NHRD Network Journal - National HRD... Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Regional ... Industrial Relations Dr. D. Prasanth Nair 118 ... Leadership: Gen Y Yogi Sriram 122 Case Study 24. Gen Y

NHRD Network Journal

Leadership : Gen Y April 2014

www.nationalhrd.org

ISSN - 0974 - 1739

NHRD Network JournalApril 2014 Volume 7 Issue 2

A Quarterly Publication by The National HRD Network

Leadership:Gen Y

Tamara J. EricksonRama BijapurkarPriyanka Bhotiya and

Dr. Arvind AgrawalLalima ChhabraAditi TandonRussell MasonShama DalalSaloni ChaturvediDisha MehraPriyanca VaishnavGaargi RamakrishnanSiddharth Kanoria &

Shagun SethShaheen MistriSonali Roy ChowdhuryKurt PiemonteMini MenonPrince Augustin,

Namrata Gill, Raghav Pareek, and Neha Londhe

Mona CheriyanAmuleek Singh BijralAshish DhawanUma GaneshDr. D. Prasanth NairYogi SriramAmrita Chowdhury

www.nationalhrd.org

Nati onal HRD NetworkThe Nati onal HRD Network, established in 1985, is an associati on of professionals committ ed to promoti ng the HRD movement in India and enhancing the capability of human resource professionals, enabling them to make an impactf ul contributi on in enhancing competi ti veness and creati ng value for society. Towards this end, the Nati onal HRD Network is committ ed to the development of human resources through educati on, training, research and experience sharing. The network is managed by HR professionals in an honorary capacity, stemming from their interest in contributi ng to the HR profession.

The underlying philosophy of the NHRDN is that every human being has the potenti al for remarkable achievement. HRD is a process by which employees in organizati ons are enabled to:

• acquire capabilities to perform various tasks associated with their present and future roles;

• develop their inner potential for self and organizati onal growth;

• develop an organizati onal culture where networking relationships, teamwork and collaboration among diff erent units is strong, contributi ng to organizati onal growth and individual well-being.


Leadership: Gen YVolume 7 Issue 2 April 2014

NHRD Network Board MembersNational President: Mr Rajeev Dubey, President (Group HR & After-Market) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra

Past National President : Dr. T V Rao, Chairman - T V Rao Learning Systems

Dr Santrupt Misra, CEO, Carbon Black Business & Director, Group H.R. - Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd Dwarakanath P, Advisor-Group Human Capital - Max India Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Offi cer - Aquil Busrai Consulting

NS Rajan, Group Chief Human Resources Offi cer and Member of the Group Executive Council, TATA Sons Ltd

S Y Siddiqui, Chief Operating Offi cer - Administration (HR, Finance, IT & COSL), Maruti Suzuki India LtdRegional Presidents: East: Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, Executive Director (HR) - Retail Sector, Spencer’s Retail LtdSouth: L Prabhakar, Vice President (HR) Agri-Business Division, ITC Ltd West: Ms Anjali Raina, Executive Director, Harvard Business School North: Ms Veena Swarup, Director (HR), Engineers India LtdNational Secretary: S V Nathan, Director Talent (US-India), DELOITTENational Treasurer: Ms Shelly Singh, Co-Founder & EVP, People Strong HR ServicesDirector General: Kamal Singh Editorial Team Ms. Anjali Raina, Executive Director, Harvard Business School India Research Center (Guest Editor for this issue) Dr. PVR Murthy, Managing Editor, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, [email protected] Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, [email protected] Dr. Arvind N Agrawal, President - Corporate Development & Group HR, RPG GroupPublisher, Printer, Owner Kamal Singh, Director General, NHRDN and Place of Publication on behalf of National HRD Network, National HRD Network Secretariat, C 81 C, DLF Super Mart, DLF City, Phase IV, Gurgaon122 002. Tel +91 124 404 1560 e-mail: [email protected] at Nagaraj & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 156, Developed Plots Industrial Estate, Perungudi, Chennai 600 096. Tel : 044 - 66149291The views expressed by the authors are of their own and not necessarily of the editors nor of the publisher nor of authors’ organizations

Copyright of the NHRD Journal, all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproduced without copyright holders’ express permission in writing.

NHRD fi rmly believes in and respects IPR and we appeal to the contributors and readers to strictly honour the same.

For any further clarifi cations, please contact :

The Managing EditorDr. P V R Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, #8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600 018.

[email protected]

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

The National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal where in each issue is dedicated to a theme.

The journal publishes primarily three categories of articles :

• Conceptual and research based

• Contributions from thought leaders including a limited number of reprints with due permission

• Organizational experiences in HR interventions/mechanisms.

About this issue :

Gen Y (those born from 1980 to 2000) are taking over the workplace. What is the best way to lead and manage this global, hyper connected ‘youth bulge’? How should young Gen Y leaders lead multigenerational work places? This journal brings together research, case studies, book reviews and a spectrum of views on these leadership questions, including for the fi rst time, voices of Gen Y. Business leaders, HR practitioners and Gen Y members will all fi nd nuggets of wisdom that they can apply.

Editorial Board Members :

Dr. P.V.R. Murthy, Managing Editor is a product of I.I.T., Kharagpur and IIM, Calcutta with close to thirty years experience in H.R. fi eld. He founded and runs an executive search fi rm Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants. He is associated with a number of academic institutions. He is trained in TQM in Japan and in human processes from ISABS and NTL, U.S.A. He is the Past National Secretary of National HRD Network.

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, A doctoral fellow from XLRI and AHRD, he is trained in OD and Human Processes from NTL, USA and he believes in applying HR concepts to practice to make it more meaningful and effective. He is a mentor and coach to many young HR professionals.

Dr. Arvind N Agrawal - Dr. Arvind N. Agrawal, Ph.D. serves as the President and Chief Executive of Corporate Development & Human Resources and Member of Management Board of RPG Enterprises. Dr. Agrawal has worked at RPG Enterprises since 1999 and his current responsibilities in RPG comprise of HR and TQM. Agrawal held senior positions in Escorts and Modi Xerox. He was the past National President of the National HRD Network. Dr. Agrawal is an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus and also an IIT Kharagpur alumini, and also holds a PhD from IIT Mumbai.

Dear Readers, The National HRD Network has been bringing out a semi-academic, theme based, quarterly journal for the last few years. It aims at compiling and publishing the professional views and experiences of reputed HR professionals, line professionals, CEOs, researchers, academicians in each theme area. We carry out extensive research, identify and invite persons who have eminent publications or have rich experience in the theme area to contribute articles for each issue. Through the journal, we aim to build a body of knowledge in all facets of HR which is not otherwise easily available for the current and future HR Professionals. So far, close to 350 eminent authors have contributed articles. Each issue is guest edited by a person of eminence in the concerned theme area.This journal is circulated free to the members of NHRD Network to stimulate their thinking and towards their professional development.

Publications so far have been based on themes such as :• “IT in HR”• “Performance Management” • “Attracting and Retaining Talent” • “Career Management” • “Organizational Change” • “Global HRM” • “Women in Corporate Leadership Roles”• “Organization Development” • “Learning and Development” • “Leadership”• “Work-Life Balance”• “Institution Building”• “Coaching For Performance and Development” • “Human Resources Management in Rapid Growth Organizations”• “HR Competence”• “HR and Employee Relations”• “CEO and HR”• “People Power – Draw, Drive and Deliver”• “Getting HR Ready for Gen Y”• “CSR & HR”• “Shapes and Structures of Organizations - Today and Tomorrow”• “Managing Change, Transformation and Enhancing Competitiveness : The HR Role”• “Dots and connections: winning hearts and minds through internal communication”• “Skill Building and HR”• “Technology and HR”• “Social Media and HR”.• “Building Sustainable Organizations : Role of HR”• “Innovation and HR”

The copies of these issues of the journal can be accessed from www.nationalhrd.org.

The current issue is on the theme of “Leadership : Gen Y”.

Some of the guest editors for future issues include Dr. A.K. Balyan, MD & CEO, Petronet LNG Ltd. and Dr. Pallab Bandhopadhyay.

This is your journal and will be as rich as you want it to be.

In order to further enrich it, we would like to receive your

1. qualitative feedback on issues brought out so far, and

2. suggestions for themes to be covered in our future issues;

3. Any other suggestions.

Kindly send in your thoughts to [email protected]

Dr. PVR MurthyManaging Editor(On behalf of the Editorial Team)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our heartfelt thanks to all the contributors of articles, who have taken time off from their

busy schedules out of their passionate interest in the fi eld of Leadership:Gen Yand HR.

We acknowledge the excellent contribution of the Guest Editor - Anjali Raina, Executive Director,

HBS India Research Center for conceptualizing the entire issue and inspiring all busy experts

in the fi eld to share their thoughts.

A special note of thanks to Rachna Chawla, Assistant Director-Research Services, Harvard

Business School India Research Center for her untiring efforts in making this issue a reality.

Our special thanks to Amrita Chowdhury for the book review.

We acknowledge the support from Sunathy of Exclusive Search for passionately working

with me.

– Dr. PVR Murthy, Managing Editor(On behalf of the Editorial Team)

CONTENTSS.No. Title of Article Author Page No.

Setting the Context through Research

1. Make a Multigenerational workforce Tamara J. Erickson 1work for you

2. Taking Stock of the World of Young India Rama Bijapurkar 21

3. Leadership for Gen Y Priyanka Bhotiya & 26 Dr. Arvind Agrawal

4. Many Names, One Generation; Lalima Chhabra 34Through the lens of a Gen Y

Gen Y Speaks Up

5. Leading Gen Y Aditi Tandon 40

6. Thoughts on inspiring, Motivating, and Russell Mason 45leading ambitious Gen - Y employees and teams

7. Confessions of a Gen Y Professional Shama Dalal 50

8. Gen Y : Why more of us don’t wear Saloni Chaturvedi 55lab coats!!!

9. The Leader whose team I’ll join Disha Mehra 59

10. The Lead voice Priyanca Vaishnav 61

11. Going Digital : Generation Y and our future Gaargi Ramakrishnan 70in the online space in India

12. Gen - Y Leaders : The times they are Siddharth Kanoria & 75a changin’ Shagun Seth

Through the eyes of Gen X

13. Leadership in Generation Y Shaheen Mistri 79

14. Leadership : Hindsight is 20/20! Sonali Roy Chowdhury 82

S.No. Title of Article Author Page No.

15. Recruiting millennials in a global market Kurt Piemonte 86

16. Young & Restless Mini Menon 90

17. Moving Beyond ‘Age’ Prince Augustin; 94 Namrata Gill, Raghav Pareek, Neha Londhe

18. Challenges Faced by the Gen Y Woman Mona Cheriyan 100in Today’s Workplace

19. Building a Brand Amuleek Singh Bijral 104

20. School leader training : Critical missing Ashish Dhawan 109link in school quality improvement

From the Vantage Point of the Boomers

21. Gen X and Gen Y : Is Co-existence Possible? Uma Ganesh 114

22. An important driver - Industrial Relations Dr. D. Prasanth Nair 118Capability to manage the new generation workforce

23. Leadership: Gen Y Yogi Sriram 122

Case Study

24. Gen Y in the Workforce – Tamara J. Erickson 124HBR Case study and commentary

Book Reviews

25. Reviewed by Amrita Chowdhury 132

EDITORIAL COMMENTS

Ms. ANJALI RAINA

(Guest Editor for this issue)

Executive Director, Harvard Business

School India Research Center

Spotlight on Gen Y

Gen Y, generally described as those born from 1980 to 2000, have been the subject of intense scrutiny. This generation, variously called the Millennial generation, the MeMeMe generation, Digital natives, and the Net generation, is one of the largest population groupings the world has ever seen. In the US alone they number 80 million strong; in India, Africa, and most of South America and the Middle East, more than 50% of the population is under 30. Even in China, 40% of the population is under 301. Further, the interconnected, global world in which Gen Y has grown up has made them more similar to each other, than to earlier generations within their own countries. It’s a generation that has a fl exible view of time and space — and is used to a 24 by 7 schedule — to being ‘always on’ and ‘always in touch’. The size, globality and hyper-connectedness of this ‘youth bulge’, and the different expectations they hold, make it vital to understand their perspective on leadership and work culture. That’s the fi rst step to crafting work places where Gen Y can be engaged, contribute, and thrive.

In terms of absolute numbers, at 426 million, India today has one of the largest Gen Y work forces in the world. (China has around 218 million).2 While much research has been done on Gen Y in the US, Canada and the UK, comparatively little is available on the Indian cohort of Gen Y. This journal has therefore tried to bring in the perspective of those who understand, work with and lead Gen Y in India; as well as

1 http://www.theguardian.com/world/graphic/2014/mar/19/world-map-of-youth-youth-bulge

2 A research project by Steelcase Workspace Futures , ‘Gen Y: India’ , page 3

the voices of Gen Y resident in India, on how they prefer to lead, and be led, work, live and communicate.

It has been a privilege to edit this journal. I have learnt from each one of the articles, from the cerebral ones focused on research and macro trends; from those that are heartfelt expressions of the expectations and viewpoints of Gen Y; as well as from the Gen X (1965 to 1979) and Boomer (1946 to 1964) contributors who have been leading and managing Gen Y teams and have shared their learning generously.

The fi rst three articles in the fi rst section are research led. They build appreciation for Indian and Global intergenerational mindsets, and an understanding of what infl uenced them. Tamara Erickson3, President of nGenera Innovation Network and popular blogger “Across the Ages” has described different generations in the workplace; she contrasts the perspectives of Gen Y with the Traditionalists (1928 to 1945), Boomers and Gen X. The time breaks we use in India to defi ne generations are similar to the West.Boomers in India are sometimes termed the Post Independence generation, Nation Builders, or the ‘Older Generation’; and those born 1900 to 1946 are called ‘Freedom Fighters’, and loosely correspond to the Traditionalists of the West. However the context is not identical to the West, experiences and memories differ and hence perspectives are not the same. Rama Bijapurkar has analyzed the difference in contextual influences and shared her insights on the varied perspectives across generations in India. This includes a masterful analysis of Gen Next angst. Dr. Arvind N. Agrawal and Priyanka Bhotiya both with RPG Enterprises, have shared their research on the leadership expectations of Indian Gen Y,

3 HBR Blog Network, http://blogs.hbr.org/tammy-erickson/

including Gen Y’s impatience with ‘fi nicky leaders’ who emphasize formatting over content! This section closes with a review of relevant global research material by Lalima Chabbra enlivened by her Gen Y commentary.

This sets a great background in which to hear the voices of Gen Y – and the next section has a round up of 9 articles contributed by a smorgasbord of Gen Y members. Work experience of the writers’ ranges from 3 to 10 years, with most of them having worked for two, sometimes as many as fi ve organizations. Many of them have lived and worked in more than one country, and all have travelled widely. Their perspective is, as expected, different (!), but is unexpectedly mature, and uniformly well presented. Takeaways are available for HR practitioners on workplace design, HR systems and employer branding (Gen Y speak- trendy hipster vs. nerd), for business leaders on effective leadership and communication styles, and for Gen Y members on career choices. Immediate ‘aha’ moments’ - including what is wiki-how, and why unlimited Internet access to Facebook, and shopping sites during working hours increases productivity, guaranteed.

The section opens with Aditi Tandon’s engaging argument on the need to redefi ne, redesign and refresh management practices related to ‘Leading Gen Y’ – and a well-articulated route map on how to do so. Aditi has lived and worked in both UK and India and her contemporary take on the Guru-Shishya relationship has lessons for all mentor- mentee programs. This is followed by a series of fi rst person views by Gen Y professionals from different industry sectors on what engages and excites them. Russell Mason, a US national, explains the wanderlust that brought him across the world to work in an Indian conglomerate in a country he had never seen, and kept him here for more than two

years. Shama Dalal who has worked in both Indian and multinational fi rms, ‘confesses’ the dilemmas that she faces, as a Gen Y in a multigenerational workplace, and generously shares the mantras that work. Saloni Chaturvedi convincingly explains how nerdy employers can appeal to the ‘thrill seeking’ Gen Y. Disha Mehra shares the Gen Y commitment to work and excellence, and defi nition of ‘smart’ working habits that enable a full life. Priyanca Vaishnav has detailed ways in which to reach the hearts and minds of a generation with an attention span no greater than 140 character Twitter bites. Individually the articles are eminently readable; as a set, they offer an invaluable window into Gen Y minds, with implications related to attracting, selecting, retaining, rewarding, mentoring, growing,motivating and communicating with this cohort. The last but one article in this section is from a Gen Y digital entrepreneur, Gaargi Ramakrishnan, on why the entrepreneurial route is so attractive to this age group and lessons on ways in which to deal with the inevitable skepticism of parents. She refl ects on the inherent challenges of dealing with bureaucracy, old-fashioned marketers, and silos. The section ends with an honest analysis by Siddharth Kanoria and Shagun Seth on the difference in styles between Gen Y leaders and the ‘oldies’, and the reasons why the fresh approaches are relevant and effective in these times.

What’s fascinating to me is that so many of these writers have quoted from eclectic sources—ranging from Steve Jobs and Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss, and Bob Dylan. For a generation that is impatient, they are certainly well read! Gen Y’s in India share much of their generation’s digital savvy, self obsession (think selfi e), and sense of entitlement (think of the number of 30 year olds who are gainfully employed, but live with their parents). They have grown

up with no colonial hangover, in a vibrant democracy, accompanied by the heady sense of excitement created by the ‘91 liberalization wave and opening up of economic opportunity. Their sense of possibility and abundance is very different from their parents, who were accustomed for much of their lives to the Hindu rate of growth, and shortages of everything—cars, phones, food, TV, electricity, jobs. The nation builder parents built a platform for Gen Y in India; and Gen Y takes this platform for granted; is impatient with the basics and wants to deal with higher order stuff. They are socially aware, and patriotic; keen to add value, but don’t always have the patience to mend the cracks in the platform.

For the Traditionalist, Boomer and Gen X Indian who always put Family First, confronting Gen Y that put Me First- ‘my work, my friends, my things, my world,’4 is a shock. The million-dollar question - how do you lead and manage Gen Y?

The next section has a range of views from those who lead Gen Y teams, or deal with them in the course of their work. It opens with an incredibly humbling two pager from one of the most inspirational leaders in India – Shaheen Mistri. Under Shaheen’s leadership, over 1200 GenY members have devoted two years of their lives to transforming the lives of underprivileged children. She says “I don’t have any advice… I only have learning from my own life to offer.” Sonali Roy Chowdhury shares 7 leadership lessons she has imbibed living and working across India, Singapore and Vietnam. Kurt Piemonte from the Career and Professional Development offi ce at Harvard Business School, with 20

4 ‘Gen Y: India’, a research project by Steelcase WorkSpace futures, 2009

years of fi rst hand experience of advising and serving both Gen X and Gen Y across the world, offers his experience on recruiting Millenials in a global market. He reminds us that the next generation gap — Gen Z — looms ahead! Mini Menon, shares insights of working with ‘young and restless’ news rooms teams, the average age of which is less than 30. This is followed with the foursome of Prince Augustin, Namrata, Raghav and Neha sharing the Mahindra Group approach to Gen Y, including the Mahindra unique personalized career path model ‘mPower’. Mona Cheriyan, highlights the fact that this is the fi rst generation of Indian Women who have entered the professional workforce in sizeable numbers, and dwells on their career aspirations and challenges. Mona brings in her experience to suggest effective ways to leverage the Gen Y female dividend. Amuleek Singh who has built India’s fi rst branded Tea Retail Chain (Chai Point) and leads a Gen Y team, largely from North East India, leaves us with a question on the HR leader as brand ambassador.

This section closes with an analysis of what’s needed to build the future by Ashish Dhawan. Ashish shares the positive impact made by Gaurav and Shalini, Gen Y leaders of schools. The Indian education system is the largest in the world, and desperately needs to attract leaders that can deliver on India’s demographic dividend. Ashish succinctly lays out opportunities for companies and human resource professionals to contribute to school leadership development.

