Today thousands of managers are sitting at their desks both puzzled and<br />
annoyed at the three-letter-word that keeps getting thrown at them by their<br />
young workers. Baby Boomer and Traditionalist leaders describe this word<br />
as sounding, as one manager told us, "like nails on a chalkboard." What,<br />
you might ask, is this word? And, if you're a Generation Y-er, you might<br />
ask, "Why is it driving you crazy?"<br />
<br />
"Why." It seems like such a small, innocent word. However, it is<br />
actually a loaded term that has different meanings depending on which<br />
generation you belong to. In this article, we'll spell out what "why"<br />
means to both the older, seasoned managers, and the young, new workers.<br />
And, we'll give you the tools to overcome your distaste for "why" and<br />
embrace it to your managerial advantage.<br />
<br />
For those of us raised before the era of "free love" or even "disco", we<br />
were taught not to question our elders. As children we were to be seen and<br />
not heard. As school-age children we were taught to take what we were<br />
given and not complain about it. And, as adults we were supposed to do our<br />
tasks solely because they needed to be done. We understood that we were<br />
cogs in a wheel, and if we just did our job, everything would work out<br />
fine. So, to us, the word "Why?" denotes challenging of authority,<br />
thumbing your nose at the rules, and general disruptiveness. Even in its<br />
mildest interpretation, we see at as annoying. When we tell one of our<br />
young workers, "finished documents must be printed in triplicate on blue<br />
paper," we want them to say, "Yes, of course! Consider it done!" Not,<br />
"Why?"<br />
<br />
However, for Generation Y workers, "why" is not a dirty word. They were<br />
raised in different times. These adults grew up in a period where parents<br />
not only focused on their children, but set them on a pedestal, told them<br />
they were unique and important, and fought for them to be not just seen,<br />
but heard as well. Generation Y children were also taught that there is<br />
learning value in everything they do - so that every job that must be done<br />
has a reason, meaning, or significance. They were taught to look at the<br />
"big picture" and how their contribution fits in with everything around<br />
them. So instead of just being content with knowing they are a cog in the<br />
wheel, they need to know, "Why am I this cog instead of that one? Why are<br />
we turning slowly? Why, why, why?"<br />
<br />
Overall, our research found that there are two big reasons Generation Y<br />
asks "Why?"<br />
<br />
Reason #1: Big Picture "Why?"<br />
Generation Y workers want to know how they, as well as their work, fit<br />
into the whole. They want to know how the tasks they do affect the<br />
department, organization, field, or world as a whole. They've grown up<br />
wanting their lives and work to be meaningful, and they want to see how<br />
meaningful it will actually be. Generation Y workers have little patience<br />
for tasks that are rote and, as they see it, meaningless. So, as a<br />
manager, you need to make their work fit into the big picture. The clearer<br />
you make it, the more productive they will be. Pre-empting the "why?"<br />
question by assigning tasks AND giving the big picture up front is a trick<br />
that top managers have learned.<br />
<br />
Darren Griffith, a top sales manager at an auto insurance agency tells it<br />
this way, "When I give my Gen-Y sales reps a task, I let them know how it<br />
affects everyone of us here. For instance, I asked two of my reps to read<br />
through about 200 surveys and pull out all the written comments. I knew<br />
they'd ask why because it is such a boring task. So I just said right away<br />
- I told them 'we need to find out if any of our customers are unhappy with<br />
anything we've done in our sales process. We need to go through those<br />
surveys to get those negative comments so that later we can all sit down as<br />
a team and figure out what we need to do better.' That was just what they<br />
needed, and they got right on with the task."<br />
<br />
Reason #2: Significance "Why?"<br />
Employees from Generation Y are typically more than enthusiastic to do<br />
something when they know the reason behind why they need to do what they<br />
need to do. Their parents taught them that rules and instructions are<br />
important and good, but only if they make sense and fit the situation.<br />
They also taught them that every rule and instruction is an opportunity to<br />
learn more. For example, if one of their parents said to them, "Bedtime is<br />
at 9:00 P.M." and, the kid asked "Why?" - they would not typically get the<br />
response (as most of us non-Gen Y-ers would have), "Because I said so."<br />
They would more likely get an explanation of how the parent came up with<br />
the rule and why it is important. Further, the parent would actually have<br />
a "good" reason much of the time (from reading all of those research<br />
studies and parenting books and magazines that were so popular at the<br />
time). For example, the parent might say, "Because kids your age need at<br />
least 9 hours of sleep, and you have to get up at 6:00 A.M. - so 9 P.M. is<br />
