Theodore: It’s not so much about the length
of time of the experience as it is the quality of the
experience that you are given. I don’t want to be
in a job that lets me work for a few years but I
don’t get to do anything, and I feel like that’s
where more people in my age group are coming
from. We say, “Give us quality work. We’ll work
hard and if you see that we’re capable, then give
us more responsibility, keep laying it on me
because I don’t want anything easy either” ... I
hear older people say all the time that we’re lazy
and we don’t work and we’re always on the IM
thing. They are not recognizing that a lot of these
people would do the work if you just gave it to
them. But if you give them something that is not
productive, then you’re going to see that I don’t
feel like doing this—what’s the point? And then
you see the attitude and then you see what people
call laziness, but they don’t want to do scut work.
Boston: Things have changed relative to
leadership. If you start looking, years ago, leadership was “You do what I tell you to do.” And
now leadership is about engaging individuals,
it’s about being on the team. I heard something that Dick Parsons said: “Don’t lead
where you won’t go.” And when I start talking
about whether I can get my entire team
engaged, it’s really incumbent upon me to do
an excellent job, with respect to everything. I
get the coffee as much as anyone else. Because
it doesn’t really matter, we are a team.
Mark: I do think Gen Yers are more vocal
about asking for feedback. “Give me feedback
now, give me feedback every week, not at the
end of the year.”
Allen: I want to know that I’m doing a good
job as I’m doing it, but if something is wrong,
Bednarski: The ones who are
successful are the ones who say,
“Whatever needs to be done, I will
do it because it doesn’t matter. We
are all working as a team. And if it is
copying, if I’m a manager and I’m
reporting to a senior, maybe copy for
the senior because they’re too busy,
then I’ll do it, if it is what needs to
be done.” These are the people who
are successful and I don’t think it
matters whether you’re in your 20s,
30s or 40s—it’s just a personal trait.
Miller: With the younger generation ... you really have to sell that.
It’s a buy-in. You have to say, “This
is the mission, this is where we are
heading,” and you really have to
bring that value to them. They are
not automatically going to sign up:
“OK, we’re on the team.” A baby
boomer would step up and say,
“You tell me how to march and I’m
going to march and if it means
marching in this direction for two
years and then I take a shift to the
right and a couple steps ahead—I
would do it.”