The next section which is from the Vantage point of the Boomers begins with Uma Ganesh sharing the applicability of the age old principles of engagement, involvement and ownership across Gen Y and Gen X. Dr. Prashanth Nair has highlighted the IR challenges thrown up by the change in the demographic profi le of the blue collar worker. Yogi

Sriram refl ects on the change in labor markets, and the consequent changes in employer and employee expectations related to work tenure.

The concluding section in the journal includes a case study from HBR, the fi rst line of which is in the new language of the text world- ’RU BRD” which Gen Y decipher immediately and others may need help to decode-answer revealed in the case! The clash between a Gen Y subordinate and a Gen X boss refl ects the tragedy and comedy of our daily work lives. Read it to assess your own readiness to lead a Gen Y team.This journal has focused on leadership - from two points of view- that of Gen Y itself, and of earlier generations that are grappling with the challenge of leading Gen Y. The 2011 October edition of the NHRD Network journal edited by Dr. Sripada Chandrasekhar dealt with Gen Y and HR. Rereading that journal and refl ecting on the experience of HR practitioners who contributed to that edition added an interesting dimension to my perspective.

At the tail end of the journal are reviews by Amrita Chowdhury, of Harlequin India, of 4 books she has selected because they deal with common human aspirations to grow. ‘Rules of the Game’ by Sumit Chowdhury draws on refl ections of Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer and Traditionalist leaders from India to build a framework that can help Gen Y (and other generations) craft success.

That’s a good way to end- because this Gen Y youth bulge is in many ways like all other generations. Yes there are differences- Gen Y in India has moved from inheriting identity from family to crafting their own identity based on education, merit and effort. Job-hopping is the new normal, with no expectation of loyalty to or from the company. The focus of the job is personal growth and monetary rewards,

Dr. PVR MurthyHonorary Managing Editor on behalf of the Editorial Team

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay

Dr. Arvind N Agrawal

not to provide security for self or family. Face time measures of commitment have given way to expectations of fl exi time, with work life balance replacing the old value placed on overtime payments. The favor market of connections, hierarchy and networks that was the passport to jobs, promotions and business development is viewed with suspicion by Gen Y; they have a collaborative mind set which expects to be empowered and recognized for their skills. Yes they are tethered to their phones, though they use them for everything but talking; and yes, they want continuous feedback and approval.

Gen Y is taking over the work place; and is already a majority that will redesign work to suit their unique expectations. It is leaders from earlier generations who will need to change.

April | 2014 NHRD Network Journal 1

Make a Multigenerational Workforce Work forYou

Tips for GenerationYExcerpted from

Plugged In:The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work

By

Tamara J. Erickson

Buy the book:Amazon

Barnes & NobleHarvardBusiness.org

Harvard Business PressBoston, Massachusetts

ISBN-13: 978-1-4221-7825-67820BC

Press

2 April | 2014 NHRD Network Journal

Copyright 2008 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

This chapter was originally published as chapter 10 of Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work,

copyright 2008 Tamara J. Erickson.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitt ed, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to [email protected], or mailed to Permissions,

Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusett s 02163.

You can purchase Harvard Business Press books at booksellers worldwide.You can order Harvard Business Press books and book chapters online at www.harvardbusiness.org/press,

or by calling 888-500-1016 or, outside the U.S. and Canada, 617-783-7410.


make amultigenerational workforce work for you

Why do they do what they do?

Today, you are sharing the workplace with individuals from three other generations, each shaped by markedly different teen experiences and now approaching work with diverse assumptions about how the world works and what they want from life:

The Traditionalists: Born between 1928 and 1945

The Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964

Generation X: Born between 1965 and 1979


you got the job—now what?

The backgrounds that shaped these generations have signifi cant implications for the role that work plays in their lives, what they expect to receive from the work experience, and how they are likely to judge your actions and performance, fairly or not. Rather than be frustrated by these differences, it’s better to understand them and use that understanding to help plug in with each individual effectively. Working with people of all ages is critical to your success in a multigenerational workplace. Understanding why colleagues from other generations might behave the way they do will give you an advantage as you work with them—whether they be your bosses, colleagues, clients, partners, or customers.

As you read this chapter, you’ll be imagining what it would have been like to be a teenager during each generation’s formative moment in time. Each time, ask yourself, “What assumptions would I logically have formed about how the world works if this were the world I saw? Whom would I respect and trust? What would I expect to do with my life? How would I measure its success?”

I hope that doing this will give you some useful insights into what “they” might be thinking, will make the work world seem a little more understandable, and will help you steer clear of some of the unfortunate misunderstandings that seem common in the workplace. By understanding the perspectives of other generations, you will be better able to position your ideas and requests in ways that are likely to have positive results.

traditionalists

It’s particularly important to understand people who belong to this generation because even though their presence in the workplace is decreasing, many of their assumptions are deeply embedded

in the fabric of organizations. The very corporations where you are or might soon be working are the result of the teen experiences of the generation that may have included your grandparents.

Also known as the WWII (or Silent) generation, Traditionalists were children during World War II, but, importantly, many were teens in the hustle-bustle postwar years.

traditionalists

BORN: 1928 to 1945TEEN YEARS: 1942 to 1963IN 2008: 63 + years old

Key world events during the Traditionalists’ teenage years included the resolution of World War II and, later, the Cuban missile crisis—triumphs for government and those in authority. Russia achieved the first manned space flight, and Pan Am, an airline that went out of business before the oldest of you turned twelve, introduced the first round-the-world commercial air flight. The United Kingdom and France become nuclear powers.

In the booming postwar economies of Europe and the United States, opportunity appeared on every street corner. Suburbs popped up, and the dream of home ownership was suddenly within reach. Factories that had made war machines began cranking out washing machines at an astounding rate. Television purchases skyrocketed; by the end of the decade more than 80 percent of all U.S. households owned these new marvels of technology. Family dinner table conversations probably included comments about the amazing new conveniences just acquired by the family down the street, as “keeping up with the Joneses” became a national pastime.

Now, assume that you are a teenager looking at the world for the first time at


this moment. What assumptions would you form about how the world works? Whom would you respect and trust? What would you expect to do with your life? How would you measure its success?

As I’ve said, any theory of this sort involves a bit of generalization, stretching as it does to capture the common characteristics of people in many different circumstances. But for most who grew up in this economy of grand promise and endless optimism, this was a world that probably appeared to be heading in the right direction. Authority figures seemed to have things well in hand. Corporate leaders and government officials warranted respect. Global issues were being resolved in reasonably satisfactory ways, and technology promised an alluring future. Financial success became a logical life goal. It would be natural for any teen living at this time to leap enthusiastically into the work world if possible, to become part of the existing establishment and attain the financial rewards that it promised—to get a piece of the pie.

There were important exceptions to this sense of unlimited optimism, based primarily on people’s perceived access to this promising world. For minority teens, particularly African Americans, the world held the same allure but not the same sense of attainability. The path to personal success was then much less clear. But this was a world where a logical desire would be to want to join it; the train was moving out of the station and headed in the right direction. The goal was to get on board and achieve for yourself the prosperity promised along the way.

By and large, the business organizations built by Traditionalists reflect these values. This generation constructed many of today’s most successful corporations

based on practices that made sense at the time: hierarchical roles, chains of command, structured career paths, banded salary levels, and well-planned, multiyear strategies. Traditionalists tend to be respectful of authority and comfortable in hierarchical organizations; they see value in stability and assume that fairness is provided by consistently applied rules (the same for everyone).

It’s not hard to see why Traditionalists might be reluctant to make major changes in the way things have “always” been done. To you, they are likely to appear rule bound. And although things may be slowly changing, you’ll find that the current structures, management practices, and policies shaped by these values are still in place in most corporations.

Traditionalists tend to be strongly influenced by financial reward and the security it can bring. Of course, most people—in any generation—appreciate and, to one degree or another, are motivated by monetary rewards. For Traditionalists, however, money has an almost symbolic role. It serves as a metric for achievement of their important teenage goal. By achieving financial rewards, they affirm to themselves and others that they have indeed gotten their piece of the pie.

This assumption—that money is everyone’s dominant motivator and reward—is one of the most common sources of misunderstanding between corporations and Generation Y employees. You’ll run into many senior managers, some a bit younger than the Traditionalists, who have a hard time understanding the trade-offs you are making and the role that money plays in your decisions.

Over the next several decades, Traditionalists will continue to participate in the workplace. Although almost all of them are (or soon will be) of conventional


retirement age, many are already choosing to continue working in a variety of ways. Going forward, as you work with them, keep in mind the importance they place on financial recognition, security, and hierarchy. Individuals in this generation are not likely to be effective and engaged participants in the workforce unless these assumptions about how things are supposed to work are acknowledged and, to the extent possible, accommodated.

To them, you look, above all . . . young. Most Traditionalists that I’ve interviewed are confident that you’re going to “grow out” of some of your more distinctive Gen Y views—for example, that you’ll come to place the same value on money and security that they do when you get a bit older. Or that your sense of immediacy will diminish and you will assume a longer-term, deferral-based perspective on life.

Table 10-1 shows examples of some of the situations that you may encounter in which a Traditionalist is likely to see things differently than you do.

Success with most individuals in the Traditionalist generation requires, at a basic level, respect for them and the companies they’ve built. You need to acknowledge the legitimacy of their rules and adopt an attitude that comes across as, “I can see why that was a great way to do it, but now that [something has changed] let’s consider whether there might be a better way.” In the next chapters, I talk more about some of the specific approaches that I’ve found most effective in initiating changes successfully.

In addition, it is important that you recognize that a Traditionalist’s offer of additional monetary compensation is a big deal, and a great compliment.

Table 10-1

Different perspectives: Traditionalists and Generation Y

Situation Traditionalists see… Y’s think…

Your parents are actively and visibly involved in the recruiting and hiring process, mailing your resume, confi rming your interview times, driving you to interviews.

A candidate who is overly dependent on others and perhaps unable to think for himself.

This is a normal and logical way to involve people who are ready and willing to help out with some of the mundane tasks and likely to have relevant expertise.

You get a job offer that has attractive fi nancial benefi ts, but another fi rm’s offer includes paid time off to do community service

A no-brainer-isn’t money the reason people work? Of course you’ll choose the offer with the greatest compensation.

I need enough money, but not the most I can possibly make. I’m willing to trade off money for other things I care deeply about.

Your initial month at the company is spent in a training program, providing you with step-by-step knowledge of how to do the assigned task.

A sensible relationship between training and doing-pay your dues and learn our way fi rst.

BO-ring I’d much rather fi gure it out myself as I go.




You have an idea that could represent a real opportunity to improve, and you send a suggestion to the CEO.

A shocking breach of proper hierarchical behavior. Everyone knows ideas should go up the chain of command.

Why waste time? Send any idea or question to the person who is most likely to benefi t from it.

You are invited to dinner at your boss’s home. He clearly assumes that your new spouse will be there as well, but you show up alone.

Is this Y’s spouse supportive of his or her career? Spouses should publicly demonstrate their enthusiasm and commitment to your work.

Are you kidding?! My spouse is an independent person with his or her own priorities. The days of “two for the price of one” are long gone.

The company has no policy that allows sabbaticals or even unpaid leave. Your have a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to do something that requires two months off. You request the time.

This situation could set a dangerous precedent. Rules are rules; you need to conform to ours.

How ridiculous! Rules should be adapted to make sense for the situation at hand.

You routinely fi nish your work by 4 p.m and offer to help others. When no one takes you up on the offer, you head home early.

A slacker–we’re paying for eight hours a day; you need to stay here. Work is a place you go to for a specifi ed period of time.

Work is something you do–anytime, anywhere. If there’s no “work” to be done, why stay?

You fi nd the work being done in another department intriguing and ask for a lateral transfer. You are told that you were up for a promotion in your old department but will have to “start over” at the bottom in the new group.

A puzzling move. Wouldn’t the opportunity to gain more positional authority (and money) trump an intriguing job?

So?

You are feeling restless and openly discuss with your colleagues your interest in moving to another fi rm.

Unacceptable behavior. Loyality to the fi rm is essential, and this is a clear sign of disloyalty. Moreover, you could incite disloyalty among colleagues by discussing your throughts openly.

Who better to bounce these concerns off than colleagues, who may be feeling them as well?


boomers

For many of you, Boomers are your parents. Their teen years—the time when they in all likelihood took their first good look at the world and formed their most vivid and lasting impressions of how things work—were during the 1960s and 1970s. This was a time when the world was changing radically, yielding a generation with dramatically different perspectives from their Traditionalist parents’ about the type of relationships they would form with corporations, peers, and family; about the importance and definition of financial success; and about the ultimate objectives for their lives.

boomers

BORN: 1946 to 1964TEEN YEARS: 1960 to 1982IN 2008: 44 to 62 years old

Boomers’ teen years were filled with causes and revolution. The 1960s and 1970s were decades of general unrest and discontent in many parts of the world. In the United States, teenage Boomers saw the assassinations of idealistic leaders—John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. They experienced the Vietnam War, widespread protests, the civil rights movement, and, toward the end of their teen years, the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

The sense of unrest was pervasive in many parts of the world. Nearly three hundred thousand so-called boat people fled Vietnam; the Cultural Revolution was under way in the People’s Republic of China; there was rioting in France, Germany, and Italy, and a revolution in the former Czechoslovakia.

Not surprisingly, growing up amid these events caused many Boomers to conclude that the world was not working very well and needed to change. Many, regardless of political persuasion, concluded that the world did not appear to be headed in the right direction.

Even worse to many Boomers, the adults in charge didn’t appear to be making the right decisions or setting the right course, or necessarily even telling the truth. Many Boomers developed skeptical, even cynical, attitudes toward authority. Their world was one in which authority figures were suspect. Many concluded that they needed to get personally involved. Their logical desire, based on their teen experiences, was not, like the Traditionalists’, to join a world that was by and large headed in the right direction, but instead was to change a world that clearly had gone off course.

This fundamental difference in life view has played out in several important ways. As I noted in chapter 1, perhaps most important for you is that many



You announce you’re leaving the company

A dumb move. If you’d stayed another thirty years, you would have had the security of being able to retire with a solid pension.

On to new adventures!


Boomers did not see eye-to-eye with their parents. Most Boomers couldn’t wait to escape from their parents’ control, moving to distant locations and creating independent lives as soon as possible. This, in turn, affects the judgments they form about you; they are puzzled about your closeness to your families and wonder whether it means you are in some way less competent or ambitious than they were at your age. As I discuss later in this chapter, I don’t think that’s an accurate view, but it is a reality of the world you’re entering.

As a result of their common teenage experiences, many Boomers tend to harbor a significant seed of antiauthoritarian sentiment. Although they may be in leadership positions, many remain skeptical of positional leaders. No matter how buttonedup a Boomer colleague may seem to be, there’s usually an instinct to question and, to some extent, resist hierarchy. To this extent, they may be natural allies for you.

Boomers also retain a strong sense of idealism. Although many have dedicated the past thirty years of their lives to building careers, paying mortgages, and rearing children, most Boomers still have a deep desire to make a difference in the world. Again, these values echo many of yours and position Boomers as logical partners to further some of your life goals.

But—and here’s the big difference between your generation and theirs—Boomers tend to be highly competitive and extremely driven. When they looked around during their teenage years, the other major thing they saw was . . . lots of other Boomer teenagers. They grew up in a crowded world—with the largest group of peers yet—at a time when

much of their immediate world was “too small” for the size of the generation. Many Boomers went to high school in Quonset huts or other temporary buildings, because the existing schools were too small to accommodate this new bulge of students. They have competed for virtually everything all their lives—a seat in nursery school, a place on the high school sports team, college admissions, and every step of their career progression. Boomers, as a generation, have learned to value individual achievement and individual recognition. Competition runs deep through all their assumptions about how the world works. Winning, for Boomers, is a very big deal.

This competitive streak caused most Boomers to jump into the workforce with passion and commitment. As a generation, they have been hardworking and fantastically productive. They still work longer hours than any other generation. They like merit-based pay systems and use both money and position to measure the degree to which they are winning. They have played life’s games with abandon, in some cases without questioning the rules, and have lived life—at least until now— under the axiom, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” Only recently have they begun to pause to inquire about the true value of the prize.

Notice the subtle but important difference in the role of money for the two generations discussed so far. Traditionalists see money as a symbol that they have successfully joined the business “club” and are reaping the benefits of membership. For Boomers, money tends to be a symbol of competitive success—of winning. Although the significance is


slightly different, money works as the primary reward and motivation for both generations and causes both generations to misinterpret the attitude of Y’s toward the supremacy of financial rewards.

The Boomers’ competitive streak plays out in another way that is important for you to understand: if your parents are Boomers, they are likely to sweep you up into their natural competitive moves. This means that they often may seem more eager for you to succeed (by their standards) than you are yourself. Partnering effectively with your parents—recognizing and appreciating their sincere interest in your success and happiness without getting overtaken by some of their more competitive tendencies—requires attention. In chapter 12,I offer some suggestions on where to draw the line and how to enlist their help in positive ways.

Boomers who are not your parents are often ambivalent in their initial view toward Y’s. On one hand, many of them have children your age and are rooting for your success. And, willing to be challenged, antiauthoritarian, and idealistic themselves, they admire your rebel spirits.

On the other hand, Boomers played by the rules as they competed their way up the corporate ladders; they may not have liked them much, but they fell in line and played the game. And, to the extent that they were willing to conform to the existing system, some resent your unwillingness to do so. They find you remarkably impatient and comment repeatedly on your reluctance to pay your dues. They are the most likely to judge that whatever you’re doing is not being done the way they would have done it when they were your age.

Again, the differences between their outlook and yours can create misunderstandings. Table 10-2 shows examples of some of the situations that you may encounter in which a Boomer is likely to see things differently than you do.

At the core of working successfully with Boomers is finding your common ground. Some common ground will come in the form of your desire to learn and Boomers’ enjoyment of teaching and helping you succeed. Boomers, in general, will be wonderful mentors. Seek them out, and enjoy the advice that they’ll likely be happy to share.

Table 10-2

Different perspectives: Boomers and Generation Y

Situation Boomers see… Y’s think…

You have two job offers in hand–one with a prestigious fi rm on Wall Street, and the second with a small company with fl exible hours and no dress code.

A no-brainer. Of course the prestigious job is better. It will demonstrate to others that you’ve won this round.

If I do take the Wall Street job, it will probably be for a short time, just to get money to pay off my loans. The work style of the other fi rm is closer to what I prefer.




The company has organized a detailed recruiting process, with an opportunity to meet many executives, who spoke glowingly of the work experience. The ex-employee Web site, however, is very negative.

Job well done–an effective process well implemented… What do you mean you’re not accepting the job?

I’ll always exercise all my sources to get the inside story. With the Internet, you can fi nd out how almost anyone feels about anything.

You see a job opening that looks really interesting. you don’t have any of the qualifi cations listed on the job description, but you’re confi dent you could handle the work. You apply.

A joke! Don’t you understand that formal qualifi cations and degrees are critical evidence of your worth and ability?

My parents always told me I can do anything I set my mind to. I believe that–and have set my mind to do this.

Your resume lists the six jobs you’ve held in the four years since leaving college.

Someone who can’t make up his mind or settle down-probably a fl ake. In my day, everyone knew that you couldn’t change jobs more often than once every two years.

This is great evidence that I’m willing to take risks and seek out new opportunities.

You move back home to live with your parents for a few months.

Someone who can’t take care of herself and is overly dependent on parental support.

It’s a sensible way to save money.

You are asked to take on a new role–a position that has not previously existed at the company–tackling an important, urgent, but ambiguous issue. Your boss asks you to spend the fi rst few weeks preparing a detailed job description for approval higher up.

Clearly the best way to begin is to gain consensus on the rules of the game and the way you’ll be judged.

What a waste of time. Just give me the tools, lattitude, and day-do-day guidance, and I’ll get the job done, improvising as necessary as I go.

Your Boomer boss stops by to tell you that you’ve been selected to become an offi ce head–in another city. You don’t want to relocate, so you decline.

Someone who lacks commitment to her career, loyalty to the company, ambition, and confi dence. A slacker.