the latest you can go to bed and get the required amount of sleep."<br />
<br />
That's the reason this particular "Why?" can be more of a challenge. It<br />
forces us, as managers, to question the reasoning and significance behind<br />
what we want our workers to do and how we want them to do it. It becomes<br />
tricky when there are procedures or policies in our companies that we have<br />
absolutely no idea why they are in place and they don't make a lot of sense<br />
to us either.<br />
<br />
For example, it might be easy to discuss company dress codes if they make<br />
sense. Ricki Archer, the director of a tutoring company, told us, "I<br />
discuss dress code with my tutors right away. I tell them that we have a<br />
strict white collared shirt, khaki pants, and closed toe shoe policy. I<br />
explain that the white collared shirt and khakis identify our tutors no<br />
matter what school we go into, and the closed toe shoe means that we are<br />
teachers and not students. We have to look professional and separate<br />
ourselves from the kids that we teach. Our tutors are young- but they 'get<br />
it'. After we talk about it, they understand that they need to look like<br />
grown-ups to get the respect of the parents, teachers, and students. I've<br />
never had to discuss it further with any of them."<br />
<br />
What is more difficult is when it makes less sense. However, we did find<br />
one manager that handled the "why?" particularly well. David Kim, a<br />
department manager at a research firm, had many employees question their<br />
dress code. "We have a 'no shorts, no sandals, no jeans, and no t-shirts'<br />
rule at our company. And some of our new hires asked me about why that<br />
policy was in place because they all work at computers in cubicles all day<br />
and clients don't see them. I told them that, in all honesty, I had no<br />
idea. Realistically, we are isolated from the rest of the company<br />
physically - we are in a different building. And, it is just me, my<br />
assistant, and eighteen associates who crunch numbers and write reports all<br />
day. So, I told them that they had my blessing in trying to get the policy<br />
changed if that is what they wanted. They could research it, draft a new<br />
policy, and get a petition and signatures - whatever they needed. And I<br />
would take a representative with me and bring it up to corporate. But they<br />
couldn't do it during work time. I had to stress that! I haven't heard<br />
about it in a few weeks, but I know there are a bunch of them working on<br />
it."<br />
<br />
Unlike the Big Picture "Why?", the Significance "Why?" can't always be<br />
pre-empted. This is because this type of "Why?" often takes us by<br />
surprise. Things we wouldn't naturally question get questioned. This<br />
type of questioning, as you may notice, is not always a bad thing. In<br />
fact, employees asking, "Why?" can bring about significant change and<br />
growth and help us to look beyond where we might normally look. In fact,<br />
where would Microsoft be without Bill Gates asking "Why?" Or where would<br />
Nike, or Apple, or Starbucks be? These companies did not just allow<br />
"Why?", they embraced "Why?"<br />
<br />
Summing up the Techniques<br />
In short, Generation Y asks "Why?" for two main reasons. And, as our top<br />
managers have shown, there are two good ways to turn the "Why?" to your<br />
advantage. First and foremost, anticipate that your Generation Y employees<br />
are going to want the Big Picture. By knowing this, you can pre-empt<br />
questions by providing details of how their work fits in with the work of<br />
other workers, the department, organization, or outside world. Make what<br />
they are doing meaningful and relevant. Creative managers have a knack for<br />
making every job important.<br />
<br />
Second, understand that Generation Y workers want to know the<br />
Significance of what they are doing. If you can anticipate their questions,<br />
then certainly pre-empt them by providing the reason. But, because these<br />
are often unanticipated questions, give yourself time to respond or put the<br />
work back on them. If you don't know the answer, it is fine to say, "I<br />
don't know, but I can find out." It is also more than OK to give them<br />
permission to search for the answer themselves, or to try to change things<br />
(with you guiding the process, of course).<br />
<br />
With this knowledge in hand, maybe we can reduce our annoyance at that<br />
little three-letter word. It is not there to usurp your authority. It is<br />
not there to make your life miserable. "Why?" is being thrown at you<br />
because you have curious, inquisitive, and intelligent young workers who<br />
want to learn and grow through their work with you. You may not love it,<br />
but with these tools you can turn it to your advantage.<br />
<br />
<font size="2">Next week, we’re going to be giving dozens of tactics for managing<br />
Generation Y at our upcoming teleconference called<br />
[<a href="http://www.leadershipiq.com/index.php/upcoming-events/gen-y" target="_BLANK">http://www.leadershipiq.com/index.php/upcoming-events/gen-y</a>] Managing<br />
Generation Y. There are only 29 seats left, so register soon.</font><br />
