"What do we do with Gen Y?" is being echoed daily on the internet, in the press and by the office water cooler. When I mention to friends that my next book is full of tips and tools to get the best out of Gen Y at work, I always get pulled aside for some advice on how to handle this generation at work. While there are blogs and online articles to help managers successfully work with Gen Y, there are few books that give practical solutions. My favorite book, Millennials Incorporated by Lisa Orrell, is a gem for HR managers. My favorite blog is by Tammy Erickson; you can find her musings on this generation on businessweek.com
I'll be focusing my next blogs on managing Gen Y for the best results. In the meantime, I wanted to leave you with this quote on managing Gen Y from Jim Collins, management expert and author of Good to Great and Built to Last, excerpted from the August 25 issue of Business Week:
"I don't understand this generational tension thing other than that I think the tension is great. You should find a way to have young people in your face all the time. Wrestle with is. Revel in it. Learn from it. My view is, we ought to get those people into positions of leadership as fast as we can."
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
How to Effectively Motivate
In 1968, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) published Frederick Herzberg's article, "One more time: how do you motivate employees?". This is still one of the most widely read HBR articles ever. The most important paragraph in the article says: "If I kick my dog (from the front or the back), he will move. And when I want him to move again, what must I do? I must kick him again. Similarly, I can charge a person's battery, and then re-charge it, and re-charge it again. But it is only when one has a generator of one's own that we can talk about motivation. One then needs no outside stimulation. One wants to do it."
How many times do we "re-charge" an employee's battery, thinking it will bring better results? I did it all the time as a new manager. I wanted my employees to be motivated at work, so I became the department's #1 cheerleader. I brought in cookies, games, and rewards. I didn't notice a difference, so I then brought in even more treats, upping the ante. It still didn't work. The result? I spent hours trying to re-charge their battery, while draining my own.
It was only when I understood the concept of coaching, and motivating an employee from within, that I noticed a change in my team's productivity. It was only when I truly listened to them, and asked them for their ideas and input, that things started to shift as a team. It was only when I stood back and let them create their own solutions that I saw the department's energy level and motivation increase.
It wasn't the cookies, games or prizes that created the change. It was helping employees find their own generator, though coaching, that created the strong motivational team that won many, many awards.
How many times do we "re-charge" an employee's battery, thinking it will bring better results? I did it all the time as a new manager. I wanted my employees to be motivated at work, so I became the department's #1 cheerleader. I brought in cookies, games, and rewards. I didn't notice a difference, so I then brought in even more treats, upping the ante. It still didn't work. The result? I spent hours trying to re-charge their battery, while draining my own.
It was only when I understood the concept of coaching, and motivating an employee from within, that I noticed a change in my team's productivity. It was only when I truly listened to them, and asked them for their ideas and input, that things started to shift as a team. It was only when I stood back and let them create their own solutions that I saw the department's energy level and motivation increase.
It wasn't the cookies, games or prizes that created the change. It was helping employees find their own generator, though coaching, that created the strong motivational team that won many, many awards.
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