Clawing my way up the corporate ladder is not a priority–or maybe even someting I want at all. The move would mess up a number of other important priorities in my life.




Your boss stays in the offi ce until 8 p.m. each day and sometimes comes in on Saturdays. You leave at 5, confi dent that your work is complete.

Someone who is not fully dedicated to getting ahead. Face time spent in the offi ce is a key sign of commitment. You need to put in atleast sixty hours a week to be taken seriously.

It’s too bad it takes those older workers so long to get their work done. I work faster and much more effi ciently.

You present a proposal for a new campaign and suggest that your bos poll everyone today for input. You plan to launch in a couple of days.

Slow it down! We need to get a meeting scheduled with all the relevant people (and some who only think they’re relevant) so that everyone can provide input. It will take at least three weeks to match everyone’s calendar.

Collecting input through a synchronous physical meeting is a quaint–and very ineffi cient–approach. This could be accomplished in a couple of hours on a social networking site.

You let your Boomer boss know that you’re not really fi nding the task you’ve been assigned satisfying.

A spoiled nuisance. Of course not every task is inherently interesting. That’s not my problem. You should focus on the end game–winning longer term. Head down, nose to the grindstone.

Life is fi lled with uncertainty. I want to enjoy every day fully. Time to look for another job.

Your boss asks you to attend an important sales conference next week. You’re hosting a party for your mom’s birthday, so you decline.

An unacceptable response. Do you have any idea how many family events–birthdays, recitals, school pageants–I’ve sacrifi ced for the company’s benefi t and in pursuit of my career?

I remember how it felt when Dad and Mom missed my birthday. I’m not going to do that to my kids. She’ll only turn two once.

Your boss appoints you to tackle an exciting new business opportunity. You immediately rally your colleagues and ask them to work with you on it.

Someone who just doesn’t get it. This is your opportunity to break out of the pack–and you’re involving the rest of the pack in your big move. How can I tell that you’ve won?

Approaching the task collaboratively will result in a better outcome and will be more fun.




You get your fi rst formal feedback from your boss. It focuses on how you rank against your peers and what you can do to get ahead.

A well-designed process. Comparative evaluative feedback is the most important input a boss can provide.

This is disappointing. Why isn’t there more emphasis on acknowledging what I have accomplished?

You’re asked to become the progam manager for an important initiative. Your boss asks to see your detailed plan for how and when you will communicate with the team. You don’t have one.

No schedule! It will be impossible to make progress. You need to get a series of meetings on everyone’s calendars–Now!

No problem. I’ll text the group whenever we need to coordinate our moves.

You get invited to a corporate strategy session. The conversation focuses on evaluating which businesses are stronger and deserve additional investment.

A solid, well-accepted process.

I wonder if there might be a better way? Maybe we should be designing experiments to try some new ideas or get some of the weaker businesses repositioned.

A woman is promoted to be the CEO of your company.

A momentous event! All that sacrifi ce and hard work has paid off. A woman has broken through the glass ceiling!

This is news?

Another form of common ground may come through your shared goals of creating change in the corporate world and beyond. Many of the types of changes you might like in workforce practices are closely aligned with the types of changes Boomers would now like as they look toward adopting flexible schedules at this point in their careers. Team with Boomers to find constructive paths to help organizations adapt to both your needs and theirs.

More broadly, most Boomers have not had, or have not taken, the discretionary time they’d like to make

a change in the world. Their passion for life, for change, and for meaning has by no means faded. Many Boomers are finding themselves hit hard with a sense of midlife malaise—an “Is this all there is?” reflection as the end of the first game (the typical thirtyyear career) draws near, and a desire to make a positive difference with their remaining time. Finding ways to partner with Boomers to combine your passions for change with theirs presents a powerful opportunity for you to make an even bigger impact on the world around you.


generation x

The generation that immediately precedes you—for some of you, your older siblings; for others, perhaps your parents—has yet again very different characteristics and assumptions. Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X is much smaller in size than either your generation or the large population of Boomers they followed. They are, in a sense, a sandwich generation— locked between two very large and influential groups of age mates—and not altogether happy about it.

generation X

BORN: 1965 to 1979TEEN YEARS: 1980 to 1998IN 2008: 28 to 42 years old

Gen X’ers were teens in the 1980s and 1990s—a very different period from the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. The world stage was much quieter. The cold war had ended, the Berlin Wall had fallen, and, as a result, attention was much less focused on global events. The Vietnam War had ended, and, although important conflicts continued throughout the world, their visibility to most teens in the United States, in particular, was slight.

Much of the focus during this generation’s teen years was on the domestic scene—both at a national level and, even more significantly, within the home. Many domestic economies, including those of European countries and the United States, were stagnant. Persistent financial crises flared throughout Latin America.

In contrast to the relative quiet of the world stage, the home front for many teens in this generation was undergoing major change. For the first time, women entered the workforce in significant

numbers. This generation’s Boomer mothers represented the first real industrial age generation of working women, with 80 percent choosing to work outside the home for reasons other than the extraordinary circumstances of war. On average, the percentage of women in the workforce during the time Generation X’ers were teens rose from about 35 percent to nearly 60 percent in the United States. The entry of women into the workforce was hastened by the significant increase in divorce rates. Gen X’ers living in the United States saw divorce rates among their parents skyrocket from about 20 percent when they were young to more than 50 percent by the time they were teens.

The women who made this step into the external world of work found that their entry was, in many cases, hard fought and little supported. There was virtually no infrastructure in place—few day care centers, no nanny networks or company- sponsored child care. As a result, the Generation X children became a generation of latchkey kids—home alone many afternoons, often depending on friends for both companionship and support.

Teenage X’ers also witnessed a significant increase in adult unemployment, as reengineering and other corporate restructuring dramatically revamped any concept of lifetime employment. It’s unlikely that any person growing up in this generation in the United States would not have known some adult who was laid off from a job that he or she had planned to hold until retirement. It may not have been a parent—perhaps it was a neighbor or a friend’s parent—but the sense that adults in their lives were


being laid off from corporations that they had depended on for a lifetime commitment is probably the single most widely shared experience of this generation.

The impact of these experiences is not hard to predict. The need for self-reliance and the ability to take care of oneself is deeply embedded in the assumptions many in this generation hold about the world. For support, many rely more on friends than on institutions and even, in some cases, family. Gen X’ers are often reluctant to relocate away from their established “tribe.” Most continually question whether the job they have now is still the best opportunity possible and need to be “re-recruited” every day. They are uneasy about putting their fate in the hands of a potentially capricious corporation that could, at any moment, decide to downsize. As a result, many members of Generation X feel a bit out-of-sorts in large corporations. Boomers often judge the X’er to be less committed and less hardworking than Boomers are.

In your eyes, X’ers may lack the technical skills of your own generation. Generation X grew up alongside the Internet—they learned it as it grew—but many don’t have the same level of proficiency as most Y’s. It was in its infancy when they were in theirs. They are skilled at accessing a wide range of information, but in most cases, they don’t have the accompanying behavioral changes discussed in chapters 2 and 9 that many of you do.

Rules have often proven to be a source of conflict between X’ers and the corporations they work for. The mores of the computer games X’ers played as teens extend to many aspects of their lives; to them, rules are interesting, certainly worth

considering, but if they don’t make sense in the specific situation at hand, X’ers believe in changing them. Holding on to outdated or inapplicable rules for fear of setting a precedent is a nonsensical concept to many Gen X’ers. In this, their views probably seem similar to yours; the difference is that they, in most cases, lacked the leverage to push for change. Most X’ers buckled down and followed the rules—and many resent it when it seems you don’t have to.

Like you, Generation X as a group has a terrific set of traits that is valuable in our economic society. For example, their independence leads to a strong streak of out-of-the-box thinking and entrepreneurial energy, their tribal behavior enhances any team-based activity, and their lack of a win-at-all-costs mentality raises important questions about the way we all balance work commitments. Many X’ers are avid users of collaborative technology in their personal lives. And, if you form strong relationships, Gen X’ers can be strong allies with Y’s in the workplace— in part, because you share a preference for new ways of working.

However, tensions exist. As Bruce Stewart and Brendan Peat of New Paradigm Learning Corporation explain, X’ers are “currently among the most resistant workers within corporations . . . They are deeply conservative in their work styles, and are keen users of e-mail, but are less overtly collaborative in their approach to work. (The formative work experiences seem to have reinforced the importance of ‘looking out for yourself.’) These people, when in positions of some authority, often become roadblocks to collaboration, forming what we call a ‘frozen middle’ that is difficult to penetrate. They are


often concerned with what their superiors will think, are unwilling to act as a champion, and are uncertain how to act if they ‘lose control’ of their subordinates.”1

Understandably, X’ers skills may make this group appear less qualified than Y’s when compared with the deep knowledge of Boomer colleagues. In our research, we found Y’s who resented Gen X managers and worried that their Boomer allies were being passed over by new X bosses. A sampling from our focus groups: “In a recent reorganization, people with 35 years’ experience were ‘dropped’ behind 3 PhDs . . . It’s a joke. They’re much more qualified with 25 years of process technology/chemistry experience.” “New people don’t know what they are talking about. The older people get disgruntled.”

And some X’ers find Y’s threatening. In our conversations, they worried about your greater technical sophistication and high, fresh energy. Many X’ers feel that they have been stuck in crummy jobs behind the huge bulge of Boomers for a decade or more, counting the days until the Boomers clear out of the workplace. Just as that is beginning, they now face a new wave of competition; you are attractive candidates for the good jobs, just as they’re beginning to open up.

Table 10-3 highlights examples of some of the situations that you may encounter in which an X’er is likely to see things differently than you do.

Keep in mind when working with X’ers that one of their strongest values is self-reliance. Motivated by the need to keep as many options open as possible, they share your desire for continuous learning. Consider whether the moves you hope to make can support their

goals, and be sensitive to where they are in their lives.

when you’re the boss

Over the coming years, you are increasingly likely to have people who are (much) older than you reporting to you. As the overall mix of ages in the workforce shifts so that an increasingly higher percentage are older by definition, bosses will find themselves supervising people who are older than they are. I also expect that many of the Gen Y’s who are entering the workforce now will assume leadership roles at earlier ages than we’ve seen in other generations, in part because of the departure of large numbers of Boomers and the resulting increase in leadership openings.

Keep in mind that, although it may initially feel awkward for you, it is also likely to be awkward for the older worker who is now answering to a younger boss. Although it depends on the individuals involved, there are several typical complications. There is likely to be some tension if the older worker is stepping down from a leadership position or feels in competition with the younger boss. As I’ve said, Boomers, in particular, tend to be competitive and may often have a harder time ceding leadership than those from other generations do. And, of course, differing generational perceptions will make it easy to misinterpret each other’s actions.

How can you as the younger boss help make this relationship a successful partnership?

The key, as with any relationship, is to recognize that both people bring something to the party. The older worker may well have more experience in the


Table 10–3

Different perspectives: Generation X and Generation Y

Situation X’ers see . . . Y’s think . . .

You interview for a job that you’re really interested in. You don’t hear anything at all from the company for more than a month.

A normal recruiting process, certainly the way it was done when we were job hunting.

A shockingly rude and discouraging reaction on the part of the company. You expect frequent updates on your status. Without that, you look elsewhere.

You are asked to tackle a project that you have no experience doing. You reach out to several Boomer colleagues in other departments for advice on the best way to proceed.

Disrespectful—don’t you realize that I’m your supervisor? You should follow protocol. I certainly had to follow the rules.

I’m going after the best sources of information like a heat- seeking missile.Clearly these Boomers know a lot more about the specifics of this problem than my direct boss does.

Your boss assigns you a new project and indicates that you’ll be up for review in six months.

A normal performance management process, certainly the way it was done for us.

Are you kidding? You mean we’re not going to touch base this afternoon? I’d rather have continual informal feedback.

You confide in your mom how disappointed you are about your most recent performance review. Unbeknownst to you, she calls your boss.

Someone who shows a troubling and highly annoying lack of independence.

Who can control those Boomer parents? All you did was confide in someone you view as a trusted friend and adviser.

You have an idea about how to use a new Web 2.0 collaborative technology in one of your projects. You open a site and post your ideas there.

A good idea, granted, but not one that the company has used before. We need to get everyone up to speed on this new use of technology (especially me—I don’t want to be left out of the loop!).

What’s to think about? Why wait? This is the obvious way.


Different perspectives: Generation X and Generation Y

Situation X’ers see . . . Y’s think . . .

You send your ideas and questions to your boss by e-mail or IM as they occur, often six or eight times a day. You rarely get a response.

Someone who is very high maintenance and engages in odd and disruptive behavior that’s inconsistent with the way we work.

This is a normal and desirable way to communicate with colleagues. If they have something to say, they’ll respond. I wish my boss would shoot me frequent notes.

You add a variety of your favourite programs to the computer your company provided.

A breach of company policy.

Computers are an integral hub for a wide variety of my activities–music, photos, personal contacts. It makes no sense to maintain two systems.

Your boss offers you a role as a fi rst-line supervisor, saying that after you’ve done it for a year or so you will be qualifi ed for a broad range of next steps.

An attractive next step–one that will increase your self-reliance by providing you with a wide range of possible options for your career.

That job does not look attractive–too much time and paperwork in return for too little additional benefi t. And doing it for a year would be much too long. No thanks, I’m enjoying with I’m doing now.

Your ask your boss for information about your career path and are given a broad and somewhat vague menu of possible options.

A great response. Doesn’t everyone want numerous options and the ability to choose what they prefer?

Pretty lame. The company should do more to outline exciting paths and sit down with me to help customize a successful strategy to meet my needs.

You and a group of your friends decide to resign. You’re planning to start your own company.

A great move–loyal to your friends, giving you more self-reliance and control over your destiny.

An adventure I want to try now, while I’m at a point in life where it’s easy to take risks. And, if it doesn’t work, I can always go home for a while.


specific industry than the younger boss, but the younger boss may have some new perspectives that will improve the way things have “always” been done. Each individual needs to be open to learning from the other.

It’s important for each party to figure out how the other likes to communicate. Keep in mind that you are very likely to communicate more frequently than your older report is accustomed to doing. Help older workers see that they should not interpret frequent messages from you as a sign that you don’t trust them, but rather just as a difference in communication style and habit. Similarly, you may be used to communicating through different approaches; your older workers may find that you use much less face-to-face communication than they are accustomed to. Try to find good ways to meet in the middle.

Avoid coming in with preconceived notions; listen for a while, and ask lots of questions. One of the most common mistakes a young manager can make is thinking that the way it has been done so far has no value. The way things are done may need to change, but it’s worth understanding why intelligent people have made the choices they have in the past. The young boss needs to think in terms of “What can I learn here?” as well as “How can I make it better?”

If possible, position your ideas as building on the strengths of the group, rather than repudiating the group’s previous approaches. For example, many Y’s have experience in collaborative environments; bringing these approaches to the team may offer a new way of working. Integrating technology that makes the work processes faster and

easier may be another contribution a young boss can make.

Respect for your leadership is something you’ll earn over time, so don’t be discouraged. Demonstrate your capabilities, and the respect and trust of your older subordinates will follow. The age difference between a younger boss and older workers need not be a troublesome factor if you each approach the relationship with a spirit of mutual appreciation and shared learning.

. . . . .

Perhaps the most important suggestion of all is simply to remember that the way something looks to you is probably not the way it looks to others. This doesn’t mean that members of other generations are wrong. Looking at the situation through their lens will give you a clue about why they do what they do. “Underlying Assumptions: Four Generations” recaps the strikingly different basic worldviews of all four groups.

underlying assumptions: four generations

TRADITIONALISTS: I want to joint the world and benefi t accordingly

BOOMERS: I want to help change the world–but I also need to compete to win.

GENERATION X: I can’t depend on institutions. I need to keep my options open.

GENERATION Y: I need to live life now–and work toward long-term shared goals.

Remember, it’s easy to come to the wrong conclusion about colleagues’


motives if you view their actions through your lens and not through theirs. Table 10-4 summarizes a few things to keep in mind.

Bottom line: as you work with people from other generations and other

backgrounds, think about their formative years for clues about why they may see things differently than you do. Given their teen experiences, the differences among the four generations at work are striking. Understand them—and work constructively to accomplish common goals.

Table 10–4

Y’s and the other generations

How they look to you How they feel about you

Gen X • Inexperienced, particularly when compared with Boomer colleagues

• Not very sympathetic to your views

• Threatened by your technological sophistication.

• Resentful that you are candidates for the “good”jobs just as they’re beginning to open up.

Boomers • Experienced and knowledgeable

• Often very supportive, almsot parental

• Very competitive and obsessively driven

• Frustrated–you seem remarkably unwilling to play by the rules they had to play by.

• Ambivalent–they both admire and resent you.

Traditionalists • Very rigid and rule bound

• Very focused on money

• Confi dent you’ll soon outgrow your views–you appear very young.

• Confi dent you’ll respond to money.

notesChapter 10

1. Bruce Stewart and Brendan Peat, “The Wiki Workplace: Leveraging Collaborative Technologies

in the Enterprise,” New Paradigm Learning Corporation (now nGenera), July 2007, 6.

This document is authorized for use only in NHRDN Journal April 2014 by HRDN from April 2014 to April 2014.


About the Author

Rama Bijapurkar is a market strategy consultant and an insightful commentator on social and cultural change in India. She has been on the boards of several of India’s blue chip companies and public institutions. She is a visiting faculty at IIM Ahmedabad and writes extensively on India’s consumer economy and business. www.bijapurkar.com

Rama Bijapurkar has recently published “A never-before world : Tracking the evolution of Consumer India”.

TAKING STOCK OF THE WORLD OF YOUNG INDIARAMA BIJAPURKAR

Leadership is about how people behave and what values and tendencies

drive such behaviour. All behaviour has psychological social and cultural foundations; and anyone attempting to infl uence leadership behaviour of a cohort or understand it better needs to understand the social environment in which the cohort grew up and the challenges it faces in life at this point in time. Needless to say this is the “baggage” that they will bring into the workplace that HR professionals need to be cognizant. But fi rst, a necessary caution that has to be heeded by anyone seeking to lead young India or prepare young India to become better leaders:

Young India is not singular and homogeneous. It is very heterogeneous and the different segments of it are quite different from each other. Yes, all of them are a singular age cohort – liberalization children, born after 1991 and now entering the work force. But just as post liberalization Indian society has sharply fragmented into the haves and have nots, the cans and can-nots, the happy upwardly mobile and the angry frustrated underbelly i.e. those who

can seize the boons of liberalization and those who suffer-the-banes of liberalization - so too is young India. HR professionals will encounter all segments in the work force in one form or another and need to be able to recognize which segment they are dealing with and also know that one size of solution will not fi t all.

There is ‘Arrived, privileged young IndiaÊ which typically comprises the children of affl uent and well placed parents, who income or socio economic strata wise comprise the top 30 to 40% of urban India and about 10% of rural India. These are truly liberalizations benefi ciaries, who have an abundance and variety of higher education choices and career choices, irrespective of their educational attainments. They can join their parents business and take it forward or in a different direction, and many of them do; or they get a job in the traditional career spaces like doctor, lawyer, company executive, fund manager and so on; or opt for one of India’s new and burgeoning career space like those described in one of the newspaper’s career pages - RJ, VJ, party planner, script writer,


games tester, sound artist, fashion designer or even things like, food service, travel and hospitality etc. They can also set up their ‘own business’ and be entrepreneurs. For this segment, there are no limits except in the imagination, the globe is their playground and their parents are a supportive backbone to lean on. If they run into trouble or crash land, their parents are always there for them and the basics of decent living are taken care of.

There is another group too that is less privileged and cushioned but has joined the ranks of the “arrived”. Lets call them “Arrived with struggle young India”. There is a signifi cant chunk of young people who come from what could be described as “ordinary backgrounds” with parents who are white and blue-collar workers in lower middle level jobs. This group has fi ercely competed their way to good colleges and now there are enough role models from within such backgrounds to fuel the growth of this group – provided the prices of education and coaching do not spiral beyond their reach and the absence of collateral free loans continues.

