Today thousands of managers are sitting at their desks both puzzled and
annoyed at the three-letter-word that keeps getting thrown at them by their
young workers.  Baby Boomer and Traditionalist leaders describe this word
as sounding, as one manager told us, "like nails on a chalkboard."  What,
you might ask, is this word? And, if you're a Generation Y-er, you might
ask, "Why is it driving you crazy?"

"Why."    It seems like such a small, innocent word.  However, it is
actually a loaded term that has different meanings depending on which
generation you belong to.  In this article, we'll spell out what "why"
means to both the older, seasoned managers, and the young, new workers.
And, we'll give you the tools to overcome your distaste for "why" and
embrace it to your managerial advantage.

For those of us raised before the era of "free love" or even "disco", we
were taught not to question our elders.  As children we were to be seen and
not heard.  As school-age children we were taught to take what we were
given and not complain about it.  And, as adults we were supposed to do our
tasks solely because they needed to be done.  We understood that we were
cogs in a wheel, and if we just did our job, everything would work out
fine.  So, to us, the word "Why?" denotes challenging of authority,
thumbing your nose at the rules, and general disruptiveness.  Even in its
mildest interpretation, we see at as annoying.  When we tell one of our
young workers, "finished documents must be printed in triplicate on blue
paper," we want them to say, "Yes, of course!  Consider it done!"  Not,
"Why?"

However, for Generation Y workers, "why" is not a dirty word.  They were
raised in different times.  These adults grew up in a period where parents
not only focused on their children, but set them on a pedestal, told them
they were unique and important, and fought for them to be not just seen,
but heard as well.  Generation Y children were also taught that there is
learning value in everything they do - so that every job that must be done
has a reason, meaning, or significance.  They were taught to look at the
"big picture" and how their contribution fits in with everything around
them.  So instead of just being content with knowing they are a cog in the
wheel, they need to know, "Why am I this cog instead of that one?  Why are
we turning slowly?  Why, why, why?"

Overall, our research found that there are two big reasons Generation Y
asks "Why?"

Reason #1: Big Picture "Why?"
Generation Y workers want to know how they, as well as their work, fit
into the whole.  They want to know how the tasks they do affect the
department, organization, field, or world as a whole.  They've grown up
wanting their lives and work to be meaningful, and they want to see how
meaningful it will actually be.  Generation Y workers have little patience
for tasks that are rote and, as they see it,  meaningless.  So, as a
manager, you need to make their work fit into the big picture.  The clearer
you make it, the more productive they will be.  Pre-empting the "why?"
question by assigning tasks AND giving the big picture up front is a trick
that top managers have learned.

Darren Griffith, a top sales manager at an auto insurance agency tells it
this way, "When I give my Gen-Y sales reps a task, I let them know how it
affects everyone of us here.  For instance, I asked two of my reps to read
through about 200 surveys and pull out all the written comments.  I knew
they'd ask why because it is such a boring task.  So I just said right away
- I told them 'we need to find out if any of our customers are unhappy with
anything we've done in our sales process.  We need to go through those
surveys to get those negative comments so that later we can all sit down as
a team and figure out what we need to do better.' That was just what they
needed, and they got right on with the task."

Reason #2: Significance "Why?"
Employees from Generation Y are typically more than enthusiastic to do
something when they know the reason behind why they need to do what they
need to do.  Their parents taught them that rules and instructions are
important and good, but only if they make sense and fit the situation.
They also taught them that every rule and instruction is an opportunity to
learn more.  For example, if one of their parents said to them, "Bedtime is
at 9:00 P.M." and, the kid asked "Why?" - they would not typically get the
response (as most of us non-Gen Y-ers would have), "Because I said so."
They would more likely get an explanation of how the parent came up with
the rule and why it is important.  Further, the parent would actually have
a "good" reason much of the time (from reading all of those research
studies and parenting books and magazines that were so popular at the
time).  For example, the parent might say, "Because kids your age need at
least 9 hours of sleep, and you have to get up at 6:00 A.M. - so 9 P.M. is
the latest you can go to bed and get the required amount of sleep."

