I ran into another list of what turns Gen Y (AKA Millennials) off when it comes to leaders and I have no doubt that it’s accurate, with the exception of number nine. Here it is

1. Inflexibility.
2. Judgmental attitudes.
3. Close-mindedness.
4. Fear of and an unwillingness to use technology.
5. Unwillingness to listen to and respect Gen Y’s opinions, ideas and views.
6. Intimidation.
7. Being told they have to “pay their dues”.
8. Lack of professional and leadership development through the company.
9. Emphasis on traditional dress (coat or suit and tie are out).
10. Lack of intellectual horsepower.

Regarding number nine, I think it depends totally on the field one’s perusing. I doubt that even the most militant Gen Y-er expects a career in investment banking, law, consulting and a number of others to be sans frequent donning of suit and tie or heels and stockings.

What I don’t see is anything that’s new and wouldn’t apply to most people.

• No one wants to work for a boss who is inflexible, judgmental, close-minded, disrespectful and intimidating.
• New technology has been a thorn for “them” and a sore spot for “us” for hundreds of years—mainly because people always resist change, not necessarily because of age, but because of comfort level—they push it for the same reason.
• The ‘paying your dues’ attitude has been the plight of newbies for hundreds of years.
• People at every age and level want good professional training and mentoring available to them.
• Intellectual horsepower by whose measure? That’s about as subjective as you can get. Plus, I’ve found few people consider someone who disagrees with them to be brilliant.

Actually, I haven’t heard Gen Y complain about anything that different than Boomers and Gen X, for that matter, rant about.

Boomers and Gen X were just as much a disruptive force in the workplace-of-that-time as Millennials are today.

Granted the willingness to stick it out has shortened considerably, but even the willingness to walk if you’re not happy is based to no small degree on a healthy economy where the next job is easily available.

Add time and a few age-driven responsibilities—kids, mortgages, aging parents—to the mix and soon they’ll soon be the establishment with another generation ranting about their unwillingness to change.

The demands of each generation force change upon the workplace—always has and always will.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 10:35 pm 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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