Does this segment of the “arriveds” blaze new trails and reinvent things and reject the environment that has nurtured them? Far from it. They do blaze new trails, but the umbilical cord to the support system that they came from or to the old ways is never cut. Students at premier business schools will get impatient with old rules on some counts but are not willing to embrace new placement paradigms that are truly free market. They want the rules to be able to chafe against them but they are not revolutionaries. They are pragmatists testing the waters and negotiating for change within the confi nes of the established order. And it is here that the girls fi ght harder than the boys for their rights.

This is the group that Corporate India employs in its management cadre. Let’s not forget that fewer than 10% of employed Indians are employed in formal sector jobs.

Within the ”arrived” young India is the creamy layer, a subset from where a lot more formal corporate sector recruitment is done – the better engineer + MBA from good colleges which are hard to get into. First of all, it is depressing to see how few non-engineer MBAs we have in India. The reasons provided are many including the better quality and quantity of engineering colleges as compared to other kinds of colleges. Good law school or architecture college or even CAs don’t do their MBAs as much because now they have a lot more opportunities in their own chosen fi elds. But diversity of mind wiring because of educational training has become a casualty here. Why are they risk averse? Young people who have ‘made it’ in terms of good colleges for engineering and MBA or have put their lives on hold from Standard 9 onwards and the odds of getting through competitive exams are so great that you cant afford the luxury of experimental answers or experimental study procedures. They have also been nurtured carefully like hothouse fl owers by their parents, given the right controlled environment to help them cope with the pressure and the workload. Add this risk aversion to the lack of diversity emanating from left brained engineers and you have a cocktail that makes you worry about future leadership challenges corporate India will face in a world that is famously described as VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). And a business environment where innovation is the mantra. I would prepare future leaders by getting them to complete their incomplete education – get introduced to the world of literature and philosophy and history and social sciences and history. Make them rounded human


beings who recognize that two plus two can be four or twenty-two or zero. Their interpersonal and social skills are quite high for the mainstream, as many of them have moved away from home at young ages and made friends and got support groups for themselves in a peer group that is immensely competitive by nature – or is it by training and conditioning at home? There is a small ill adjusted and beleaguered group that cannot cope with the pressure of all this, which gets written about and which signals societal distress. But by and large, this group of privileged cushioned corporate choosing young India are a curious mix of hothouse fl owers in their need for good environments for them to fl ourish and of hardy jungle weeds with survival and social skills and high learnability and adaptability. How this cocktail is moulded for leadership that is relevant to the times ahead is for HR professionals to decide.

The entrepreneurs are an aspirational and growing lot in this group. In premium B schools, the successful entrepreneur is the role model. And the young entrepreneurs are persistent in their search for mentors. Not for them is the idea that the gen before them known nothing about the new world. They want to access the wisdom, not the directives.

All of Young India are people in a hurry. They have put too many years of their lives on hold getting ready for the tough world, and not having much fun in their teenage or early 20s years. They are not in a mood to wait and get more trained. Corporate employers realize that and are already adapting to atomise organisations and give quicker movement upwards. VCs funding young entrepreneurs are in a hurry themselves so it’s a good match with impatient entrepreneurs. It’s the family businesses that have a tougher time but many carve out a piece or facilitate a new entrepreneurship opportunity for

the young people to earn their experience and make their mistakes.

This good narrative of Young India applies not just to the privileged and the well educated but also to a section of “modestly educated but have connections or drive”. They study in average institutions, they have average degrees, do some courses, but have higher degrees of social confi dence. These are children of what is India 2, that which serves upper class India 1. These young people have above average exposure and their family has connections with India 1 to get them an entry into a line of work or apprenticeship or a contract job that can give them an entry into the world of well-paid work.

Taking all to get to a quarter of all young people, about 65 million by my estimate. There is a bad narrative that applies to the rest. About 200 million of the 15 to 24 year olds have been described by analysts as “Unskilled, Unemployed, Angry: India tomorrow headed for disaster?” and as “a generation of functionally uneducated Indians being churned out in a fourth rate education system” (for further references to these quotes, see the chapter Generation Next angst, in my book A Never-Before World). Those among them with exceptional chutzpah or drive manage to go into some business of their own.

But for the rest of the “left behind, angry Young India‰, largely poor and unskilled, struggling for contacts or sipharish, it is unemployment staring them in the face or any contract work they can get big or small. Recent data on unemployment rates of graduates speaks for itself. The newspapers are full of incidents – and I shall not recount them – of people with graduate degrees applying for peons jobs and as another observer pointed out, the angry young man is back. Many of them have no role models and no authority fi gures at home, a signifi cant number from


the poorer populous states have absentee fathers who are migrants, and live in areas with poor law and order. All of them have aspiration and see the world of the haves around them. Leadership for them is a whole different discussion that for the educated young India, and no skilling initiatives or missions are treating this problem holistically. Nor perhaps are the HR managers of the contract labour era reading their anger holistically.

There are certain circumstances that are common to all of them. Young India is the liberalization generation. Born after 1991, they have seen more change in the world around them than any Indian generation before them. They therefore know how to cope with change per se, but also know that you have to look out for yourself and not grow roots so deep into anything that you cannot uproot and move when you have to.

It is also the generation that has been told that earning more and acquiring more and aspiring to earn and acquire is a good thing. But it is also a generation with vastly different job opportunities available (or not) to different segments of it to match its aspiration. It’s also the generation that has had no job security, even if it had a job. Every generation has to pay a price for something. There were the generations that paid the price for getting independence. And the generations after it who paid the price for nation building. This generation of liberalization children has paid the price of integration with the global economy and all the volatility and shocks that go with it – both economic and social.

They also are children of a troubled society, struggling with new inequalities, with new power balances, with old value systems and rituals under severe questioning and the new ones not yet created. They are the children of uncertainty and negotiation.

They are the children of a country caught between a 21st century economy and a 18th century society.

They also are a generation whose ethical compass has not been strengthened by all that they see. Coalition politics of negotiation on principles and stands, absence of clearly stated ideologies and principles of those in power, rampant corruption, valuation and profi t maximizing short termism from companies manifest in increasing contract workers and variable pay (you eat what you kill), no social security and high levels of exploitativeness.

And as a generation they seem to cry out for authority fi gures who will sort out the mess and create an enabling environment for them to fl ourish.

There are also certain phenomena that apply to society as a whole that applies to young India as well. The two that I would like to fl ag are decreasing ‘power distance’, which is the degree to which the less powerful accept that power is unequally divided and the social pressure coming from the visible increase in education, legal rights, assertiveness and power sharing by women while the men have not been conditioned or prepared to make way for that. So sexual harassment and rape laws have been strengthened, but the discourse at home on gender equality and respect has not caught up. (For a more detailed discussion on these, please see chapters on “Its her turn”, and “society and culture”, in my new book “A Never-before world”.

Decreasing power distance plus the anonymity of the digital world makes the employee employer relationship different and more complex. An IT company that prided itself on the law of omerta that it expected all employees to maintain on company matters found to its chagrin that its young work force were discussing increments and other matters affecting


them on social media with peers from rival companies. They set up a “come talk the ceo’ digital hangout but very few people turned up. HR was struggling to calibrate what level of upset in the real world the sharpness of comments in the anonymous digital world translated to. Decreased power distance also explains why arranged marriage requests from young people are on the rise. They know that their parents cannot force them to marry someone against their wishes. Yet most young people do believe “my parents know best”. So that seems to be their ideal – authority fi gure but accessible and seen to be competent and wise and “on my side”.

Conclusion

Young India is a large component of Indian society and is changing the way circumstances and society changes. For example a ten year rule of a clean authoritarian regime with absolute power taking the reigns of this country and being directive will shape India’s gen y differently both good and bad. A ten-year rule of leadership and governance of expediency and pragmatism with

continuous erosion of the moral authority of institutions will shape it differently. Different kinds of affi rmative action or quotas will, and already have, shaped the work force making it different from previous generations. The decrease in the government servant middle class (bank officers, civil services, armed forces, railways etc) whose children formed a large chunk of the corporate work force and the increase in the children of the new mercantile and business middle class will bring a new set of value systems as the mainstream ones in the work place. HR practitioners need to see the surround far more widely than perhaps they do now when building policy and strategy and perhaps need to re evaluate their entire tool kit and see how good it is for shaping and enabling leadership of all segments of the new generation. Transplanting best practice from elsewhere will not suffi ce. Learning from the best and creating a new body of knowledge on leadership of and for India’s next gen is how the HR community can serve the country. This is the need of the hour. Holistic ways for harnessing the abundant human potential that we have.


About the Authors

Priyanka Bhotiya, Head Campus Engagement & Recruitment-Group HR, RPG Enterprises. Priyanka Bhotiya is a graduate from Delhi University and is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Arvind N. Agrawal, President – Corp. Dev. & HR, RPG Enterprises, Mumbai.

Arvind Agrawal is an IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay and IIM (A) alumnus. Since 1999, he is President – Corporate Development and Group HR in the RPG Group.

LEADERSHIP FOR GEN Y PRIYANKA BHOTIYA and Dr. ARVIND N AGRAWAL

Objective:

To identify the key factors a leader and organization should have to match Gen

Y expectations and preferences.

Introduction

In today’s time, Gen Y is one topic that is discussed widely. This generation is discussed in newspapers, magazines, conferences, corporate, to be precise just everywhere. In fact there is so much research done on Gen Y. So, what is Gen Y?

Gen Y is the youngest of generation cohort. They are categorized in different brackets by different people with birth years ranging from 1977-1997. Also popularly known as millennials, this cohort has many names that also indicate their characteristics; Digital Generation, Net Generation, Echo boomers, N-Gen.

Presently there are four generations in workplace: Veterans, 1921-1945; Baby

Boomers, 1946-1964; Gen X, 1965-1976; Gen Y, 1977-1997 (Dulin, 2008). Gen Y differs from other age cohorts in their lifestyle, preferences and traits. This age group’s life revolves around the internet, wants quick action and quick results and defi nitely needs time to pursue their passion.

Gen Y is in the league of becoming the largest cohort in the workplace and with changing demographics, the employer’s challenge in terms of employee engagement and talent management is increasing like never before. With this, understanding Gen Y, their needs and preferences has become imperative.

This study aims at identifying the preferences of this emerging cohort. Findings of this study will give an indication if a company’s leadership style and policies will help in retention, or result in resignation or worse absconding of these employees.


Research questions

This research has mainly focused on fi nding the answer to two questions:

• Do Gen Y preferences require company to revise their leadership style?

• Will corporate traditional policies suit Gen Y?

To fi nd answers to these questions, the fi rst step was to identify the factors that Gen Y wish to see in their leaders followed by important employment factors.

Methodology

We started this study with secondary research. Inferences were drawn from the existing research done in the western countries. The fi ndings were then tested taking a deductive approach followed by inductive approach.

From our secondary research we identifi ed factors important to Gen Y. A fi ve point scale questionnaire was designed around the fi ndings to conduct the survey. The scale was, barely important, less important, important, highly important and essential. After the analysis of raw data, the fi ndings were further validated through FGD.

Responses received from the survey were classifi ed into two categories ‘must have’ and ‘should have’. Factors which were rated as highly important or essential by more than 85% of respondents were categorized as ‘Must have’ factors of leaders. Factors which received 80%-85% participants response as highly important or essential were categorized as ‘Should have’ factors of leadership. The importance of these factors was discussed by the participants of Focus Group Discussions (FGD) to validate the fi ndings.

Sample size

Survey

604 students from 10 premier business

schools of India participated in the survey.

These students were 1982-1992 born. More

than 86% of the participants were 1987-

1991 born with close to 21% participation

from 1989 category and close to 20% from

1987 & 1990 each. 1981-1986 categories had

close to 10% participation.


FGD- Birth year wise Distribution

Focus Group Discussion

Some employees in management cadre of RPG group, born in 1981-1991 participated in FGD. 2 FGDs were conducted with 9 participants in each.

With 5 participants from the 1986 bracket, majority participation came from this category followed by 1991. None of the participants was 1990 or 1992 born.

Leaving 1986, 1981-1988 categories had equal participation with one participant each.

Findings

From the 40 various factors of leadership that the participants were asked to rate, the following were identifi ed to be of key importance.

Sound decision making

Sound decision making has come across as the most essential factor of a Gen Y leader with more than 94% respondents rating it as highly important or essential. Focus group discussion participants have stated, sound decision making as key component of effective leadership. Participants suggested that the judgment of leaders should be based on hard facts rather than perception, which should be followed by prudent action. Also a leader

should be able to differentiate between what is important and unimportant.

“It is important for him to do his background work properly, his action should be fact based.”

“You have these too fi nicky leaders, telling you this letter should be in caps, color is wrong, stapling is not done properly. Why can’t they focus more on subject than formatting?”

“Leader needs to have a brain of his own, if he fl ows away with others words he cannot be a leader. He shouldn’t go by others words and should have analyzing factor”

‘Must have’ factors in a leader

Competency

% response as highly

important or essential

Sound decision making 94.5

Is trustworthy/Honest 88.7

Has personal accountability 88.7

Positive attitude 86.8

Manages confl ict effectively 86.6

Goal oriented 86.3

Effective listener 86.1

‘Should have’ factors in a leader

Competency

% response as highly

important or essential

Treats other with respect 84.6

Speaking with confi dence 84.6

Encourages others 83.6

Future Oriented 83.4

Is ethical 83.4

Speaking clearly 83.1

Approachable 81.0


“Leader should know how to behave in different situations. He should be aggressive when needed and not be when not needed. He should have sound judgment of right mix of EQ & IQ.”

From the data it could be inferred that the capability of taking sound decisions is a ‘must’ have component, for those who lead GenY. Gen Y weighs the quality of decisions and look forward to working with leaders who exhibit sound decision making quality.

Is trustworthy/Honest

Gen Y is clear that personal qualities of a leader are important and amongst various personal qualities ‘being trustworthy’ and ‘honest’ stood out as most essential. The survey result and FGD indicates that trust factor is important in a team; more than 88% of respondents have rated it as highly important or essential. The Results suggest that trust is a must; absence leads to a lack of transparency and leads to politics.

“Be clear on what you need and make objective clear, you can’t be political with your own team. As a Leader you have to be transparent”

“I personally feel that trust factor can only be built if the leader is honest. Trust in a team is of utmost importance.”

“He has to give me due credit for my work, rather than overshadowing or stealing credit.”

“Leader needs to give honest opinion. It is important to let a team member know if he is doing something wrong. Personal biases should not be practiced by leaders. Any criticism should be a genuine one.”

Has personal accountability

With more than 88% respondents rating personal accountability as highly important or essential the importance of this competency is evident. Even from the focus group discussions it could be inferred that Gen Y want their leader to

take ownership and admit mistakes when they falter.

“He should openly tell if he has made any mistake, he need not go and say that in a mike but yes admitting and taking ownership is something that he must do.”

“Leader has to tell bluntly when things are going wrong, after all he is also reporting to someone and is accountable for results.”

“He has to lead from the front and take charge of things.”

Positive attitude

Gen Y belief towards importance of positive attitude is very strong. From the responses it seems that looking at the brighter side is a ‘must have competency’ that leaders of Gen Y should have and exhibit.

“In case of crisis situation how do you lead your team? He should have positive mindset; this will give courage and hope to team when they actually need it.”

“He could be aggressive or emotional but positive attitude is a must.”

Manages confl ict effectively

From the survey and FGD response, confl ict management skill of a leader is identifi ed as one of key important factors. More than 86% respondents rated it as highly important or essential.

“At times you hear the problem but don’t do anything and just sit over it. You think ignoring the issue is better as it may raise confl ict. So I think he should very diligently be able to handle these issues.”

“Right amount of strictness in dealing with people and taking decision is important for a leader.”“We are impatient we want leadership to be effective and quick. If something goes wrong the feedback should come early rather than piling it up to avoid confl ict.”


Goal orientedMore than 86% of respondents rated ‘goal oriented’ as highly important or essential. From the FGD it could be inferred that Gen Y wants its leader to focus on the end objective rather than the means.

“Too much involvement in people development, he will lose his vision. There is no point working this way, if the vision is lost no matter how long we work, we will not attain the end objective.”

“I would prefer to work for leader who is more goal focused rather than task or people oriented. He needs to have a bird’s eye view”.

“Leader should defi ne the where and how to of vision.”

‘Goal oriented’ has been rated and stated as one of the most essential components of leadership by Gen Y. Gen Y does not like micro management; therefore, a clear defi ned vision is a must. Once the goal is defi ned they like the leader to give them autonomy and space to work. Gen Y wants leaders to focus on goal achievement as this will lead to the growth of team and organization.

Effective listenerGen Y people are with ideas and want their leader to hear them out. The survey and FGD respondents suggest that Gen Y need their leader to be approachable and a good listener. He should not just listen but also take actions based on the conversation.

“Rather than telling that you have done this wrong, he should be willing to listen to the reason.”

“When you talk about leader, he should be a good speaker but a better listener. Leader will be perceived as approachable by everyone if he makes people comfortable when he is being talked to.”

Apart from the above mentioned factors, other factors which Gen Y would like their leader to possess are treating people with respect, speaking with confi dence,

encouraging others, future oriented, being ethical, speaking clearly and being approachable. Based on survey and FGD responses, these factors are categorized into ‘should have’ category. The data did not indicate these factors as the most important but it was found that these factors are relatively way more important than other remaining factors. Some of the verbatim of participants strongly support the fi ndings.

“He should respect our time; leaders who call us and make us wait are seriously very irritating. This only shows how much respect he is giving you.”

“Good command over language, it is important for communicating clearly. Moreover he should be precise; to the point and not too texty text types. ”

“A leader who can’t motivate his team is not a leader.”

With Gen Y so forward looking one may assume that a leader needs to be friendly and should have contemporary style. The responses suggest that being humorous, friendly or fun loving is good to see factor in a leader but there is a possibility of it acting like a boomerang.

“If he gets too friendly then he will fi nd problems in delegating. People may start taking him lightly. Maintaining thin line between being friendly and assertive is challenging.”

“Fun loving is not a prerequisite, but good to have.”

“As long as he is comfortable and open with the difference, it’s ok.”

A step ahead

A leader may have all the desired factors that Gen Y wants their leader to have; but the task of the leader does not end there. Gen Y desires other factors in the workplace. As a leader one has to ensure that these factors exist in a company or the possibility of attrition of Gen Y will be


high. One factor that has been identifi ed as the most important factor is work life balance.

Work life balance can also be seen as the differentiating factor between Gen Y and other generation employees. Gen Y believes that work is important but it should not result in hampering the personal life of employees.

“We are not machines; we have our passion, relationship and emotions. They need time and should be taken care of.”

“In my previous organization I used to work for 12-14 hours and trust me this life is blissful.”

Gen Y understands that there may be occasions when work will demand more time. In such situations they state that it is important to cooperate and give their best. However it should not be regular practice.

“If it is need based than it is ok, but beyond a point you can’t take it. It should not become a habit; if it does then it’s the time to start looking out”

“We are the new generation and have our passion. This was not the case with earlier generations. Many a company has realized this and has work from home or fl exi policies. In fact people look at these aspects of employment before joining.”

Another factor of employment that has emerged as ‘very important’ is the ‘quality of work’. Compensation on the other hand was not mentioned to be the most important aspect.

“If you ask me what are the top 5 things I look before joining a company, compensation will not be in my list.”

“I would not mind going for lesser compensation if I get other factors. Compensation will not be my top priority if I have culture which is more fl exible.”

“If a company is paying a few lacs extra but it is getting compensated not through my CTC but through variable elements, I will be fi ne with it.”

Gen Y preferences in terms of compensation may change with experience. FGD suggests that initially the focus is more on learning and self development but with time, compensation will become important and may supersede factor such as learning opportunities. 30% of Survey respondents have stated that good initial compensation is important whereas good quality of work and challenging work has evolved among the top components of preferred employment.

“In the beginning you would like to learn everything and for that you will accept lower package. But there will be point when you say that I have learnt enough and you ask for better compensation.”

