technology) workers to stop doing what they've been doing their whole short lives and start doing it your way seems sort of one-sided. Maybe it's that you just don't want to change the way YOU'VE been doing things for the past 25 years because it seems like a lot of work. Think about what you're asking them to do. It sure sounds like laziness to me - and not from Gen Y.

Think of it this way: if you were dropped into a management job in Poland, would you expect all of your workers to learn English or would you attempt to learn to speak enough Polish to communicate effectively? The same rules apply here. You had better learn the language (and the ways and ideas) of your workers if you want to effectively manage them. Complaining about it is lazy. It's what mediocre managers do.

Excellent managers do whatever is necessary to manage effectively - even if that means learning a new language - oh, and how to send a text message.
--
Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity