‘I can see how this works – but it’s difficult for me. I’m from the old school – it’s either right or it’s wrong. Somebody either performs properly – or you discipline them.’
The speaker was a man in his fifties who was trying hard to get his mind around the idea of Win Win conversations with his people. He is a man who sees a world in which people either do their jobs properly or they are disciplined. As a manager he would consider his approach to be tough but fair. Now he’s struggling to understand how things have changed.
Today’s young employees demand a lot of their managers. They have high aspirations and expectations of themselves and others. Their personal development is important to them. They do not see themselves in the same job, or even the same company, for any longer than it takes them to acquire the next skills set they have in mind.
They hold high expectations of their managers. They want to be given freedom to show what they can do, to have their ideas requested and considered, to be told what is going on, and why; and to be held to account and then rewarded for their performance.
If managers get it right their reward is motivated, productive, enthusiastic and creative teams. But many managers are starting to realise that they will first have to make some big changes in their own behaviour.