Further, time based promotion and job rotation is a complete no for Gen Y. From FGD it could be inferred that for promotion and job rotation, performance, exposure and potential should be the criteria rather than time. However time bound job rotation is somewhat acceptable than time bound promotion.

Other fi ndings

Western research ‘New Generation, Great Expectations: A fi eld study of the millennial generation’ by Eddy S.W. Ng, Linda Schweitzer and Sean T. Lyons, suggest that work life balance is of prime importance and majority of respondents have ranked work life balance as number one priority. In FGDs, participants expressed beyond doubt that work life balance is the most important factor. This fi nding is pretty much in sync with the western research.

One of the key fi ndings of our research is the difference with western research. Western research ‘Leadership preferences


of a generation Y cohort- A mixed-methods investigation’ by Linda Dulin, suggests that ‘Management of others’ is among the most important factors but surprisingly among the various measures of this factor none was supported by even 80% of the respondents.

The FGD findings also supported the survey where respondents suggested that leaders should know how to manage but that is not the key competency they look for in their leader. Stating clear objectives and trusting team’s capability in accomplishment of objective will supersede ‘Management of others’.

Gen Y in RPG

People orientation and transparency & integrity are amongst the values of RPG. These values are evident in the way we operate. In RPG we promote empowerment where micro management is a complete no-no.

RPG GMR (Group Management Resource) is the programme for Gen Y. GMRs are hired from premier business schools and right from the start, they are involved in key projects. They are offered key roles such as Executive Assistant to CEOs or Heads of Strategic Business Units (SBUs).

We nurture the passion of Gen Y and conduct dance and dramatics training in the company premise. In RPG, our consistent effort is to understand Gen Y and see how we can meet their expectations.

With respect to grooming and growth of these high caliber young professionals, we invest a good amount of time, money and effort. We have a Young Executive Board (YEB) which comprises of members between age group of 28-33 years. YEB is a shadow board with 10 members. YEB takes up projects which are strategically important to RPG and

give their recommendations on it to the Top Management. The chairperson of this group too comes from Gen Y category.

Discussion

Our research fi ndings suggest that some factors of leadership are of key importance to Gen Y. In all probability absence of any of these factors in a leader will result in dissonance.

The fi ndings of this study are more relevant to the Indian context. Results of western research on Gen Y results do not match completely with our fi ndings. Management of others which is mentioned as a key factor of leadership in the research conducted in US has not emerged of equal importance in Indian context. Our research fi nding indicates that Gen Y likes leadership with clear defi ned vision and prefers to work independently. On the other hand work life balance has emerged as the most important factor on the job and validates the fi nding of US research.

Another point to be noted is that our survey respondents were students of premier business schools and did not capture responses of Gen Y from other demographics such as doctors, lawyers, journalist etc. Therefore the fi ndings of our research are best suited for the corporate world, where students of premier B-school join. Aspiration and leadership preferences of Gen Y of other categories may differ as per the demographics.

Target audience of this research was Gen Y, leadership preferences of other generation cohort is not taken or used anywhere in this research. The fi ndings are relevant to Gen Y but it can’t be concluded that it is specifi c to Gen Y. The relevance of fi ndings to other generation cohort can be tested by further research.


Conclusion

Research conducted on Gen Y in western countries has some difference in relevance to Indian context. Gen Y in India wants their leader to exhibit good interpersonal and self management skills more than management of others. Further, sound decision making and goal orientation are other key factors that Gen Y in India likes to see in their leaders.

With the growing strength of Gen Y, employers need to ensure that company policies are aligned with the preferences of

ReferencesDulin, L. (2008). Leadership preferences of a Generation Y cohort: A mix-methods investigation. Journal of Leadership Studies, 2(1).NG, S.W., Eddy, S., Linda & Lyons, T., Sean (2010), New Generation, Great Expectation: A fi eld study of the millennial Generation.

Springer, J Bus Psychol, 25,281-292.Espinoza, C. (2011). Managing Millennials. NHRD Network Journal: Gen Y and HR, 4(4), 1-7.Munro, R, C (2009). Mentoring needs and expectations of Generation-Y. Journal of Management Research, 1(2).Human resources practitioners: Preparing the next wave of strategic business partners. Journal of Management Research, 1(2).Natarajan,G & Jayaram, L.(2013).Aspiration and dreams-they have power to change the world. In What we really want? Aspiration

of Gen Y.1st ed. Pune, India. Menaka Prakashan. 1-25.Krishnaswami,O.R & Ranganatham, M. (2011). Methods of data collection. In Methodology of research in social sciences. 2nd ed.

Mumbai, India. Himalaya Publishing House. 163-216.

Gen Y. HR should ensure that policies with respect to work life balance are made and followed. Contemporary practices such as compensatory off, fl exi hours and work from home should be embraced.

Reporting managers of Gen Y should be sensitized with the preferences of Gen Y and should conduct training for these managers on how to manage Gen Y. Timely feedback of Gen Y should be taken to gauge their engagement level, followed by interventions to address their changing needs and expectations.


About the Author

Lalima Chhabra is a program coordinator for the Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning team in India. She supports the Learning Services team with designing and coordinating leadership development programs for clients in India and Middle East. She has done her Masters in Psychology from University of Delhi with a specialization in Organizational Behavior. She is very passionate about theatre and has 8 productions and over 150

performances under her belt. She can be reached at [email protected].

MANY NAMES, ONE GENERATIONTHROUGH THE LENS OF A GEN Y

LALIMA CHHABRA

Dear Boss,

I am extremely happy that you have assigned a new project to me but I am feeling a little uncomfortable that I will be up for review in three months. Are you kidding? Is this a normal performance management process? You mean we’re not going to touch base this afternoon? I’d rather have a continual informal feedback (you could whatsapp me anytime if you like). Please let me know your thoughts?

Regards,Gen Y/Millennial/Net Gen/Echo Boom

Almost all of you must have observed some of your colleagues or interns

behaving in a similar fashion and I can absolutely understand if you couldn’t help but ask yourself — who are these folks or who do they think they are?

In this article, I am going to help myself and my readers acquire a deeper understanding of Gen Ys- Why are Gen Ys the way they are? Who are Gen Ys really? What motivates them

in the workplace? How can the interactions between Gen Y’s and other generations improve?

WHY ARE WE THE WAY WE ARE?

Generation Ys are individuals born during the twenty years spanning from 1980 to about 2000. I belong to this generation and my fellow Gen Ys should be somewhere between 14 to 34 years old in the year 2014. To understand Gen Ys in India, we need to look at the way India’s history has had an impact on different generations. For instance, Gen X experienced the impact of market liberalization of the 1990s very early in their careers and benefi ted from the initial boom in outsourcing. As a result, they were often more entrepreneurial than the previous generations and favored career progression based on merit rather than tenure. The economic boom of the 1990s presented a boom in opportunities that resulted in rapid career advancement, decrease in loyalty towards employers


and increased demand for wage infl ation. The above mentioned trends especially with regards to the employee aspirations continues well into the Gen Y’s who seem to be more inclined to switch jobs to pursue career advancement. My generation represents a new class of employees: one shaped with a deeper appreciation for technology, global exposure and one who aspire for fi nancial affl uence. We (Gen Y’s) are digital natives—our lives are greatly infl uenced by social networks. While past generations watched the internet and technology develop, Y’s are immersed in it since birth; many of us don’t even remember logging on to the internet for the fi rst time. For us, high-paced technology, communication, and information gathering has always been around.

In India there is a sudden and prominent emergence of Gen Y’s in the workforce. Around 1/3rd of the Indian workforce is now under the age of 30. These facts clearly highlight the upsurge of the younger population within the workplace and hence the increase in importance of “our” needs and expectations. (Source: Talking about Whose Generation, DUP, 2010; Deloitte-CII “Generation Next Workforce study, 2013”)

WHO ARE WE?

Our generation has been called by many names. Three of the most common are the Millennial Generation, signifying that our developmental years spanned the turn of the century; the Net Generation, refl ecting one important infl uence on our lives—the rapid evolution of digital technology; and the Echo Boom, because many of us are the children of Boomers (people born in the eighteen years—1946 through 1964). I can sense the irritation levels of my fellow Gen Y readers rising as I list these labels, so let’s very swiftly move toward a more comprehensive understanding of “us” with the help of one-liners created by me that almost seem to defi ne our generation

(inspired by the incredible work of Tamara Erickson’s Harvard Business Press Chapter “Shared Views and Common Choices- Who Is Generation Y, and What Does That Mean for Your Career?”).

I am confident and I know it. We are more than willing to express our own ideas, bring new thinking to counter issues or problems, and critique the way things have always been done if we think we have a better way. We enter into the professional world with confi dence and seem to have a high level of self-esteem. This sense of confi dence is by no means a Western characteristic of our generation. Gen Y’s in India, for example, are waking up to the huge potential and opportunity they face. They tend to be extremely confi dent, to the point that retention has become a major issue.

I want it all, and I want it now. We come across as a little impatient and eager to live life now. Some people claim that our impatience is a holdover from a childhood as many of us perhaps became accustomed to getting what we wanted when we wanted it—new toys or clothes. I think our sense of immediacy will be a hallmark of our generation until the end of our days. We will neither grow out of it, nor is it simply caused by a pampered childhood. The events we witnessed when we were in our impressionable teens— the sudden, devastating, and unpredictable world events have left us with an undeniable impression that tomorrow just might be too long to wait.

All is well. I am POSITIVE. Despite the terrorism and environmental disasters that occurred during our teen years—or perhaps even in part because of the contrast between those tragic events and the life we now lead—as a generation, we have an optimistic outlook. This


sense of optimism is likely to be reinforced by many of our experiences in the workplace. Whereas previous generations ran up against a stagnant economy and a tight job market, Ys are likely to fi nd ever-growing demand for their skills. In some fi elds, this demand is already allowing Gen Y’s to approach work almost as paid “volunteers”—joining an organization not because it’s the only game in town but because we genuinely want to.

• What do we want: challenge but without traditional responsibility—perhaps our boss’s job.

We do want significant challenge and meaningful work. Most of us feel highly engaged when we are given big jobs and challenging assignments. But our managers sometimes fail to understand that the favorite job of any Y is one that is critically important which he or she has no idea how to do. The explanation comes from the way we differentiate between “challenge” and “responsibility.” As with the word workforce, the word responsibility connotes a way of working— perhaps conjuring images of bureaucracy, constraints, and answering to other people’s rules—that is not appealing to us.

Money is EVERYTHING. Attitudes toward money show perhaps the most divergent thinking among Y’s around the world. Our economic and cul tural exper iences—and therefore our expectations about the role money will play in our lives—are quite different. Overall, Gen Y’s seem to value interesting work and meaningful job way more than they value money. Although simultaneously, it is important to point out that money connotes value, confers prestige, and provides immediate benefits in the

form of a higher standard of living. Indian employees often live with parents and even grandparents and provide as much as 70 percent of the family income. In light of the number of auxiliary meanings we associate with money, financial reward holds reasonable value for Indian Gen Y even though it is NOT everything.

WHAT MAKES US TICK?

Drawing from an interesting HBR Article “How Gen Y & Baby Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda” (written by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Laura Sherbin, and Karen Sumberg), I am going to address a few facets of what makes us tick.

Networking by Nature Working in teams is a top motivator for me and my fellow Gen Ys. Gen Ys love to connect with others and enjoy working in offi ces that are open and conducive to socializing. And want people, even bosses, to be readily accessible.

Ambition-I remember innocently writing in my fi rst self performance appraisal form that one of my biggest strengths is being ambitious and achievement oriented. And my Boss gave me a reaction which I will never forget- “Isn’t this strength part of the deal? I mean, isn’t it a part of the legacy of being a Gen Y”. Indeed, Gen Ys are go-getters: About as many Gen Ys who call themselves very ambitious say they are willing to go the extra mile for their company’s success.

Loyalty vs. Quest I am in my fi rst job right now and I fi nd myself telling my friends that I am going to probably get old in the same job. And studies indicate that Gen Y’s fully hope to remain faithful to a workplace, but the clear majority says they also want work to bring a range of new experiences and challenges. We might be more


susceptible to wanderlust than we realize.

Multicultural Ease I personally fi nd working in a global team very exciting as I get to interact and learn about people from different cultures and backgrounds. This is true for the majority of us—Gen Ys are clearly at ease with diversity. We are proud of our diverse tastes and styles which makes us open towards interacting with people of different ethnicities and culture.

BEST WAY TO PAY GEN YGeneration Y values six types of rewards as at least as important as compensation. In order, they are:

1. High-quality colleagues 2. Flexible work arrangements3. Prospects for advancement4. Recognition from one’s company or

boss5. A steady rate of advancement and

promotion6. Access to new experiences and

challenges

COMPANIES WHICH ARE GETTING IT RIGHT WITH GEN Y Some real-life examples of companies which are indeed getting it right while interacting with Gen Y workforce. Let’s take a closer look at the crucial elements these companies are bringing to the table which appeal to “us”:

Progressive policies: Many companies have discovered that a progressive work environment is deeply appreciated by Gen Ys. Coca-Cola uses message boards in its work environment as tools to convey messages and assimilate employee feedback. In addition, it has an open door policy and associates across hierarchies have access to senior managers along with open

forum breakfast meetings hosted by the company’s president at regular intervals for junior managers. Similarly, access to social media sites is never blocked at Marico so as to keep 63% of the workforce happy.

Career Path: “They want clear line of sight on their careers, are open to change as the time comes, but need to have this clarity always,” says Ashutosh Telang, executive VP and global head - HR of Marico. The FMCG fi rm, for the fi rst time ever, has included a few Gen Y employees in leadership roles and is paying them close attention, to address the slightest dissatisfaction.

Opportunities to give back: “Gen Y looks beyond money and the commercial objectives of the company, and aspires to work with an organization that is associated with a larger purpose,” says Sripada Chandrasekhar, VP and head - HR, IBM India & South Asia. IBM has realized that this generation has a social conscience, among other things. The organization started Corporate Service Corps, which partners governments and nonprofi ts in emerging markets around the world. The best performing young employees are made part of this group wherein they offer expertise in technology and management consulting to address pressing problems of the community.

Intergenerational mentoring: Mahindra Group in India has shadow boards for employees below 35 years, involving groups taking up business challenges in consultation with company leaders. Young Mahindra is another platform for younger employees to engage with each other and the leadership in the automotive and farm equipment division, with the aim of empowering Gen Y to develop entrepreneurial and innovation capability.


Feedback: Being an IT company, Accenture makes extensive use of technology to get feedback from young employees and incorporate this into policies. It gathers data from social networking sites and the company intranet to understand what younger staff is saying about the work environment, rewards, recognition, leadership and culture. “The company is also piloting a mobile app that will provide employee feedback on policy, infrastructure, facilities, work environment, etc. We will do this for a couple of quarters and see the result,” says Manoj Biswas, managing director, human resources, Accenture.

Training but not for Gen Y: One of the leading domestic Airlines in India which has Gen Ys comprising 40% of its total population frequently invests in Leadership Training Programs in collaboration with Harvard Business Publishing for Gen X managers who are managing Gen Ys. The idea is to help these managers understand the ways of working/ style of Gen Ys, equip them with the right skills to deal with Gen Ys and create a facilitative environment for Gen Y’s to realize potential.

(“Engaging Gen Y at workplace: Coca Cola, Accenture, Mindtree & others create career

progression model” by Rica Bhattacharyya & Shreya Roy; “Gen Y demands: What companies are doing to keep young employees happy and motivated” by Devina Sengupta & Sreeradha D Basu | ET Bureau)

TIPS FOR GEN Y TO EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKFORCE

It’s not only our company, other generations or our boss who need to bring about changes in behavior while dealing with “us” but we are also equally responsible to step up our game so that our interactions become smooth and effective. Tamara Erickson in her book “Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work” comes to our recue with some handy and effective tips which I have handpicked and personally applied in my workplace.

1. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

You must be able to communicate well in writing, using a style that is suitable to business. Generation Y, as a whole, has a bad reputation when it comes to writing, even though I know some of us who do it extraordinarily well. It’s important because communication skills are specifi cally what employers look for in recent graduates. Academic grades are actually at the bottom of the

TIPS FROM “US” FOR “THEM”

TIPS FROM MILENNIALS FOR THEIR COMPANY

TIPS FROM MILENNIALS FOR THEIR BOSS

Please develop my skills for the future Please help me navigate my career path

Please offer me a clear career path Please give me straight feedback

Please exhibit strong values Please mentor and coach me

Please offer customizable options in my benefi ts/reward package

Please sponsor me for formal development programs

Please allow me to blend work with the rest of my life

Please be comfortable with flexible schedules

* From Mentoring Millennials by Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd


list. Always remember, your colleagues are not mind readers so you must be able to express your thoughts logically, clearly, and persuasively.

2. L E A R N I N G L A N G U A G E O F BUSINESS

You need to understand and comfortably speak a language that is the foundation of any enterprise (including nonprofi ts): the language of finance. “Reason, reason is my middle name” should be your mantra. If you are going to succeed in business in any capacity, you need to understand fi nance even if you’re going into a role that isn’t “fi nancial.” All roles in business are fi nancial. Every single one.

3. B E I N G E F F E C T I V E I S M O R E IMPORTANT THAN BEING RIGHT

Gone are the good old days of school and college, where being “right” was the answer to everything. In the work world, you begin to be evaluated increasingly on process—your ability to make things happen, to get things done. Being “right” becomes less important than being effective (and right, of course—clearly you don’t want to get the wrong things done!).

4. TAKE INITIATIVE

Look for new and better ways to do things, starting with the specifi c tasks

you’ve been hired to do. Do your own work smarter, and share your improvements with colleagues. For example, you might create templates for common tasks or write scripts or standard e-mails for common customer interactions. Find ways to get more done in less time.

5. C O L L A B O R A T E & H E L P COLLEAGUES

You can demonstrate leadership by helping other employees be more effective. Be generous: help others format documents, create spreadsheets, or find information on the Web. Answer questions for fellow Gen Y’s. Introduce older colleagues to some of the timesaving technologies you may use. If you have workers of every age looking to you to be more effective, you’ll have their respect by default.

The below Dilbert cartoon pretty much sums up how Gen Y’s (“we”) are usually perceived by other generations at workplace and how we feel about it. I hope this article helps different generations to look beyond the labels assigned to Gen Ys and understand the context in which our identities were shaped. I also hope that it enables my fellow Gen Ys to have a deeper understanding of themselves, overcome the generational traps and deal better with colleagues across generations.

*Source: 08.09.2011, Scott Adams, Inc.


Introduction

When I was asked if I wanted to write an article on Gen Y and leadership,

the fi rst thing that crossed my mind was “Am I Gen Y?” Having seen 8 year olds more profi cient on an iPhone than me and reading international newspaper reports on Gen Y being “lazy”, “selfi sh”, “anti authority” – none of which I identify with – I wondered if I was being mistaken for being in a generation much younger than what I am. I looked into the defi nition and yes , I fi t into the Gen Y defi nition -- people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. With every passing year I go further away from being the youngest person at work. And this is considering I work in a government organization where Gen Y-ers are a minority. To be honest, despite being a Gen Y-er I feel the stark difference between the older segment of the generation where I belong (people born in the 80s) and the younger segment (people born in the late 90s and 2000s). There are differences in culture, skill and perspective. So as I started writing this article on Gen Y, I was sceptical how I would represent an entire generation when segments of it seem like yet another generation in itself. But looking at it from a wider perspective, we do have common things that bind

this generation together – comfort with technology, a plethora of opportunities fuelling our ambition for constant growth and our workplace expectations and behaviours.

Young blood is everywhere. There are 430 million of us Gen Y people (15-34 years) in India. India has the youngest workforce among large economies. By 2020, the average age of the Indian workforce is expected to be 29 years. 116 million people in the 20-24 years age group will be part of India’s workforce by then. With this anticipated surge in the youth working population, workplaces and employee management techniques are being (and if not, they should be) redefi ned, redesigned and refreshed.