That's the reason this particular "Why?" can be more of a challenge.  It
forces us, as managers, to question the reasoning and significance behind
what we want our workers to do and how we want them to do it.  It becomes
tricky when there are procedures or policies in our companies that we have
absolutely no idea why they are in place and they don't make a lot of sense
to us either.

For example, it might be easy to discuss company dress codes if they make
sense.  Ricki Archer, the director of a tutoring company, told us, "I
discuss dress code with my tutors right away.  I tell them that we have a
strict white collared shirt, khaki pants, and closed toe shoe policy.  I
explain that the white collared shirt and khakis identify our tutors no
matter what school we go into, and the closed toe shoe means that we are
teachers and not students.  We have to look professional and separate
ourselves from the kids that we teach.  Our tutors are young- but they 'get
it'.  After we talk about it, they understand that they need to look like
grown-ups to get the respect of the parents, teachers, and students.  I've
never had to discuss it further with any of them."

What is more difficult is when it makes less sense.  However, we did find
one manager that handled the "why?" particularly well.  David Kim, a
department manager at a research firm, had many employees question their
dress code.  "We have a 'no shorts, no sandals, no jeans, and no t-shirts'
rule at our company.  And some of our new hires asked me about why that
policy was in place because they all work at computers in cubicles all day
and clients don't see them.  I told them that, in all honesty, I had no
idea.  Realistically, we are isolated from the rest of the company
physically - we are in a different building.  And, it is just me, my
assistant, and eighteen associates who crunch numbers and write reports all
day.  So, I told them that they had my blessing in trying to get the policy
changed if that is what they wanted.  They could research it, draft a new
policy, and get a petition and signatures - whatever they needed.  And I
would take a representative with me and bring it up to corporate.  But they
couldn't do it during work time.  I had to stress that!  I haven't heard
about it in a few weeks, but I know there are a bunch of them working on
it."

Unlike the Big Picture "Why?", the Significance "Why?" can't always be
pre-empted.  This is because this type of "Why?" often takes us by
surprise.  Things we wouldn't naturally question get questioned.   This
type of questioning, as you may notice, is not always a bad thing.  In
fact, employees asking, "Why?" can bring about significant change and
growth and help us to look beyond where we might normally look.  In fact,
where would Microsoft be without Bill Gates asking "Why?"   Or where would
Nike, or Apple, or Starbucks be?  These companies did not just allow
"Why?", they embraced "Why?"

Summing up the Techniques
In short, Generation Y asks "Why?" for two main reasons.  And, as our top
managers have shown, there are two good ways to turn the "Why?" to your
advantage.  First and foremost, anticipate that your Generation Y employees
are going to want the Big Picture.  By knowing this, you can pre-empt
questions by providing details of how their work fits in with the work of
other workers, the department, organization, or outside world.  Make what
they are doing meaningful and relevant.  Creative managers have a knack for
making every job important.

Second, understand that Generation Y workers want to know the
Significance of what they are doing. If you can anticipate their questions,
then certainly pre-empt them by providing the reason.  But, because these
are often unanticipated questions, give yourself time to respond or put the
work back on them.  If you don't know the answer, it is fine to say, "I
don't know, but I can find out."  It is also more than OK to give them
permission to search for the answer themselves, or to try to change things
(with you guiding the process, of course).

With this knowledge in hand, maybe we can reduce our annoyance at that
little three-letter word.  It is not there to usurp your authority.  It is
not there to make your life miserable.  "Why?" is being thrown at you
because you have curious, inquisitive, and intelligent young workers who
want to learn and grow through their work with you.  You may not love it,
but with these tools you can turn it to your advantage.

Next week, we’re going to be giving dozens of tactics for managing
Generation Y at our upcoming teleconference called
[http://www.leadershipiq.com/index.php/upcoming-events/gen-y] Managing
Generation Y.  There are only 29 seats left, so register soon.