Times have changed and Lisa Earle McLeod says holding the old standards to new, young employees is simply not going to work.
They’ve been called the snowflake generation.
Some leaders say Millennials and Generation Zs are averse to hard work. I disagree, strongly.
My team and I regularly work with organisations brimming with young people on fire for work.
The difference is, younger generations want meaningful work. They’re not content with the traditional transactional work model.
Working for decades to make the executive ranks or hoping your boss will dole out a promotion is not enough for them.
In working with a high performing young team, here’s what we observe.
Purpose is essential: Previous generations crave meaning and purpose, but we’ve been trained to accept money as a substitute.
Younger generations aren’t having it.
They were raised to believe they could change the world, and they’re not going to do a job that doesn’t matter.
They’re not only evaluating your purpose, they’re assessing whether or not you’re authentic about it.
They’re articulating the unspoken dreams of their parents: The generation who watched their parents put work first for decades only to be laid off during the recession learned a thing or two.
They’re not shy about letting people know what they want from work.
While many find it unsettling, they are creating a better situation for themselves and those who follow.
They know participation trophies are meaningless: When young people move out of their parents’ homes they don’t take their participation trophies with them.
You may still have your third-place ribbon for track, but they know they didn’t win.
The joke is on the parents who spent the time and money to ensure everyone felt special.
Young people see these for what they are, souvenirs.
They want to win and be unique while doing it: They don’t want meaningless plastic trinkets; they want real wins.
Yes, they were all told they’re ‘special’, now they want to prove it.
They need to see their organisation making a real difference to the people they work for — or whatever its version of differentiation is.
If you want a young person to put your organisation on Instagram, it needs to feel special.
Consistent meaningful feedback is essential: Instead of waiting until review time; young people want to know how they’re doing now.
When you provide quick hits of feedback, it’s performance fuel.
You can also create self-reinforcing feedback loops involving clients and other team members.
They want “how am I doing” feedback that properly reflects the work they are involved in.
They’re not fragile, but they (sometimes) need help with resilience:
when you’re 25, or 35, all you know is what’s happened to you so far.
If nothing bad has happened, you may not have a model for resilience.
Leaders who share stories of overcoming setbacks provide a powerful model for younger staff.
Generations are not monolithic; everyone is unique.
Generations do share common cultural expectations.
Reread this list; ask yourself how would your work world have been different if you’d be treated this way in your early jobs?
If you’re a leader in the – ‘I did it with no fluffy incentives, their pay should be enough’ camp – here’s a quick reset.
Organisations who treat employees well attract the better candidates.
Each generation pushes us to do better. Or at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.
Giving everyone a trophy isn’t required, creating a passionate purposeful workplace is.
*Lisa Earle McLeod is the leadership expert best known for creating the popular business concept Noble Purpose. She can be contacted at mcleodandmore.com.
This article first appeared on Lisa’s blogsite