Gen Y and Technology

Gen Y was born in a world of emerging technology and has grown up with it around. Technology dominates daily activities and being constantly plugged in is a way of life. While an outside view may see Gen Yers as ‘addicted’ to their smartphones, Gen Yers are more ‘in control’ than they are given credit for. There are plenty of media reports, surveys and research which portray statistics of technology usage and consumption – 90%

LEADING GEN Y ADITI TANDON

About the Author

Aditi Tandon is a media and communications professional with seven years of experience in print and digital media in India and London. She started her career in 2005 as a journalist with the Times of India and is currently working in the media section of an international government organization.


of Gen Y check their texts and mail before getting out of bed, one in every fi ve Gen Yers checks their phone every ten minutes – often leading to psychological analyses of the Gen Y’s digital habits. Whether these habits are healthy or unhealthy is debatable. The bottom line though is that technology has permeated significant facets of life today. Once that is accepted and the initial shock, surprise, dismissal and debate about Gen Y the obsession with technology is over, a more constructive step of how to work better with Gen Y-ers can be considered.

With every generation, a new type of communication is developed. Messengers gave way to letters. Letters gave way to the telephone. And now telephone has given way to social media. In fact phone calls are way down on number fi ve on the list of most preferred ways of communication for Gen Y-ers. Texting is number one followed by email and social media.

Here’s an example of a daily work task in a public relations job and how a Gen Yer would tackle it vs an older employee.

Task: Contact the journalist who covers technology in ABC newspaper.

Older Employee: Picks up the phone and makes a series of calls to other contacts in the industry and probably the newspaper offi ce.

Younger employee: Gets on to Twitter and posts: “Anyone know who covers technology at @newspapername in #Mumbai? @anotherjourno” followed by a quick search on Google, Linked In and a text to a journalist friend.

There is no better or worse way. Both are doing the same task and will achieve the same result. The method of doing it and the technology used for the same task is where the difference lies.

Another example of where social media is preferred over a phone call, and which

has been a case study in many social media presentations, is that of Faaso’s tweet-to-order service. A traditional way of ordering food would be to make a phone call, ask for options on the menu and place the order over the phone. But Faaso’s has introduced this service which is lapped up by Gen Yers. They fi nd the menu on one of the restaurant review sites and send a tweet to Faasos with the order and home address.

Gen Y is a generation that is constantly plugged in and has a natural ability to connect and communicate. Because of their comfort and strength with technology, Gen Y have infl uenced change in traditional communication job roles in media, public relations, advertising and others.

In fact, Gen Yers fi nd themselves fi tting in with ease in new age jobs borne out of developments in technology over the past decade or so – social media manager, app developer, cloud computing technologist, digital strategist... newer roles are probably being developed as you read this!

Gen Y’s influence on the media and communications industry has fi rst been as that of a consumer. The interactive, convergent and digital formats of traditional media developed to cater to Gen Y as a ardent consumer of content in such formats. Subsequently, as Gen Y-ers become employees within the industry, they adapt to the new media formats and multi-platform communication tools faster than older employees. The generation gap stands out in the journalism fi eld particularly, where older journalists prefer to focus on the content, while younger journalists fi nd the format of putting out the content equally important. You may see discussions on “is print journalism dying?”, “are bloggers the new journalists” and the like. It’s useful to analyse and predict trends. And may be in some countries these differences are stark. In India though, an average Gen Y journalist


usually has the same core journalistic values as their predecessors. The only major change is the delivery method. What was once a 1000-word article in a magazine is now a 700-word article in the magazine with a ‘complete’ 1000-word version on the website, supplemented with a 140-character summary on Twitter and sometimes an un-edited version on the writer’s personal blog.

In a recent campaign by the Guardian in the UK, the features content was handed over to 10 Gen Y trainee journalists. Called the “Gen Y Takeover”, the activity highlights that Gen Y is politically motivated, socially active and creative, yet has a different perspective and a different style of telling stories. An interesting thing that stands out during this ongoing campaign is the interaction in the comments section of the website. Unlike older journalists, this young crop jumped head-on in to the discussions and responded with opinions rather than standard statements to the reader’s comments. While older journalists often prefer keeping comments standard and on an if-required basis, upholding the sanctity of their content, the young journalists are happy to explain, argue, apologize, debate or disagree with the readers.

Gen Y and Leadership

As more of Gen Y comes into the work force, managers need to adapt to the changing work styles. What is the work style of a Gen Y employee and how does a company adapt to it? What does Gen Y expect from managers? How do you balance the needs and behaviours of old and young employees? These are only a few of the many questions that those managing Gen Y employees are thinking of.

First off, it is good to recognize that having a Gen Y employee is benefi cial for your organization. Other than bringing in fresh perspectives to the workplace, they are also fl uent in skills that are necessary for every organization in today’s age – tech-savvy, good at networking and in some businesses, they represent the generation that organizations want to target (your very own focus group right there!).

Managing expectations of Gen Y employees is often a big challenge for managers. There may be a variety of reasons, but one common reason that I have come across is that managers often have stereotypical ideas of Gen Y-ers and preconceived notions about today’s youth – about them being overconfi dent, lazy, self-obsessed and other behaviour analyses that “trend” reporters in media come up with. These preconceived ideas hinder the managers from really understanding what the young employee wants. According to an Ashridge survey, around 65% of Indian graduates want their managers as a coach or mentor. Gen Yers recognize that they need coaching and are eager to learn. They look up to their managers for the appropriate guidance. It may not be the traditional “guru-shishya” relationship -- a Gen Yer may address a manager by the fi rst name instead of “sir/ma’am”, may feel comfortable sending a text instead of a phone call when they are unable to come


into work and may even disagree or argue with the manager. But these actions do not indicate casual, lazy or disrespectful attitudes; these are ways that Gen Y communicates. At the end of the day, they still respect and look up to the manager for guidance. As the manager, one has to recognize and adapt to these attitudes, while continuing to play the mentorship role one is meant to.

The other reason I have seen why managers are unable to manage a Gen Y employee is insecurity about not being as techno-savvy. Many older managers who are not good with technology, hide their insecurity by dishing out either defensive statements like “Oh you young people are obsessed with all this fun social media but real work is much beyond that” or simply offl oading it completely by saying “Oh all this new age technology baffl es me, you fi gure it out yourself.” Either way is detrimental to a positive manager-employee relationship. Gen Y-ers know they are good with technology and social media but they also know that older generations have different wisdom to offer. It is okay for a manager to acknowledge the strengths of young employees, it is okay to admit weakness and it is okay and recommended for managers, to be willing to learn... and be willing to guide.

Building a Gen Y-friendly Workspace and Work Environment

Other than personal relationships, a Gen Y employee is also infl uenced by the workplace environment. Things that seemed straightforward many years ago are now key parts management decisions – work space design, access to technology, organizational structure, the brand image.

– Fluid work space: Gen Y-ers like to work comfortably. Whether from their desk, from a coffee shop, from a couch, on the floor, standing up...or a combination... their multitasking minds can focus in social and casual environments as well. Of course this doesn’t mean that the professional setting of a workspace should be compromised. But there are ways to build in spaces that give employees alternative options – silent desk spaces for people to work individually, open plan work stations, informal collaborative work areas, lounges and cafeteria spaces for a relaxed atmosphere or enclosed meeting rooms with formal and informal setups are just some of the ways that companies have integrated design for effective workplace environments.

– Access to technology: Gen Y wants to work with a company that embraces and implements technology. Particularly when being hired for digital communication roles, outdated and restrictive technology is not only a hindrance to quality work but also demotivating for the employee. This isn’t to say that all companies should blindly upgrade to latest technology. But it is important to periodically take stock, consult the people using the technology, hire people who know the technology, understand the difference


between tech toys and useful tools and be open to change.

– Organizational structure and work style: Gen Y does not easily adapt to organizations where hierarchy and power roles are given high importance. Particularly in the communications industry, Gen Y is more likely to be comfortable with organizations which have approachable structures, employees calling bosses by their fi rst names, pitching in ideas and changes no matter where in the structure one stands, expressing disagreement openly and climbing up the career ladder based on merit rather than age and years of experience.

– Work life balance: Gen Y-ers enjoy mixing work with fun. They are as focused and diligent on completing the work at hand but do it in their own way. They want work to be enjoyable and fulfilling rather than a duty or committed service. While an older employee may sit at his desk, skip lunch and complete the task before going home, a Gen Y employee is likely to take a break and watch a movie and then stay up all night completing the task in time for the deadline next morning. Again, what way is right and what is

ReferencesCISCO. (n.d.). Cisco reduces costs and attracts Gen Y employees with new workspaces and work styles. CISCO.Gibson, R. (2010-2014). Generation Y. Retrieved March 2014, from www.generationy.comHays. (2013). Gen Y And The World of Work. London: Hays plc 2013.Hobbs, D. (n.d.). Gen Y Journalists. ejournalist.com.au.Pitalwalla, Y. A. (2011, November). India to have 20% of world’s workforce in the next decade. Financial Chronicle.Rajendram, D. (2013, March). The Promise and Perils of India’s Youth Bulge. The Diplomat.Schofi eld, S. H. (2012). Generation Y and their managers around the world. Ashridge Business School.Thampan, L. (2013). Jobs in the Future – The Career Path of Generation Y & Z. Retrieved from www.wagepoint.com: http://wagepoint.

com/blog/jobs-in-the-futureThe Guardian. (2014, March). Generation Y takeover: the issues that matter to us and why. Retrieved from The Guardian: http://www.

theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/14/generation-y-takeover-guardian-digital-journalists

wrong is debatable. But giving Gen Y employees some fl exibility in their way of working as long as they deliver consistently, is productive for both the company and the employee.

The Other Gen Y

In most conversations about Gen Y in the workplace, there is a signifi cant chunk of the Generation that is completely ignored. In India, there is approximately 70% of the youth who live in rural areas or are part of the urban poor. The discussion so far thus applies to less than 30% of Gen Y in India. While the 70% may not be part of current urban workplaces being discussed here, it is important to consider the following – what responsibility do companies have in giving these youth the access that their urban privileged counterparts have? And when they do come in to urban workspaces what are the ways to lead this “other Gen Y” that is not as techno-savvy and exposed? We are talking about a generation where one part lives and breathes technology and another part does not have access to it. What roles should companies play in bridging these gaps? This makes for a whole other discussion but these questions are crucial while thinking about making workplaces truly inclusive for all of Gen Y.


Three weeks after graduating from my undergraduate studies in 2010,

I moved to India to gain understanding of the aspirations, challenges, and forces underpinning the emerging world’s rise. As a 22 year-old thirsty for an experiential “real-world” education, the prospect of accelerated personal and professional development that naturally results from adapting to the unknown excited me. I decided to jump into the deep-end. I signed a two-year contract with a conglomerate headquartered in a country I had never visited!

Immersing myself in an environment I did not understand forced me to deconstruct and reconstruct many things I was previously confi dent I understood – including leadership. Before starting my career, I viewed leadership as responsibly leveraging formal authority to coordinate individual effort towards a common target. After four years of working in India, I consider strong leadership to exhibit the following three characteristics:

THOUGHTS ON INSPIRING, MOTIVATING, AND LEADING AMBITIOUS GEN-Y

EMPLOYEES AND TEAMSRUSSELL MASON

1) Framing, defending, and inspiring achievable vision

2) Bravely acknowledging weakness, failure and errors, and confronting them with solutions

3) Leading by example to consistently walk-the-talk.

Why have I defi ned leadership this way? I believe managers who exhibit these leadership traits are best-suited to inspire, motivate, and manage ambitious Gen-Y employees and teams. Considering myself an ambitious member of Gen-Y, I’d like to share some of my refl ections on strong and weak leaders I’ve experienced.

Today, to say the world has become a smaller, more connected place is cliché. However, remembering this truth is necessary to understanding, motivating, and leading Generation Y. The internet has increased access to knowledge, accelerating my generation’s understanding of the good and bad in the world. Global competition

About the Author

Russell Mason works with Mahindra Lifespaces, where he is one of the founding members of the new affordable housing business. The Co-Founder and Co-President of the Harvard Club of Mumbai, Russell studied Economics at Harvard College. He was also Executive Producer of City Step; Staff Director and Writer for the Harvard Political Review; and a Peer Advisor.


and more easily available resources for education and personal development have heightened pressure to succeed. With a more transparent understanding of the world, more competition, and more resources, Gen-Y also seems to be redefi ning success as pursuing a higher sense of purpose.

No generation before us has been exposed to the world’s truths so early and so deeply. We’ve seen, in real-time, respected leaders and institutions fall. We’ve listened to self-made women and men from across the globe share how their hunger and “foolishness” changed the world. The reflective, often correlated with the ambitious, amongst Gen Y have identifi ed the characteristics of failure and success early-on and see both within themselves.

Simultaneously, Gen-Y faces stiffer competition for the best education, the best jobs, and success and purpose from talented individuals across the globe. For many, society’s defi nition of success is no longer enough. We want to be life-long learners. We want to grow faster. We want to be rewarded on merit. We want our own defi nition of success. We want to earn the gratifi cation of achieving that defi nition. Most importantly, we want to live and work in an environment that allows us to self-actualize.

Some may ask: so what? shape up or ship out. our company was successful without you and will remain successful if you leave. I believe this is a short-sighted response. Given that the trends driving the desire for self-actualization are likely to increase, the values and approach towards life that the ambitious amongst Gen-Y currently promote are likley to become more widespread. Leaders who and organizations that demonstrate understanding of these motivations and

aspirations will gain Gen Y’s loyalty, dedication, and willingness to work within “the system.”

My advice to all those who are leading Gen Y teams – by exhibiting the three leadership qualities detailed below, you can demonstrate your understanding of and value for Gen-Y’s needs, and motivate and inspire us.

Leadership Characteristic 1: Framing, Defending, and Inspiring Achievable Vision

Gen-Y craves a higher calling. How can managers provide their employees a higher sense-of-purpose?

First, either define or lead your team through a collective exercise to defi ne a “big-picture” vision. To align activity and values, organizations define themselves through mission statements and set aspirational targets through vision statements. Doing the same for your function (at a team-level) or employees (at an individual-level) can infuse a greater sense of purpose in an employee’s work. More purpose will naturally increase motivation.

Two, on an individual-to-individual level understand what is achievable. Set stretch targets, but be realistic. Sincerely make the effort to understand what steps would be involved in achieving the target you are providing. You don’t have to share how you would approach the situation – it’s ok to let us fi gure it out – however, make sure it’s something you think you could stretch yourself to do in our shoes (given our skillsets, resources, experiential knowledge, etc.). If you’re unsure, have a sincere conversation with your employee. If you have fostered a rapport and reputation with your team that you will productively respond to their concerns, an


employee will appreciate the opportunity to share her thoughts. The conversation should naturally end with a convergance of opinion and will encourage your employee to own the task in front of her.

Three, explicitly explain the connection between your employee’s work and the bigger picture. As we’ve established, Gen Y craves a sense of purpose beyond “this is what I’m required to do.” A quick dialogue or connecting statement on how a given task infl uences the decisions you take or impacts overall business performance both enhances purpose and also exposes us to management-level thinking. The former motivates (like the “big-picture” exercise described above) while the latter provides opportunities for reflection, understanding, and professional growth. Both encourage your Gen Y employees to go the extra mile. Moreover, you will generate opportunities for your employee to empathize with your dilemmas and decisions, which will likely enhance their loyalty to you and respect for the tough decisions you have to make (even if the employees are negatively impacted).

To give an example, about six months ago I attended a lecture with the former VP of Marketing for Lonely Planet. In that role she drove a frugal reframing of the company’s mission – Lonely Planet was no longer about selling travel guides, instead the company was a catalyst for cross-cultural exposure and travel in an increasingly interconnected world. Her point was that by appealing to a larger vision, she gained significant mileage on a small marketing budget. Managing ambitious Gen-Yers can be similar. Providing and reinforcing purpose for the day-to-day will motivate your team to go the extra-mile, allowing you to do more with less. Further connecting an individual’s contribution to the bigger picture offers opportunities for

the learning, growth, and mutual respect that drives Generation Y to higher levels of performance.

Leadership Characteristic 2: Bravely Acknowledging Weakness, Failure and Errors, and Confronting Them with Solutions

Gen-Y chases transparency and authenticity, but business is messy. How can managers meet Gen-Y’s expectations while maintaining respect and authority?

Generation Y has seen young and “foolish” twenty-year-olds transform lives across the globe (including their own). Most of these role-models, while promoted with celebrity given their success, publicly refl ect on their weaknesses, previous mistakes, and recognize the role failure had in their path to achievement.

Generation Y craves the personal and professional growth seen in these individuals and are inclined to replicate similar lessons and experiences in their own lives. Managers and organizations that provide the opportunity for Gen-Yers to do so in the corporate setting are likely to capture and retain the best talent who may otherwise seek this growth through their own ventures (Google has even attracted some of the world’s most notorious entrepreneurs back into the corporate world). Leaders can cultivate such an environment by bravely acknowledging their own mistakes and shortcomings while providing their subordinates the opportunity to learn and own both success and failure.

I recently attended a panel discussion at HR College where several of India’s most celebrated MDs gave words of wisdom to current students. Their message to the Millenials was clear: don’t think you need to have a lifelong plan or perfect career strategy


to be successful, most of us didn’t and some still don’t. The keys to success are confronting failure, constant refl ection, and a value for lifelong learning. Their message really resonated with me. However, as I took a step back, I felt a large disconnect between these ideals and their observed presence in my and my peers’ experiences in the corporate world.

Many managers present their mistakes through the wrong lens. In refusing to acknowledge them, they pursue communication acrobats to rewrite the history of interaction or place responsibility somewhere else. I suspect they see an admission of fallibility as something that will weaken their authority or lessen the respect of their subordinates. The opposite is more likely true, especially amongst ambitious Gen-Y professionals. We see mistakes and failures as part of the human condition and a step on the path to success – as long as we learn from them. Moreover, we are more likely to trust, respect, and seek to emulate leaders who demonstrate the bravery necessary to share this vulnerable side of success. If a manager is open to honestly acknowledging and confronting weaknesses, challenges, and mistakes, his or her moral authority will certainly increase, increasing that manager’s ability to inspire and motivate the next generation.

In the right context and structure, ambitious Gen Y-ers seek opportunities to succeed, even in the face of a substantial probability of failure. Said more simply, ambitious, young talent wants to be stretched and we understand that we may stumble, but only by stretching ourselves will we grow. That said, many times we’re confronted with managers, cultures, or even policies that disproportionately reward leaders for our successes while disproportionately placing the burden of responsibility for

failure on us. The rational response to such an environment is to avoid risk, avoid innovation, and become defensive. This certainly is not in the manager’s or organization’s best interest.

Those managers that most inspire Generation Y are those that stretch us, while offering genuine support when requested. They offer suggestions in both good times and bad, demonstrating their authentic motivation to help us succeed and learn. Most importantly, they provide rewards and public recognition of our contribution when warranted and an honest analysis of what went wrong when we fail. They do not abdicate responsibility or micro-manage. They also do not claim influence only in the face of success. They’re fair and they’re present to support.

Leadership Characteristic 3: Leading by Example to Consistently Walk-the-Talk

Gen – Y seeks consistency and demands less hypocrisy from authority fi gures. How should managers communicate with their employees given these values?

Societies are often seduced by rhetoric – he’s an excellent writer or she is a great public speaker. If leaders see verbal and written communication as their only tools for management, they are unlikely to inspire Generation Y. Don’t underestimate the power of actions.

To use a non-professional example, if a smoker in your life consistently tells you they are going to quit smoking, but doesn’t demonstrate adequate follow-through, your scepticism of that individual’s rhetoric will increase. Even if she eventually quits, you are likely to suspect she’ll pick the habit up again. That distrust could also spill over into other areas of your relationship. However, if she demonstrates her commitment by fi rst attempting to quit


cold turkey; fails, but then tries patches, you’re likely to respect her attempts and provide her support whether she’s talked about quitting or not. Beyond just trust, your respect for her will likely increase.

