La Piana Consulting Blog

Comments on: Lessons From Gen Y, Implications for Us All http://www.lapiana.org/blog/2009/11/lessons-from-gen-y-implications-for-us-all/ Sun, 06 Feb 2011 06:10:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: David http://www.lapiana.org/blog/2009/11/lessons-from-gen-y-implications-for-us-all/comment-page-1/#comment-26232 David Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:58:04 +0000 http://www.lapiana.org/nonprofitnext/?p=189#comment-26232 I think the problem nonprofits have with giving feedback at the level and frequency Gen Y workers crave stems from a generational disconnect. Most nonprofit leaders are still Boomers, a generation of self-taught nonprofit leaders. No one trained us, we often founded our own nonprofits, and for better or worse, we just muddled along and figured things out on the job. Decades later we still expect everyone else to do the same. This attitude stems from the era Boomers grew up in, where we rebelled against authority, did “our own thing” and prized creativity and fluidity over systems and efficiency. Now we are faced with a generation that has had far more positive interaction with teachers, parents and other adults from birth through college and expects the same kind of relationship in the work place. Boomer leaders need to adapt their own style and preferences to meet the needs of younger workers, or we will lose them. I think the problem nonprofits have with giving feedback at the level and frequency Gen Y workers crave stems from a generational disconnect. Most nonprofit leaders are still Boomers, a generation of self-taught nonprofit leaders. No one trained us, we often founded our own nonprofits, and for better or worse, we just muddled along and figured things out on the job. Decades later we still expect everyone else to do the same. This attitude stems from the era Boomers grew up in, where we rebelled against authority, did “our own thing” and prized creativity and fluidity over systems and efficiency. Now we are faced with a generation that has had far more positive interaction with teachers, parents and other adults from birth through college and expects the same kind of relationship in the work place. Boomer leaders need to adapt their own style and preferences to meet the needs of younger workers, or we will lose them.

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