NOT EVERYONE GETS A TROPHY
Debbie Waite
Academic Advisor, NDFS
February 16, 2012
Quick Generational Review
 Born 1922-1943
 Silent Generation or Schwarzkopf Generation
 Born 1946-1964

Baby Boomers
Generational Review
 Generation X – 1965-1980
 Millennials or Generation Y
 Born 1980-2000
Generations…….
 Two other historical issues
 Birth control pill
 Child development research – 1970 - 1990
Self-Esteem Curriculum
 Feeling good about yourself
 Advice centers on self
 Don’t correct children’s mistakes
 Instead of “failed” they have “deferred
success”
 Competition is bad for self-esteem
 Pizza parties for all who pass
Consequences
of Self-Esteem Curriculum
 Respect for others has declined
 Grade inflation
 Children don’t need to learn
 Kids who can’t take criticism (thin-skinned)
 Self-esteem not linked to good grades
 More likely to be violent and to cheat
 Self-esteem without basis encourages
laziness rather than hard work
The Incredibles
 Everybody's Super
Strengths of Gen Y
 Can be very loyal – but not blind loyalty
 Will work for credit
 The information generation
More strengths
 Will hit the ground running
 Want impact
 Want to learn
 Want flexibility
Managers must provide:
 Record of their successes.
 Details of how to do their job very well.
 Understanding of career path
 Salary and benefits plus……
 Respect is a 2 way street
Managers understand:
 Learn best from a combination of technology
and the human element –
 Gen Y can be a long-term employee, one day
at a time
Focus on Self
 Authority questioned routinely –
 Customize anything and everything
 Instantaneous responses and constant
change
Transactional authority
 Focuses on the basic management process of
controlling, organizing, and short-term
planning.
Gen Y - Transactional Authority
 Leader utilizes followers self-interest for
leader’s goals and purposes
 Gen Y flips it
Customize
 Gen Yers want to customize their very minds,
bodies, and spirits.
 ==========
Customize a degree?
 “I want a degree that covers organic
gardening and nutrition because the whole
system is wrong – we are sick because we
don’t grow our food right…. I want it online
and accessible to my rural location and I can’t
understand why USU doesn’t provide it?”
Change
 “Constant change means you can’t count on
anything to stay the same. But this doesn’t
make Gen Yers feel nostalgic. Rather, it makes
them feel liberated to abandon what bores
them, embrace new things wholeheartedly,
and reinvent themselves constantly.”
Academia – SLOW CHANGE
 We have a problem:
 What happens when academia meets
Generation Y?
TRAIN WRECK!
There is Hope!
 Gen Y can be managed. Here are some tips:
 Use transactional authority to your
advantage.
More Tips
 Clear expectations and clear rewards
 It may not be money.
 Example:
 Daniel has multiple jobs.
 Research experience
medical school
The importance of context
 Factors that are beyond their control
 Natural disasters, etc. that limit their potential
role.
 Where they fit in the larger picture
 Customer versus employee/student
Motivation
 External – constant external rewards
 Internal – motivated for personal reasons
Carol Dweck on Praise
 Person praise
 Process praise
 Setbacks –
 Learned helplessness
Across the desk
 Ice cream sandwich
 Praise the process
 Checklists with clear expectations
 Look for the transaction –
 Find the underlying interest
 Negotiate where you can.
 Stand strong and clear where you can’t.
 Train them to do their own work
What’s Next
 Gen Y and a slow economy
 Work habits
 Entitlement
 Parental support –
 Definiti0n of success
 Global economy ?
References
Reference
Reference: Journal Article
 Kamins, M. L. and Dweck, C. S. 1999. Person
versus process praise and criticism:
implications for contingent self-worth and
coping. Developmental Psychology, 35:3, pp.
835-847.