Why should a manager-subordinate relationship be any different? Managers who consistently do not “walk-the-talk” – no matter how small the discrepancy between action and words – are more likely to lose their subordinate’s trust. If serious lapses are observed, their respect for their manager may decline. Of course, the manager will still have formal authority, but the inspiration, trust, motivation, and potentially respect, that drive exceptional output will be lost. Later down the road, the best resources are likely to grow tired of this management style and pursue environments with less hypocritical leaders who they trust, feel motivated to support, and emotionally bond with.

Facing trade-offs are a part of business. Sometimes, those trade-offs present unpleasant outcomes no matter the decision. Beyond walking-the-talk, ensuring your actions remain as anchored as possible to your professed values is key for Generation Y.

For example, if a manager is a self-proclaimed advocate for ambitious Gen-Y employees, she should have an honest conversation on why an employee did not receive the promotion or bonus he thinks he deserves. The manager should explain the employee’s current areas of development and prepare specifi c development goals and milestones for him to achieve that promotion. On a more macro-level, if a manager describes process-orientation as a key business objective, then to lead the team, he should follow processes, no matter the situation. If he does not, he

sets the precedent that processes are not actually important, the rest of the team will mimic his behaviour, and in the long-term future professed values are likely to be met with scepticism. Gen-Y wants its leaders to approach every activity, no matter how small, in a more rigorous way than its leaders would expect them to. Beyond cross-cultural connection and motivation, exhibiting a no-task-is-too-small attitude while walking-the-talk allows leaders to truly understand ground-level realities, to understand small process-changes or innovations that will enhance business performance.

In conclusion, I believe it is in organization’s interests to take Gen-Y’s value for self-actualization seriously. As more and more of the world’s most competitive talent – both in India or outside – pursue the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy, those organizations who have cultivated understanding and respect for the younger generation’s values will reap the rewards.

Organizations who value leaders that display authenticity (and even vulnerability when appropriate), develop policies and processes that both proactively enable ambitious talent to take risks and provide rewards for success or support for failure, and seriously invest in their high-potential Gen Y employees will capture the strong business results of the future.

Today, managers can motivate and inspire their Gen-Y employees to deliver exceptional output by demonstrating the three leadership characteristics discussed in this article: framing an achievable “big picture” vision, authentically sharing their own journey through success and failure, and working towards a stronger consistency between action and words.


I can’t remember the last time I checked Facebook at work. I did actually check

it recently, but not my newsfeed, I was studying some brand pages to check what was ‘on trend’ in social media marketing. I don’t even know what notifi cations I have on my personal page, how many friend requests I got (do I even have any for that matter, where’s the time to meet new people!) or who all those twenty seven unread messages are from. That’s a complete transformation from when I actually used to check Facebook for my own updates eight years ago, when I had just started working. Work timings actually existed back then, maybe not nine to fi ve, but pretty close to that, and we had time to ‘network’ socially. Where’s the time today. Now I’d rather network professionally in my free time – or maybe that’s what I’ve been conditioned to doing as I’ve evolved in the workplace over the years in my brief professional experience.

As a Gen Y marketing professional, having worked in fi nancial services and consumer goods, and in both Indian as well as international organisations, I do feel the workplace, has a lot to offer us. The ‘Millennials’ are attributed with thinking

outside of the box, embracing change, being digitally wired and staying positive – key for success in any organization. On the other hand, these very traits create issues of expectation management, organizational loyalty and increasing pressures at work. There are a plethora of mantras that have worked and sometimes not worked for me in my endeavour to survive and succeed in corporate India and the constantly evolving expectations of current-day workplace. Let me explain some of these mantras:

Accepting and course correcting

There is no man who has not made a mistake and every man who has ever achieved anything has always made mistakes. I still remember my fi rst job, in a multinational asset management company. I was bedazzled by the brand, the offi ce space, the professional set-up which one always longs to experience, the ‘star’ performers who always managed to get things their way. It all seemed very exciting yet slightly intimidating. In fact, it seemed so professional that making a mistake was not acceptable. Thinking that was my fi rst mistake! This one time

CONFESSIONS OF A GEN Y PROFESSIONALSHAMA DALAL

About the Author

Shama Dalal a marketing specialist, majored in Advertising with BCom at HR College Mumbai, and later pursued an MBA at the ISB, Hyderabad in Marketing & Strategy. Career started with marketing in fi nancial services handling brand communication, social media marketing and database marketing. Worked for brands such as HSBC and HDFC Bank. Currently working as a Marketing Professional leading a beauty category in a multinational organisation.


I actually went wrong, I got frazzled and confused and pondered indefi nitely before confrontation. Confrontation wasn’t easy, it never is, but it’s important. Helps you to think about the bigger picture, the impact and eventually fi nd solutions. I now freely confront should a situation arise at my current workplace, a multinational beauty conglomerate where I now work in marketing. And that’s where I feel we benefi t the most, in terms of capitalising the expertise of senior management, and learning from mistakes and how we could have done it differently. Organisations now-a-days expect employees to course correct and change gears all the time, and they appreciate people who are willing to do that.

Balancing between creative independence and compliance

I’ve always liked doing things my way, at home. Fortunately, for Gen Y, that’s the mantra at the workplace as well these days. Creating your own workable system within an ecosystem is increasingly valued by organizations. The very same corporates, built on black and white rules and stringent processes are now open to circumvent or change the very same processes to enhance effi ciency and fuel innovation. Having worked in the marketing function throughout my career, I find creative freedom extremely exciting and it has been very motivating to have worked in organizations that have encouraged entrepreneurial styles. The fact that we can lead our teams the way we like, structure our plans and defi ne priorities, goes to show that there is increasing comfort in creating intrapreneurs. This free-spirited, self-motivated DNA of Gen Y, is fully congruent with the present-day corporate culture and requirement. However, this is not to say that the rule book may be discarded. Redundancy is to be weeded out by creative thinking but discipline laid down has its importance.

Effectively utilising the power of networks

As exciting as it is, to do things your own way, it’s very diffi cult to interrupt an already existing system. That’s where the power of networks, if used appropriately is truly benefi cial. In my line of work – i.e. the marketing function - I have always had multiple dependencies on projects. Whether it’s working with an advertising agency, the press offi ce, packaging and development departments, there’s never a dearth of people you need to partner with to get output. I have certainly found that whether it’s casual non-work related conversation by the coffee machine, or offering someone a ride to work, familiarity leads to likeability which eventually increases the propensity to getting output from dependencies. Without an effi cient network, this would be practically impossible. Ensuring communication with identifi ed sources of infl uence not just vertically above you in the organization chart, but also with peers and those junior to you is supremely essential to success at the workplace. As I’ve evolved on the corporate ladder, I’ve realized the strength of your network defi nes your source of power in an organisation. I have to say, increased global exposure & travel coupled with electronic networking platforms, have made it much easier for Gen Y to effi ciently network!

Embracing change

Change is constant. I don’t think any of my peers are afraid of change. In fact they thrive under change. They want change. They detest boredom. Functional specialists and industries gurus are always respected. They’ve attained that by being in a consistent function across industries or the converse, worked across functions in an industry. It’s still great to aspire to be an industry veteran but what’s even more thrilling is being able to do


something that’s not your current area of profi ciency. I started my career in fi nancial services, then moved to retail banking, followed by a brief stint in retail apparel and now eventually beauty. I can say I have maintained functional consistency, but what always drove me from one thing to another, whether it was within the organisation or from one organisation to another, was how unknown that area was to me and being able to make some sense of it with though on-the-job learning. In fi nancial services, marketing plays a very different role as compared to how it drives business in an FMCG company. I can fi rmly say that with every new role I’ve endeavoured to take on, it’s not just been more responsibility but also voluntarily more of the ‘unknown’. They say Gen Y is adept at adapting. Companies like that. You then become a movable resource even within the organisation.

Staying on trend, technologically

I hate waiting in line to pay my bills. My credit card company has never levied late payment charges on me. That’s because my wallet is on my phone. It comes naturally to transact online, whether it’s shopping or bill payments or even paying a friend back. I still remember a conversation between my peer and a top management employee who couldn’t fi gure out the technical issue with his laptop. It took my colleague fi ve minutes to help sort it out. I just ‘wiki-how’d it’ she told him. He looked at the screen that was displaying a clear, simple, crisp help navigation, and all he said was – OK I know who to call next time! Not, ‘Great thanks, I’ll try this next time’! A lot of people are still averse to online information and transacting, and have privacy and security concerns. Gen Y is digitally wired - another quality organisations are happy to take advantage of. Gathering and weeding out online information, understanding online audiences and

ecommerce has gained strategic importance for organisations. It’s a space that cannot be under-leveraged. A majority of these specialists are from Gen Y, in- fact not just specialists but super specialists – whether it’s an online reputation manager, an online leads generation expert, a social media marketing expert, a blogger, an ecommerce transaction analyst you name it and they’re all there! The quest for digital managers, is always on in organisations.

As much as the current-day workplace has to offer Gen Y, the challenges are no less. There are key concerns that directly arise out of all the above. In my experience, the very traits that set Gen Y apart, also cause difficult situations at work and complexities that are taxing to manage:

Facing Competition

Competition is fierce. Firstly, this is because of increased supply. There are more MBAs available for organisations to choose from. The statistics say it too - MBA seats in India almost quadrupled - from 94,704 in 2006-07 to 3,52,571 in 2011-12 — resulting in a fi ve-year compounded annual growth rate of 30 per cent. However, employability was only at 21% in 2012 according to a study by MBAUnieverse.com which was a decline from the previous years. Secondly, within an organization, as much as the free-fl owing networks work as an advantage, they bring with them the disadvantage of increased information exchange resulting in excessive access to peer performance and opportunity tracking. Finally, promotion cycles are also toughened. We need to wait longer. We compete with more people for the same promotion. Organisations are making it clear that we need to prove our worth over a longer period to ace that appraisal and bag promotions. I remember how in one of my previous


organisations, we were clearly told that the hierarchical pyramid was getting heavy on middle management and they had to change the ‘grid’ which of course, is never revealed, but on average I observed it took more than 2-3 years for the same promotion that would have taken 1-2 years, in the earlier grid. This time period seems to be the norm now.

Increasing work pressure

With increased competition comes increased work pressure. It’s all about the survival of the fi ttest and what more one can bring to the table that someone else cannot. Gen Y employees are willing to put it more hours a day. Peers are constantly compared with each other. The pressure seems great at fi rst, and as a typical Gen Y professional when it reaches a level you can’t take you want out. I feel we’re constantly in ‘launch mode’ – a term that is used to identify phases in a period which are linked to product or communication launches and therefore heavier activity. I don’t see this as phase anymore, it’s routine.

Being optimistically naive

Gen Y is associated with being positive, looking at the brighter side of things and following their heart. This very premise, under which we’ve been raised, makes it very diffi cult to face set-backs. The expectation out of a workplace – to feel empowered, to have a stake in the smallest of things, develop and motivate our teams the way we like and a non-hierarchical organisational culture to name a few, are never-ending. Motivations are also not purely monetary. Something as basic as a monosyllabic email response from your boss which says ‘super’ is enough to motivate for the next 3 weeks, and on the other hand a simple conversation about

a lapse works diametrically opposite and can severely demotivate. This outlook as great as it works towards be driven in the workplace, can be a serious deterrent when it comes to reality checks and taking feedback for improvement.

Increasingly questioned loyalty

An outcome of the high expectation out of the workplace, is heavy job-hopping. A recent study by the Hay Group suggests India is expected to lead APAC attrition rates region at 26.9 per cent (in the organised sector) in 2013 — the highest globally and expected to go up in 2014 to be at 27.5 per cent. I’ve always believed that it’s great to be able to seize a new opportunity. Staying e-connected also fuels more opportunities for job-switching for Gen Y. Goal setting tends to be more short term than long-term and that’s why employee loyalty is being increasingly valued and hence questioned among existing employees by organisations. In the rut of going after a fantastic opportunity, it’s very easy to overlook the advantages of long-term tenure in any organisation. One of the biggest challenges I feel Gen Y faces.

Perennial Confusion:

Being caught between two modes of thinking, the traditional method (playing by rules, being cautious, lesser interactions but more personal and stronger ties) and the ultra-modern method of working (thinking out of the box, taking risks, more interactions but impersonal with weaker ties), is what plagues the Gen Y manager in their professional set up. While you want to transcend boundaries to reach new frontiers, there is an innate tendency to be sensitized to your professional surroundings and stay cautious. This very dilemma makes decision making a longer process, which in turn affects effi ciencies and makes projects more complex.


There will be challenges where there are opportunities. Gen Y has always been at a crossroads - attempting to follow in the slipstream of the trendsetting Gen X while building an identity for itself that sets it apart. There is a very intriguing observation made by Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution of species. It is not

the species which is the strongest or fi ttest that survives in the long run period, nor is it the one which is the most intelligent that survives in the long run period. It is that species which adapts to the new and changing environment. In much the same way, Gen Y innately adept at adapting, survives in corporate India.

References:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/education/why-the-world-still-chases-top-bschool-grads/article3738295.ecehttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/india-in-the-eye-of-an-employee-turnover-storm-survey/article4791185.ece


GEN Y: WHY MORE OF US DON’T WEAR LAB COATS!!!SALONI CHATURVEDI

About the Author

Saloni Chaturvedi holds a BA (LLB) (Hons.) from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and an M.Sc in Globalization and Development from the University of Manchester. She has worked for a law fi rm, as a short term consultant for UNDP India and has been a research associate at the Harvard Business School India Research Center since December 2010.

In 2014, none of the Indian Universities found a place in the top 100 in the annual Times Higher Education (THE) ‘World University Rankings’. Considered the definitive rankings for academic institutions the world over, this wasn’t great news for Indian educational institutions, especially since all three of India’s BRIC counterparts had institutions featured in the list – two universities from China ranked in the top 50 while Brazil and Russia, each, had one institution that had made it to the top 100. While a number of people including the Indian Human Resources Development Ministry have, in the past, dismissed the rankings as being irrelevant in the Indian context, they do drive home the point that despite having one of the largest higher education systems in the world, India’s universities and institutes are struggling to be ‘world class’. Consider a different statistic: according to the University Grants Commission, less than 1 % of the total number of students enrolled in higher education institutions in 2010-11, was in research (doctoral or post-doctoral). A quick glance through reports and news items that cover higher education in India highlights several factors that may be responsible for these

abysmal numbers and the shortage of enough high-quality research – limited access, lack of infrastructure and resources, losing qualified candidates to foreign universities, etc. There is growing acknowledgement of these factors within the Indian government and academia and several initiatives are underway to improve the quality of higher education and research in India.

While improving access and infrastructure will defi nitely give a boost to academic research in India, I would like to focus on just one aspect of this problem – an aspect that often escapes discussion. Is the Millenial generation—the generation that will provide the supply for doctoral and post-doctoral candidates over the next decade, inclined to pursue a career in research? It is imperative that we think of ways to attract this generation into research if we want to boost the quality of research in India. After all, improving external factors can only go a long way if there is a steady supply of candidates that would like to pursue research.

I would like to draw on my own understanding of the characteristics necessary to pursue research and discuss


how, if at all, these characteristics fi t with the profi le of the average Gen Y.

Focus: At its very basic all research requires a deep dive into the research subject. It requires cutting out the noise and studying something with concentration for long hours to understand it; because without understanding there cannot be analysis. In my experience as a case writer, I have realized that to even write two paragraphs on a particular industry, requires that I study analyst reports and industry briefi ngs, before I can describe it with some authority. Contrast this need for focus with the mental orientation that Gen Y has – a generation whose attention span is fairly low, largely because of the immense amounts of information vying for their attention. In fact, today, most web content is optimized for rapid click through; web designers dislike working with a lot of text and designing pages that require scrolling because they realize that the consumers of this information are unlikely to bother reading reams of text.

Isolation: Academic research at its purest is isolating. Sure, one can attend classes and conferences; partner with other researchers; conduct secondary research and hold focus groups; however, a large part of the ‘study’ requires reading all the research that already exists on the subject; immersing oneself in the data gathered —analyzing the changes in the petri dish. However, Gen Y isn’t used to being alone. Even when they are physically alone, they’re always connected. The proliferation of social media and the boom in the number of instant messaging apps is evidence of this very trait.

Result-orientation: There are no quick fi xes in research. Sometimes scholars toil over datasets without knowing what the outcome will be; sometimes desired results are not achieved even after investing large amounts of time and energy. Reaching any outcome requires perseverance. Research is

also slow in that there is no leap-frogging or immediate rewards in the form of promotions or monetary benefi ts. For a generation that desires achievement, this is an absolute anathema. However, Gen Y’s desire to achieve and achieve fast is not the same as being solely motivated by money. While fi nancial security does matter to Gen Y, they are far more motivated by the promise of doing something fulfi lling that with the mere promise of a fat paycheck. While Gen Y maybe somewhat turned off by the limited monetary benefi ts in research, they can also be motivated by the satisfaction that unearthing a ‘discovery’ can provide.

Flexibility: Since a large part of research tends to involve working in isolation, it also provides a certain degree of fl exibility. As someone who has worked in related fi elds, I have seen that the stereotype of the scholar or the lab researcher sleeping during the day and working late into the night isn’t all that far from reality. One can work at whatever time of the day works best, albeit within the restrictions that daily life puts on us. Gen Y loves fl exibility. Research shows that they would rather juggle their own time than be tied down by fi xed working hours. In addition, they like to spend time nurturing a hobby, or volunteering, rather than burn the midnight oil to impress their bosses and prefer to be evaluated on tasks completed instead of the time spent in offi ce. In some ways, academic research with its focus on output provides the perfect foil for this desire.

New Ideas: Despite its perception of being a stoic profession, research welcomes new ideas. It is in fact the pursuit of new conclusions that motivates research. And new conclusions can only be reached if the old is studied in a new way, or something new is studied for the fi rst time. Gen Y has the demographic advantage of a multicultural perspective. In addition, it’s


a generation that craves an adrenaline rush – think of all the Millennials you know, wouldn’t they love to go paragliding? This unique perspective as well as this quest for the thrill can actually make Millenials a good fi t for research. While comparing research to paragliding maybe taking things too far, there is a certain thrill in having a hypotheses confi rmed or making a new discovery that can attract the thrill-seeking millennial. Their varied perspective gives them the ability to approach problems from various angles – a valuable problem solving tool.

Technology: While technology has always been integral to scientifi c research, it is also becoming a useful tool in humanities and other types of research. Almost all forms of research use some generic and specialist digital data sources. In addition, the fi eld of digital humanities is attempting to involve both humanities academics and technology specialists. The University of Oxford describes the motivation behind this integration: “Digital technologies have the power to transform humanities research, making it easier and more efficient, enabling new ways of working, opening up new questions and creating new knowledge, or answering existing questions more fully and systematically.” Gen Y was born in a world that was witnessing a rapid immersion in technology. Growing up with gadgets and in a world that’s always plugged in has given Gen Y an almost intuitive ease with technology. The difference between Gen Y and Gen X when it comes to technology is akin to that between a native speaker of a language, and one who has had to learn the language. While both may be able to speak it with the same profi ciency, for the latter this profi ciency can only be earned by investing hours of labor to master the tongue.

While the isolation, the need for deep focus, and the lack of rapid progress might

repel Millenials from pursuing academic research, there do seem to be some synergies between Millienials’ inherent predisposition for working with new ideas, seeking fl exibility, and being happy to be surrounded by technology, and academic research. How then can leaders in academia leverage these synergies so to attract Millenials to pursue research? Based on my expectations as a Millennial researcher, I would encourage leaders to focus on the following:

Encourage collaboration: Sending young academic researchers to conferences is not enough. The reason I have shied away from undertaking a doctorate is because the thought of spending four years buried in tomes that weigh as much as gym weights, all alone, has me running in the opposite direction. Today, doctoral degrees are largely structured in a manner that encourages solo work. Research guides and leadership would do well to explore how collaborative research can be fostered. And while this may not always be possible, encouraging multidisciplinary research even where there seem to be no organic synergies, are all factors that would appeal to Millenials.

Be open, be fl exible and communicate: Gen Y is often blunt about their opinions and has a low tolerance for hierarchies and bureaucracy. Traditional academic institutions on the other hand tend at times to operate through layers that limit interaction. To marry the two would need research leaders to be direct, to communicate and involve, instead of losing the millennial in a haze of paperwork and bureaucracy. If they can use social media to do it, even better.

