Bridging the 
Generational Divide

Management Mistakes to Avoid

In their book "Managing Generation Y: global citizens born in the late seventies and early eighties," Bruce Tulgan and Carolyn Martin detail the seven traits of the worst managers as seen through the eyes of a Gen Y employee. In no particular order, the traits are:

• Overemphasis on outward appearance

• Disrespect for younger people

• Ineffective delegation

• Abusive attitude

• Closed-mindedness

• Lack of knowledge and organizational skills

• Inability to train or facilitate training

Avoid micromanaging

For both Gen X and Gen Y, we need to avoid micromanaging these employees, as they absolutely will not stand for it. Whether it is in a meeting, waiting for further instructions, or doing busy work they do not feel is important, they hate it when they feel like they are wasting their time. In fact, wasting their time is probably the number one way to lose respect with these employees. When we do this, they see us as being inefficient, disrespectful and poor planners. They thrive on feedback; so do not take credit for a project without giving them credit where credit is due. And finally, these new employees will not accept abusive treatment from a supervisor or a co-worker.

Gen X and Gen Y grew up with Star Search and American Idol. Make these employees feel like they are a "star." Reward them immediately, and publicly praise them. When possible, create an engaging and fun workplace. If you have not read the book "Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results," a story of how a fish market made an uncomfortable and hard job fun for its workers, I highly recommend it and the accompanying video (or DVD, for my Gen X and Gen Y readers). To retain these new employees and help them succeed, we need to model the behavior we want to see. In other words, we need to "walk the talk." IPG