I hear a lot of members of this generation saying they want to be a manager in a business and posess leadership skills.  While its hard to say if generations before ours had the same desire to get to the top, I don’t think as many expected to do so as quickly.  People still in their 20’s (myself included) are not looking for entry level positions in a company that they can use to climb the corporate ladder and eventually inherit a position of leadership.  For some reason we feel more entitled to management positions and feel that we deserve to get them without the years of service that those ahead of us have.  So the question is, do we deserve that or should we wait in line like everyone else?

I think the first thing that needs to be looked at is what exactly is a leader?  When I think of management and leadership, it brings up two different definitions for me.  A manager does just that…they manage.  They maintain the status quo, take no big risks and in doing that make no big gains, but are unlikely to cause a huge failure.  It really is the same as a supervisor.  I see it as a person there to watch out for the employees, they probably know a lot about the product or service that they’re offering and can answer questions when needed, and they maintain the balance of workers.  A leader on the other hand, is willing to take charge, look for the areas that need to be changed and implement changes that have a chance at failure, but if successful will be very rewarding.  Leadership is a harder role to fill than most people are willing to accept because they don’t want the risk of failing, the chance of being fired for taking a risk, or the idea of not accomplishing what they set out to do. 

So what makes a good leader?  Well, as mentioned, they need to be willing to implement change, even when it isn’t the most popular path.  They have to be able to accept failure when it comes (and it will come).  They also have to have the vision to be able to correct the failures they have, and know that they need to be right more often than they are wrong (or at least be more right as far as profit goes).  Another thing that is important, maybe even more important, is for a leader to look at the tools they have and find answers in them.  A business can not run with the idea of spending money as the only way of meeting needs.  A good leader will look at the strengths of each employee, the tools they have to work with, and determine if meeting those needs is possible.  A lot of times this is not a point A to point B method of solving the problem, and it can take time to implement changes, but when there isn’t time to wait, the leader has to set the example, explain the situation and get their employees to see the vision, or at least the end result of what the employees task is.

So why does Gen-Y feel they have this ability better than others, even to the extent of being able to jump over people that have been in their industry for years?  Well, the quick answer is “I don’t know”.  I am willing to explore it a little further than that though.

I think one thing that really sticks out is the amount of pressure on Gen-Y to continue education past high school.  While it has always been an option for previous generations, the expecation for Gen-Y was to choose a career, go to college, then enter the workforce and be successful.  We were thrown stats about how much more a college grad could expect to make over a career, told what jobs would not be available to us without a degree, and really sold on the fact that if we wanted to be successful, we needed to get that degree.  Those things are all true, but we weren’t sold on the idea of going to college, working our asses off to get the degree, then entering the workforce and finding ourselves on the bottom of the corporate ladder needing to work our asses off just to get one wrung up.  We may feel that the degree promised us an easier future, when really it only put us in the position to work harder to maybe earn a better future.  (In saying all of that, I’m not selling the idea that college is bad!  All I’m saying is that there may have been a misunderstanding on what happens after we get out.)

So does Gen-Y have what it takes to be leaders?  Again, I don’t know, but this might be an area where some of the strengths become weaknesses.  More than generations before them, Gen-Y learned to be self reliant and self motivators.  That’s kind of the point of a lot of this writing.  We learned how to use computers and other tools to make our work easier and more efficient, we grew up with cell phones and PDA’s and we grow with the advancements of them quickly.  With that, we’ve also become the generation that’s learned to text, instant message and email our communications.  The idea of having readily available communication devices has caused us to be less capable communicators.  Can a leader lead from behind a screen?  No, true motivation is going to come from the hands on experience.  An example of this would be Rudy Guilliani during 9/11.  It would have been safer and easier for him to take cover in a secure location and plan strategy from there.  Instead, he walked through the streets of NY to the site of the WTC and assessed his situation, made a statement and helped plan on how to start the recovery process.  Did he make better decisions because he was infront of the people he was leading?  Who knows.  Was it more effective?  Absolutely.  They saw him as a figure that they could rise up with and complete the task even in the face of danger and tragedy.  While most leaders/workers aren’t going to have tasks anywhere in comparison with the example, it shows how human touch can add to motivation.

