Sharpen your communication skills

MGMA Connexion, Sep 2005 by Webster, Lee Ann H

Some older managers and employees may be offended when Yers offer suggestions. Traditionalists began their careers heeding an unwritten code of conduct with limited opportunities for a junior member to provide input.12 Although Boomers often "talk the talk" of a participative workplace, they sometimes fail to "walk the walk." Some are surprised when 360-degree feedback reveals that their leadership style models that of their command-and-control supervisors.13

Interestingly, the Boomers have succeeded in creating participatory households that include their Generation Y offspring in family decision-making from an early age. These Yers arrive in the workplace prepared to contribute and collaborate.14 Managers with a "my way or the highway" style risk losing these younger workers and their potential contributions to their organizations.

Quantitative statistical evidence suggests that listening to younger employees can improve financial performance. A recent study by David Maister examined the correlation between employee attitudes and financial performance. He found that the attitudes of 20- and 30-year-olds could explain 54 percent to 57 percent of the variations in office financial performance, as opposed to 24 percent for employees older than 40.15

Predictions that Generation Y may be the "best generation" are based in no small part on the confidence and self-esteem nurtured by parents and teachers who encouraged these kids and valued their input. Imagine the possibilities for organizational excellence when management listens to all employees and provides frequent, meaningful feedback and encouragement. Although Generation Y may force us to sharpen our communication skills, advancing this competency will enable us to improve organizational performance, individual accomplishment and the self-confidence of all generations in the workplace. Good communication skills are not a management fad. They are essential attributes of good leaders and well-run organizations.

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notes

1. DePree M. Leadership Jazz. New York: Dell Publishing, 1992:127-128.

2. Lancaster L, Stillman D. When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 2002-36-41.

3. Ibid:19.

4. Zemke R, Raines C, I-'ilipczak B. Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace. New York: AMACOM, 2000:29-42.

5. Ibid:74.

6. Ibid:93-102.

7. Martin C, Tulgan B. Managing Generation Y, Amherst, Mass.: HRD Press Inc., 2001:1-12.

8. Lancaster and StiIIman:253-260.

9. Ibid:264.

10. Maxwell J, Dornan J. Becoming a Person of Influence. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1997:47-51.

11. Ibid:79-88.

12. Zemke et al:51.

13. Ibid.:79-83.

14. Lancaster and Stillman:31.

15. Maister D. Practice What You Preach. New York: The Free Press, 2001:121-127.