Leading Gen Y Transparently

Monica O’Brien recently wrote “According to research from Hill & Knowlton, consumers care most about companies that demonstrate honesty and optimism. Obama leveraged this emotional need to win the election, and other smart companies are also using this insight to their advantage. To Gen Y this comes down to being transparent and authentic.“

So what does this mean if you’re leading a multi-generational team?

• Treat all your employees with respect and honesty. No matter the age, everyone wants to be treated fairly. This means truly listening to an employee, being transparent with the decision-making process, and asking for input and ideas.

• For Gen Y, transparency and understanding the “big picture” are vital to their sense of belonging. They may not agree with your every decision, yet if they understand the big picture, what the decision is, and what the process was, they’ll remain loyal to you. This may irritate Boomer bosses, who are used to making a decision with the senior team, and then distributing pieces of the decision to the employees. Boomers may feel that explaining all the details takes too long or that the junior employees don’t need to know the details. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. So take some time with your Gen Y employees and be transparent with the information. They’ll not only thank you for it; they’ll also likely help improve the process for the future!