Our Future: Cultivating the Employees of Today

Those of us who are baby boomers may be finding it difficult to understand the attitude of the employees of today - those individuals who are our future organizational leaders; the people to whom we will leave our legacy when we retire.

What is the secret to cultivating these individuals and ensuring that they don't unintentionally pass on what I call the "entitlement values" so pervasive in our twenty and thirty somethings culture of today?  And how do we motivate them to "do what it takes" to be successful in this lean business environment today?

The key is to give up the old notions of Baby Boomer Behavior (working 80+ hours per week) and to try to find ways to work around the challenges with the "youngins" and their values.  After all, we can't complain, we're the ones who made them this way.  Unless you are in a highly competitive business in which everyone wants to work, there is no way demanding excessive overtime and undying loyalty is going to get you to success.  What it will get you is high turnover.

I came to this realization while watching "Work Out" on Bravo.  As a leadership  lesson, I think it has value- for those who have type of business I mentioned above.  In this continuing saga, Jackie, a highly demanding personal training business owner, commands perfection from her personal trainers and gets away with it, simply because everyone wants to be a personal trainer to the stars.  Her successful company is gloriously located on the rooftop of a highrise in LA - all very chic and exciting.  Everyone there is beautiful and young and while their staff meetings are on the rooftop veranda every Friday night, no one seems to mind very much.

Jackie's message is clear; you want to work here, you do it my way because it works and it's the way it has to be.  When you leave here, you can do it your way, but not until then.  In terms of coaching, she tells them, "The first time I give you feedback.  The second time I have to talk to you I'll be aggravated, but we'll talk.  The third time I figure you don't get it and you never will."  Ah, if only it was that easy in corporate America!

The reality is that we in corporate America have to walk a fine line, serpentining through the legal and HR landmines that abound.  Let's face it - we don't really have the power to fight this emerging trend.