My friend Laura is a public health nursing supervisor. She knows that I do cross-generational work and recently shared this experience with me.
Mary is a twenty-something on Laura’s staff that is in her first professional job out of school. At Mary’s annual review, Laura did what every good manager does, she asked Mary for her input on how Laura could me more effective in providing work direction or if there is anything in the way they work that could be done differently. Mary told Laura that she thought she was a great boss and then ask why they had to follow a certain process for client visits because she thought there might be a better way. Now, Laura could have given, the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” response and moved on. Instead, she asked Mary, “What ideas do you have about how things could be done differently?” Mary then outlined a well-thought out recommendation for the process with great reasons. Laura told me that her first reaction was “that’s a great idea” and she asked Mary to write up her recommendation so that Laura could get the necessary approvals for change (they do live in a hierarchical organization afterall). Mary completed the written recommendation in a nanosecond, and Laura got the approvals very quickly. This new practice made the operation a whole lot more efficient and effective and had other staff saying, “Why didn’t we do this sooner?’
Here is the lesson. One of the many gifts that the Millennial Generation brings to the workplace are fresh eyes, an enthusiasm to contribute immediately, and the ability to see solutions that simplify the way things are done. When a baby boomer manager dismisses a suggestion of a Gen Y employee because they are too young or new or whatever, they leave that young employee with the feeling that they can’t make a difference where they are and increase the likelihood that person will be texting their network to find another job. In contrast, Laura’s response really helped Mary feel included and the fact that many loved the suggestion increased Mary’s credibility with everyone. And … because the manager has such a strong impact on job satisfaction, Mary is probably texting her friends about what a great place to work she has. This is a win-win for everyone!
Thanks for the advice, Mom! And Happy Birthday!
In the ten years since her passing, I have thought about her often – even more so in recent days. I remember the stories she told me about growing up in southern New Jersey just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia as a middle child of Polish immigrant parents. She came of age in the heart of the Great Depression and married my father two months after the Nazis invaded Poland to mark the start of World War II in 1939. And having grown up in a neighborhood of boys, she could hit the hell out of a baseball. I still have a mixture of pride and embarrassment when I think about the summer evening she was playing ball in our back yard with the neighborhood kids and hit a line drive directly into the neighbor’s kitchen window!
I’ve blogged in the past about what I’ve learned from my father about working and playing well with others. I just wanted to share a key lesson from my mother that contributed greatly to my almost twenty year run as a freelance consultant/writer.
I was probably about eight years old. It was summertime and I was playing Little league baseball. I guess I inherited my mother’s prowess with a bat because I was a pretty comfortable as a hitter right from the start. And this particular evening I had four base hits and was touting my exploits to the neighbors. My mother overheard my bragging, dragged me into the house, and firmly explained that “tooting your own horn” was not only inappropriate, it could come back to embarrass you. Her belief was that it is much better to let others talk about your accomplishments rather than doing it yourself.
Today people often ask me if I am an expert in whatever. Having had my mother’s good counsel, I will respond by saying something like, “Well, I do work in that area, however, it is really not for me to say if I’m an expert; that’s for others to say.”
As I look at some blogs, resumes, Facebook pages, and other venues, I wonder how my mother would react today to some of the claims people are making and what they are saying about themselves.
I’m interested in hearing from everyone – particularly Millennials and Gen X readers – regarding the relevance of my mother’s advice in this new age of social media marketing. Thanks!
Happy Birthday, Mom!