(1888PressRelease)
August 27, 2008 - The whitepaper entitled ‘The Generation Game: How to manage a new generation of Mavericks’ argues that managers should be encouraging more extroverts and those with maverick tendencies into the workforce, something which is counter intuitive to most managers and suggests that it this reluctance that is causing companies to struggle to recruit and retain talented Generation Y Mavericks.
It also indentifies that Generation X individuals are much more willing and find it acceptable to work longer hours to get ahead in the company, whereas the new Generation Y employees do not accept that they need to be at work for 14 hours to succeed or be promoted.
“There is a distinct clash of culture between the X & Y generations. At the moment ‘Y’ are generally ‘the workforce’, with ‘X’ being ‘the managers’. Managers, especially ‘Baby Boomers’ think employees should do long hours at work and put the needs of the business above all else. Generation Y employees believe that their work can be done without spending hours at work and at a time that is convenient to them”, explains Germain.
“Generation Y are used to digital technology like Playstations, Ipods etc that allows them to multi task. This leads them to believe that it’s essential to do many things at once to complete tasks. For example Generation Y employees cannot understand why they can’t sit at their desk listening to their Ipod whilst they work. To attempt to do this will lead to disciplinary action by the typical Baby Boomer or Generation X manager” adds Germain.
“Mavericks are something to be encouraged not something to be stopped in terms of the work they are doing. The way you work with mavericks has to be challenging and give them the freedom they need to carry out their role effectively. Whilst the new generation of Maverick has slightly different expectations and skills, they still need to be managed carefully to ensure their energies are channelled to make a positive contribution to the organisation”, adds Germain.
Dynamic Transitions is a leadership company specialising in working with Troublesome Talent ® and improving leadership performance within organisations. The full version of the whitepaper can be downloaded from http://www.developing-leadership.com/generationy.html
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