So while Gen-Y may be able to increase productivity in the short term, make things more efficient and effectively manage after that, I’m not sure if we’ve seen how effectively they can lead.  I’m also not sure how well they will be taken as leaders.  People are slow to accept change because they don’t always see it as progress.  It will be interesting to see how people vote this year for president, and then the reasons they give for voting that way.  Will they vote for the young up-and-comer who promises change?  Remember, we’ve done that with the last two presidents.  Clinton was the first Boomer president and was a very polarizing figure.  GWB, again, was relatively new in politics and a Washington outsider, and even more polarizing than Clinton.  Are people going to be willing to go younger still?  Or will they turn to the guy that fought in Vietnam, looks to Reagan as an example as to what a president should be, and would probably have more in common with a Gen-Yer’s grandparents?  Maybe America feels the need to let an elder statesman take charge again, not try to be friends with the world and just tell people how things are going to be done.  After all, the United States is a big workplace looking for a leader…

He wote “I am still thinking over things like this on a constant basis. Although the last few weeks have been so crazy with my son’s birth that I haven’t had the time to really think about it.  His birth has really it home that I am now the sole provider for my wife and child.  It has given me a little more “purpose” to put on my suit and tie…. but I know this won’t last and eventually I’ll be back to where I was a few weeks ago.” I think he’s spot-on with his assessment. Again, it points to a maturity that Generation Yers have that companies need to recognize.

My friend is in banking. He wrote “I guess I don’t know if banking is what I should be doing.  I think there are some serious problems with a Gen-Y’er being in a profession that is very ‘old-fashioned’.  No one will give a 27 year old any serious responsibility because according to his 53 year-old boss…. he is too young and doesn’t have enough experience and he ‘couldn’t possibly’ have enough experience yet.”

He has a strong desire to “lead” (i.e. manage) and he thinks that would make him content.  We have a mutual friend at a bank that has been a good example for both of us for all of this. He does such a great job with his employees and says he spends half his day just talking with his employees and most of the time it
isn’t about work related things. My friend says “problem is, I am pretty sure that banking is the wrong career choice for a 27 year old who wants to be in management”. I’m not sure if that’s the right answer though.

I made a comment about how I make a good salary but still find myself challenged with the same dilema. He responded by saying “as far as your comment [even though it pays well] that is something I can relate to and something I worry about.  I feel like I would like my job a lot more if I got paid more, but then I know that isn’t true because once I got more money I still wouldn’t be happy.  It’s almost like I am holding out for a big ‘pay day’ and keep thinking that will make me happy – but I know it won’t”. 

He wrapped up by saying “so in the end, do I need to find something new (outside of banking) because I really think I am only in it for the money – knowing that in 10 years the money should be really good.  I fear I would…look back on a 30 year career and be utterly disappointed. Problem is; I have no idea what I would do if I left banking. I don’t even know where to start.  Been in banking almost 7 years……. Any ideas?”.

So, onward I proceed to find a solution; for him, for me, for what seems to be a majority of our Generation.

Jonathan

I think everyone (well, most people) go through that feeling, and there is no real answer for it.  I think part of the solution is finding something that you love, then looking for ways to make money from it.  If you look for ways to make money, and then try to narrow it down to something you like doing, then you’re limiting yourself to your choices by trying to choose something that already exists.  If you can say “I love (activity), what are ways that I can make money doing this…” then you’re open to picking from existing jobs or finding coming up with something that hasn’t been done before.  Obviously it also depends on how much money you want to make, how much you have to invest in yourself and how long you want to do that career.

I know exactly how he feels when he takes an idea to management and they reject it without even really reviewing it.  I’ve told you at least one story from my last job.  That’s going to be the difference between forward looking companies and companies that get left behind…willingness to take direction from people that aren’t traditionally their leaders.  Our generation grew up learning how to do things better and faster, but industries haven’t adjusted the work place to fit the workers they have. The ones that can adapt the fastest will be the ones that are most successful in the next 3-5 years, because I think that’s all the amount of time that it will take for productivity to increase once a company is willing to implement the changes that could be made.

-Mike

so a gen-y buddy of mine emailed over the wknd…he just had his first kid a couple wks ago. he’s asking me how he can do something he loves and still provide a living. it’s easy to tell a gen-y to quit their crappy job and get one they’ll love, but if they have obligations – not so much. he’s in banking (i.e. very institutional) and knows he won’t make any money for 10-15yrs. it’s just how banks do it. those who stick around and make nothing for long enough, get rewarded. he had great ideas to allow their website to take application for loand etc, but mgmt told him they just weren’t ready for that stuff. so, more feeling unappreciated. he’s just at his witt’s end now. prob is, i really don’t know what to tell him. i don’t feel like i’ve figured out the solution, so how can i write or talk about getting there? any thoughts?