Austerity mentality and the risk to Gen Y effectiveness

The more time I spend working with line managers, especially since the "austerity mentality" kicked in, the greater my concern that the progress in terms of engagement and sustainable best practice management behaviours has been lost to the real detriment of potential Gen Y productivity.

Peter Drucker in his 1999 book ‘Management Challenges for the 21st Century identifies 6 requirements for knowledge worker productivity and they are the tip of the iceberg for Generation Y requirements, yet less and less common as many managers forget the primary purpose of their role - to deliver high performance through their staff.

I have expanded Drucker's work in the model below to provide a clear framework for organisations and managers that are serious about getting the best out of this very different workforce demographic.

8 principles that drive Gen Y productivity

1. Task clarification/clear goals – with two way involvement when goals are being established

2. Empowerment & self management – requires a consultative and coaching management style with regular feedback to ensure learning, growth and focus is retained

3. Opportunity to innovate – requires the freedom and ability to take risks coupled low blame culture and support and guided reflection to learn from mistakes

4. Continuous learning and development – As well as investment in L&D, this requires managers to develop coaching skills to make this an active rather than a passive activity.

5. Focus on quality and quantity – less emphasis on visibility and doing the hours, more on achieving the goal in the right way. Requires clear objectives and regular progress checks.

6. A requirement to be treated as an "asset" rather than a "cost." – In times of recession, with reduced ‘perks’ the onus again is on the manager’s ability to make the individual feel valued by taking a genuine interest

7. An active desire to work for the organisation - also termed as ‘engagement’ and driven strongly by the relationship with the line manager and their ability to communicate the importance of the individual's role within the organisation

8. Recognition and feedback – particularly positive, definitely constructive and frequent, again counter to the culture that most babyboomer or Gen X managers have been used to.

It is clear from these principles that the line manager’s role is absolutely imperative in achieving full productivity from the knowledge worker, yet so few managers seem aware or inclined to take on this primary responsibility. Are they being channelled in the wrong direction from above? Are we still really thinking that best practice people management is soft and fluffy and a nice to have?  My concern is that our ability to grow out of the recession could be severely hampered by this blinkered and retrograde practise.