Not Everyone Gets a Trophy, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER EIGHTTEACH THEM HOW TO BE MANAGED BY YOU

It took a while for me to get to know what mattered to this manager and what didn't. Once I figured that out, things got much easier for both of us and much better. Why didn't he just tell me on day one? He could have just said: “This is how I want things done. There are a few things that really matter to me. Focus on doing those things the way I want them done and forget about everything else.” It would have made a big difference.

—Twentysomething

“Some people know how to be managed and others just don't,” said a senior partner at a major American law firm whom I'll call Mr. Rust. “I can tell almost immediately with a new associate if I'm going to be able to work with that person and if that person is going to be able to work with me. Some of the young associates today still come in with a good work ethic, good work habits; the kind of work style I can mesh with. Most of them don't.”

I hear this from a lot of leaders and managers. They claim that many new young workers are lacking when it comes to work ethic, work habits, and work style. The underlying truth of this common complaint is that work ethic, habits, and style are often less developed in younger workers. But it's a mistake to assume that young employees will just grow up and take on old-fashioned attitudes and behavior that older generations exhibit. You simply cannot ignore the impact of today's short-term transactional approach to work and the insistence of young ...