Jeffrey Zaslow’s WSJ article regarding the new generation’s need for praise, and his follow-up comment in Moving On, are generating major reaction in blogs and discussion lists, such as asklizryan.

The general feeling seems to be that the twenty-something need for constant praise is completely out of hand and, based on the articles and comments, to a great extent I tend to agree, however…

Since the child-rearing clock can’t be turned back, it’s managers’ responsibility to reeducate the incoming workforce as to the difference between being accepted, acknowledged, and praised—and that one is entitled to none of them.

You may feel that this isn’t part of your job description, but think again. If your job includes hiring people, building productive teams, and forging results for your company, then you need to hire from the current crop of grads whose MAP was nurtured on constant praise—whether real or faux.

Reeducation starts with these definitions, in hard copy, given to every member of your organization.

• Acceptance refers to the fact that they were hired and are there to do a specific job with specific duties and responsibilities—if you didn’t think that they could do the job they wouldn’t have been accepted/hired.
• Acknowledgment refers to recognition of work done and consists of frequent, accurate feedback, so they know how they’re doing—stress that the feedback can be good, bad, or a mixture thereof, on it’s own it’s not praise, although it can contain praise, but it is what’s needed to grow professionally.
• Praise refers to the comments, actions and rewards given for doing more, or doing it better, than was expected.

I find it ironic that many of the people complaining most bitterly about this generation’s need for praise are the same ones who helped produce them, i.e., the parents who confused self-esteem with a sense of entitlement and produced offspring whose insecurities (low self-esteem) require constant reinforcement (praise). Still more ironic because the “your are special” culture is itself a backlash against the low self-esteem with which many of these same parents were raised.

I suggest that you start this reeducation process immediately at work—and at home.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 9:34 am and is filed under Business info, Communication, Culture, Hiring, Leadership, Motivation, Retention. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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