The number 14 myth about Generation Y is that they are so self-focused they will never make good managers.
Here's what we've learned:
Often when you find a young self-starter who's doing well at his or her job you think that would be a good person to promote. But we put people in positions of supervisory responsibility because they're good at their jobs and they're self-starters, not necessarily because they are good at managing people.
And I don't think any generation has a particular bead on good management.
Unfortunately what happens is we put people in these roles and we teach them how to do a little bit of extra paper work, but we never teach them how to do the people work.
And especially if you are young and inexperienced, sometimes it's hard to establish your credibility as a new manager.
Maybe yesterday you were one of the guys and today you are managing those people and they’re looking at you and thinking, "Hey, who made you Mr. Fancy?"
And all of a sudden you start soft-pedaling your authority. Maybe you try to act like just one of the team and every once in a while you try to exercise your authority and it doesn't go too well so you go back to soft-pedaling.
And that's how young managers often get into bad habits. And over time these habits become cemented.
If you're going to put a young person who is a self-starting, high-performer in a position of supervisory responsibility, you've got to teach him how to do the people work.
Bonus Management Tip: Build the Next Generation of Leaders
When you ask young stars to step up and make the transition to leadership—at any level—you owe it to those new leaders to teach them how to do the people work, and then support and guide them every step of the way:
- Explain that this new role carries with it real authority, and that it does not award her license, of course, to act like a jerk. It is a huge responsibility that should not be accepted lightly.
- Spell out exactly what his/her new leadership responsibilities look like. Focus on the basics, like spelling out expectations for every employee who works for them, following up regularly, tracking performance closely in writing and holding people accountable.
- Formally deputize new leaders, no matter how small the project or how short the duration of the leadership role. Announce it, articulate the nature of this new authority, and explain the standard operating procedures for management that you have asked new leaders to follow.
- Check in to regularly walk through the standard operating procedures for managing. Ask about the management challenges they are probably facing. Take every opportunity you can to help new leaders refine and improve their management techniques.
Created by: Bruce Tulgan, © 2009 RainmakerThinking, Inc. in conjunction with Bruce's free video newsletter that's available at
Rainmakerthinking.com.