Validate: The Millenials are a generation hungry for validation, yet they are also a generation that has been sheltered from failure and harsh criticism. They want to be heard, to see their ideas take center stage.


While their confi dence in their ideas and in themselves can border on arrogance, their aura of infallibility is fragile and can often be broken with a few harsh words. To preserve the Millenial’s passion and talent needs research leaders need to take even weak hypotheses and seemingly untenable ideas, and instead of dismissing them outright, treat them to an objective assessment – all the while encouraging and prodding their millennial mentees to refi ne and rethink.

Recast the image: Millenials and tradition are like opposite polarities. It is no wonder then that a signifi cant number of people from this generation are choosing to be entrepreneurs, and work in offbeat,

References :1. ‘Times Higher Education World University Rankings,’ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/

world-ranking, accessed April 2014.2. ‘Our Higher Education has hit a low: PM Manmohan Singh,’ India today, February 6, 2013, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/

higher-education-in-india-has-hit-a-low-prime-minsiter-manmohan-singh/1/249035.html, accessed April 2014.3. “Higher Education in India at a Glance,” University Grants Commission, February 2012, http://www.ugc.ac.in/ugcpdf/208844_

HEglance2012.pdf, accessed April 2014.4. University of Oxford, ‘What are the Digital Humanities?,’ http://digital.humanities.ox.ac.uk/Support/whatarethedh.aspx, accessed

April 2014.

‘exciting’, professions. A number of my classmates from law school have chosen to be entrepreneurs instead of working in established legal services fi rms or corporate houses. While some have started their own fi rms, others are running successful businesses in travel and hospitality. Unfortunately, academic research is still perceived as traditional and therefore a bit boring. However, it isn’t necessarily so. Some of the most exciting experiences of my life – visiting the Kumbh Mela; seeing how the Jaipur foot is crafted from scratch – have all been in the course of pursuing case research. Research leaders need to think of ways in which they can get Millenials to think of research as a trendy hipster instead of a nerd.


Much attention has been focused in the recent years on the issue leader’s

face when they confront the expectations of Generation Y. As the proportion of Gen Y members in teams increases, this challenge becomes more complex.

As a Generation Y myself let me start by defi ning what we look for in our leaders, and in our work teams. We are confi dent and multicultural, and comfortable with diversity. We are most happy working in teams that are cooperative, where everyone is equal and none is left behind. I recall that when I had initially started working, in my fi rst entry level job, my boss was surprised at my expectations. I thought it was normal to expect my workplace to be creative, fun, and fi nancially rewarding with new opportunities and challenges.Work-life balance is the key: We strive for a balance between work and a good personal life. We have the ability to balance our work and personal space in such a manner that neither of them suffers and both aspects of life complement each other. As a Gen Y, I strongly endorse the statement that says, “I show you love by how hard and smart I work ; not by how long I stick around

in offi ce.” The end result is what matters the most.

Some of the common attributes of Gen Y work to our advantage. Comfort with technology is one often talked about. Helping to put across information in an interesting format while creating information handouts /PowerPoint slides/excel sheets comes naturally to most of us.

The second is communication. There are differences between the ways the older generation and Gen Y communicate the message. Communication across platforms and various modes, formal and informal, has been our strength. Informality in communication, using social media platforms, is used well by Gen Y to personalise outreach to all customers.(Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, etc). This actually strengthens our connections with our customers, and the immediacy and 24 by 7 nature of the connect makes the relationship very special. The customer feels we are always available, and keen to help. The older team members sometimes say to me, “Disha, you should be asleep not replying to emails so late at night” …but

THE LEADER WHOSE TEAM I’LL JOINDISHA MEHRA

About the Author

As a member of the Executive Education team at HBS IRC Disha Mehra’s core area of focus is Client Service. She builds relationships with clients for conversion into program participation. During her stint with HBSIRC she has been instrumental in devising the processes customer relationship management for this region. Disha holds a graduate degree in Law from Mumbai University, a diploma in Human Resource Management and is a Masters in

Commerce from Mumbai University.


for me, checking my email and responding if I can asap is no big deal. It makes me more effective at work, as I have very little backlog to deal with. This enables me to leave on time, and manage to live a life other than only be at work.

I strongly believe that teamwork and collaboration amongst various functions is the key to success for organisations as well as individual teams. Most of my Gen Y colleagues like to keep the bigger objective in mind, and prefer to work as team players, helping each other if needed. The ability to step into various roles helps us in taking on varied roles, be it a leadership role in the temporary absence of a leader or assisting the leader and learning the traits required to prepare for the next level. Of course we also expect others to stretch and extend help to us if needed. Again, as team members, we fi nd it tough to understand hierarchy. I recall sitting in a meeting where a presentation was being made to a very senior person. I spoke my mind. Later an older team member mentioned that it wasn’t expected or required for me to express my views. “Then why include me at all,” I asked. Things have changed though, as the number of Gen Y members increases. If a large part of the team is made up of Gen Y, its easier to infl uence the work place.

It’s often said that young minds are productive and fertile. Believe in learning concepts, and unlearning as well — this aspect helps me to innovate. For

example, I work as a Client Service Specialist. In my role customer interaction place an important part. I believe that Customer Relationship Management is now changing. Customer relationships are about more than making a sale—its about assessing the customer’s needs/requirements and suggesting the optimal solution. I look for ways to personalize my connection with each customer. This is not only limited to a phone call or an email. There are other modes such as Social media/ External Events / Conference and Social Connections. With the help of advanced technology this has become even more competitive and a challenge for the leaders today. The demand is not for face-to-face interaction, but authentic interaction. Hence, a personal touch point is the key to success.

What do Gen Y members expect of those who lead them? Providing flexibility, training opportunities and being fair are critical. In addition, Praise them when they earn it, when they meet/exceed expectations, Provide continuous Feedback for improvement, mentor them and validate their effort and output.

“Change is the Unchanging law of Nature” — workplaces will change. Gen Y infl uence is growing and businesses stand to benefi t greatly from the inclusive, diverse, flexible, and transformational working environment that they will bring to the leadership space.


From the Personal to the Mass

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!” The classic speech

by Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s play exemplifi es the three primary qualities of a leader with outstanding communication skills. Mark Anthony has his audience warm up to him, draws a common thread, and fi nally speaks to collective pride. The world may have gone round the sun a few thousand times since, but these principles remain unchanged - irrespective of time, demographic, language and background. However, the modes, pace and adaptability to deal with these elements have changed: they make use of, in equal parts, technology as well as creativity.

A generation that has been raised on all things fast, easy and instant has little patience for the long-winded. With the average continuous focus attention span of an adult spanning no more than 40 minutes (Dianne Dukette; David Cornish (2009). The Essential 20: Twenty Components of an Excellent Health Care Team), there’s a lot out there vying to grab our eyeballs. Only the other day, I grumbled to a senior advertising industry veteran about the

time and effort I had invested in my last professional assignment (of nine months). I received a stern reprimand from my mentor . He was quick to label me and the rest of those who fall in my age group, as impatient. “We have turned into a people who cannot wait for results, who expect a chief minister of 6 months to churn out miracles!” he said .

We are a nation that boasts of more than half its population falling in the under-40 age bracket. While that means more of us are willing to learn and work hard towards excellence, very few get direction. The patience levels of the majority are also lower than the previous generation and therefore we often miss key messages in the clutter that comes to us. This phenomenon is unlikely to change in a hurry, unless leaders organise and tweak communication strategy aimed at Gen Y. The good news is that well crafted communication can create sustained impact with youth for long-term action. From my vantage point – of a Gen Y leader in the communication arena – I see a plethora of opportunities opening up, awaiting exploration, and exploitation of the full potential of our audiences’ impatience.

THE LEAD VOICEPRIYANCA VAISHNAV

About the Author

Priyanca Vaishnav manages internal and corporate communications at Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd. With 6+ years across journalism, advertising, corporate communication and public relations, Priyanca’s previous stints include L&T, Times of India, and Madison PR. She is an MA in English from the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.

“


Trending ‘NEW’ News

Youth today chooses abridged news (headlines in 140 characters on Twitter, for example) instead of skimming through reams of data in print or electronic newspapers. However doling out a rehashed idea or not checking if it’s been done before can offend the Gen Y audience. In any case, you cannot dupe an audience of a billion! Communication across platforms must refl ect research; if the news is repeated, adding an individual perspective on to the item and presenting it with greater fi nesse should be the aim. If well done, the audience will disseminate the message, re-Tweeting, forwarding or sharing it on Facebook, adding photos and comments.

If the short cut is resorted to, word about inanities such as Sonam Kapoor’s statements on her latest appearance on Koffee With Karan (Robert deNiro said “An eye for an eye…”) will also spread like wild fi re. The message is a direct refl ection on the actress’s brand credibility, not so much the interviewer’s. In the case of consumer products and services, the digital platform is the easiest way to garner eyeballs from the company’s communication team. Overworked customer care representatives are no more blamed – the tardiness is almost always the fault of the collective brand image. Communication in the b2c space has to be prompt and conceding, not condescending. Then rebranding and new positioning campaigns also stand undone.

For that matter, reworking an idea that has worked in the past can serve as a good example to emulate. It may even turn out to be a cost saver if learned from and refi ned. Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not just put it to better use?

For example, Vikhroli Skin, a ‘pop-up’ event by Godrej India Culture Lab essentially followed the trend of an increasingly popular model popularised

by Karen Anand’s Kitsch Mandi. Anand has conducted a few one-day sales of organically grown raw food and products prepared from such food in Pune and Mumbai. The idea is simply that of collaboration. NGOs, small-time entrepreneurs, organizations of some magnitude, and celebrities gather at this one day event and much interaction and exchange of ideas occurs. Karen sources her vendor-participants via email and Twitter.

The Godrej,India Culture Lab already had a database of potential participants. Their ‘Vikhroli Skin’ art-music-science-fun event attracted crowds by the thousands. Not only was it widely spoken about on digital platforms thanks to all the creativity (Twitter/ Facebook/ Instagram, primarily), but it also garnered much unpaid press coverage.

The messaging was in line with Godrej’s overarching social responsibi l i ty philosophy, and all communication was diligently put out. Checking for


contradictions, and adding to older messaging is the sign of incisive communication that aims towards building credibility and brand loyalty of its audience.

As a representative of the brand, as well as a respected persona in the culture preservation space, Head of Godrej India Culture Lab - Parmesh Shahani’s own web presence created amplifi ed the message many times over. Godrej debuted into the ‘fun’ community initiatives space with a bang.

Finding the Right Tone

One of the most common mistakes we make in writing or speaking to the Gen Y mass audience, as a communication leader, is condescension. This attitude can come through in the use of complex language or the words used. Going to the other extreme – of simplicity- can seem rather patronizing as well. Acknowledge your audience is worldy-wise even while you educate them.Sentences that are short and easy to read with simple language appeal to a young audience. Of course, easy regional translations support the cause better. Not only are these signs of engaging communication, but also of empathy and initiative. Much like video, even written communication requires scripting – a sort of structure where data is translated into knowledge effectively. Innovative visual representation - graphs, tables, images, sketches or digital illustrations -is a popular and effective tool that supports this translation in modern communication.

Arvind Agrawal, CEO, Atherstone Investor Communications Limited (AICL) exemplifies this. A strategic communications consultancy in the niche communication arena, AICL produces (concept, design and copy) annual reports during ‘season’ (FY ending March and December), apart from designing reviews and brochures.

As a qualifi ed chartered accountant and published writer in one of India’s oldest English dailies, Agrawal already had a fair idea of logic and placement of copy. In his entrepreneurial venture of close to a decade now, Agrawal employs


some of the best design sensibilities to incorporate refi ned visual representations and imagery that separates reams of text into bite sized information represented by graphs and simple yet attractive vector elements. Having worked with Agrawal on a season’s worth of reports myself, I learned the importance of rendering data and supporting the written word visually, while using a logical and well thought out script.

Digit-All

When I was fi rst asked to write this piece, the guest editor asked me a simple question – “How would you communicate to the youth of India?” I jumped to “digital” without a blink. However, the blurt did deserve a second thought. I did some math: Internet penetration in the country may not have crossed even 16% of the population yet (Times of India, Nov 13, 2013, web story). Internet usage is largely driven by mobile users, which amount to about 110 million (recent report released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) and IMRB). 60% of this user base resides in the cities. However, a whopping 25 million is contained by rural areas. 42% of this 25 mn prefer reading in local languages and therefore

the prevalent English language content is an underestimated hurdle.

When one looks at the bright side, these numbers represent a beacon of hope for the immediate future. Since the report also foresees a staggering addition of 43 mn by June 2014 to the total internet user base, this represents a huge opportunity for wider communication dissemination. However, the fairly significant rural internet user number illustrates that key opinion leaders and change drivers aren’t exclusive products of the cities. Those living in rural areas, whether by choice or by compulsion, deal with basic issues such as availability of electricity and existence of the broadband fi bre network. Identifying and reaching infl uencers for this segment is an ongoing challenge.

While social media lends itself aptly to younger audiences (almost 82 mn active users in India on Facebook alone), older audiences prefer only email, print and other conventional (or akin to) modes of communications. And this variety in audience is precisely the reason for communicators to integrate messaging media in their strategy design. Catering to a minority non-internet-user population is a priority even in the 80% internet savvy USA.


Virtual Live Events

Mass live & semi-live experiences at music concerts, college fests, multiplexes, theatre, sports arenas have become the norm. From gladiator challenges to operatic concertos to cock fi ghts, homo sapiens enjoy a good spectacle. Several FMCG brands have taken a leaf from this practice. Brands that can, choose to speak to their stakeholders by creating opportunities where the Gen Y mass can directly see proof of product performance, or invite media, sometimes exclusively, to fi rst buy the claim, and then be the infl uencers for the masses to make decisions on consumption. Whether it is the launch of a new mosquito repellent or a Grammy award winning rock band visiting the country for the fi rst time, legacy thinking is that no virtual experience can match the magic of body language and the trust established by eye contact.

However with fast internet broadband connections reaching more and more citizens, this live experience has been replicated so people connect with their idols – hear & see them live through webcasts. Google Hangouts has opened

the space further by allowing three-way interaction on the platform – so participants can speak to the celebrity as well as others in this virtual ‘audience’.

The Challenge and Opportunity of Video Reach

With high quality digitisation at the helm of every broadcast, recorded content can be distributed to internet video providers as well as mobile network providers. This adaptability translates into the ease and fl exibility of accessing content via any platform, upto any length (easy to edit and often open to edit), at one’s own convenience. No wonder then, that Netfl ix is known to have more subscribers than any cable network in the United States! Broadband connections are increasing in numbers in more cities, including tier two and three. This pervasiveness, combined with continuously upgraded infrastructure contributes to binge viewing – a phenomena that contributes to almost 15% of total internet video viewing across the globe. If tapped upon via better and widespread infrastructural development,


this insatiable appetite for bespoke viewing may be addressed with qualitative programming targeted at Gen Y.

The private sector in India actively engages in high-risk, high-return ventures to bridge the gap left by the public sector whilst cautiously setting up fi bre networks in high feasibility and optimal consumption areas. As the private sector fi nds more takers, and further sets up infrastructure, the industry has been able to lower costs incurred, and translate the benefi t to the customer, thus starting a vicious cycle of demand and supply, heavily dependent on content and the price at which it is made available.

While infrastructural availability and costs are matters to be resolved between individual networks and regulatory bodies, content quality has been widely rated based on production fi nesse and emotional appeal. With the nation’s urban youth aggressively defying all things regressive, issues ranging from women’s safety, national security, restrictions on social behaviour and personal choices have found several takers - serious or humourous, well edited or amateur attempts. We have emerged from the shadows of our predecessors’ attitude of N-I-M-B-Y - not in my back yard - and look forward to evolved video content as close as is possible to experience change fi rst hand.

Fluid Adaptability

Gaurav Jain , Producer of Illusion Interactive, told me in a Twitter conversation, “Video is the future of communication.” Through the Twitter interaction, we discussed the fl uid adaptability of video to several platforms. Even hitherto static-image oriented social media forums now support the video function . The brand marketing fraternity in the FMCG market has adopted the proven credibility of videos as the next best

thing to the ‘real deal’. Television and print advertisements come at a high cost, while brand mentions or profi le news pieces can get tricky on account of repetition. Branded multi-platform videos however, are a great sign of preparedness of the communicator. Present day smartphones, tablets and other smaller handheld devices pack in GPRS, 3G as well as WiFi drivers to allow easy transition between social media, internet-based free messaging & calling services, and email to share or exchange information. Finding something interesting instantly translates into sharing. If an interesting piece of communication is adaptable to several platforms (PCs/ laptops, tablets as well as mobile – at least iOS and Android), the likelihood of it being shared across a second hand audience is higher. In that, it forms a chain of infl uencers who will endorse the ideas or messaging on social platforms.

Virality

As a topic one relates to, or just a great conversation starter, such communication pieces (images, articles, videos) hold high value. This “infection (that) usually comes from evoked emotions that spur the viewer to share” (Elise Moreau, ‘What Does It Mean to Go Viral Online?’, About.com) is termed as a viral piece of communication. No communication is born that way, however there are means and ways to achieve it. In my agency experience (both, advertising and public relations), the client has often demanded ‘viral videos’. We struggle to explain that videos or images or memes happen to become viral because of the right strategy combined with rich content and well presented & edited production values.

A communication property may go viral quickly if a story is told or a message delivered effectively. It began with the entertainment space exploring the video medium to gain popularity – the Korean


Gangnam Style video being a famous example. Rebecca Black, the American teen pop music sensation is a classic example of Youtube virality. All she did was post songs of hers with videos of rudimentary production value. The songs themselves had simple lyrics and received a phenomenal number of shares in a matter of days. How Virality works, no one has been able to pin down, so claims of tricks and tips to ensure this are better viewed with some scepticism. However there are ways and means to track this, and this tracking yields statistics that can be analysed, and learned from.

The obsession of most Indians with fair skin was exploited in the form of a fairness cream spoof by a popular stand-up comic. This went wildly viral in a matter of minutes through a post on Twitter. The original 1.24-minute video on Youtube garnered close to 60000 views in 24 hours. People saw this video on their laptops, tablets, mobile phones. The record number of shares that this video received has been attributed to the fact that it taps into a deep culutral context, and was adaptable across mediums. Digital videos must be adaptable across screens (mobile, tablets, computers, and even multiplex screens) in preparation for virality. Adaptability merely ensures that should the message resonate with many, the communicator is ready and prepared for wide spread sharing. Identifying what will create

resonanace is still largely uncharted territory.

Broadcast

Picture this: of the 150 mn tv owning households in India (FICCI Media Report 2014), 77 mn subscribe to cable tv. Between 6000 multi-system operators, the digitised cable tv revenue is swiftly and smoothly growing, opening up a la carte menu of channels to the end user. The highly aware young consumer also sees return on investment as a huge incentive to consume more meaningful programming. This investment is no more limited to capital - it encompasses time and talent too, in the case of those who choose to create innovative video content for tv and the internet. Intellectual stimulation is thus extensively sought after at the points of both, supplier/ creator as well as consumer/ recipient.

Perhaps behavioral psychologists will evolve a rejoinder to my observation – viewers of recorded live performances tend to mimic audience reaction – they often end up experiencing at least some of the euphoria of a live audience even when they see it inside a video. Whether live music, literary readings, wildlife exploration, award ceremonies, news reports or product demonstrations, the immediate mass reaction is governed by the experience. Once the quality of video is supervised to perfection, other factors are largely cerebral in nature.

Integrate

With a view to reach out to a wider audience, most urban brands often adapt their online campaigns with some on-ground activities for tv and print to amplify their messaging further. Apart from the language barrier that inhibits several regional users, the complexity of gadgets can also throw off several potential consumers.


I recall, in my fi rst full-time professional assignment, being reprimanded by my supervisor, an educated man of (then) 54, for spending too much time browsing the internet. It took me a while to realize that the internet, even six years down the line, is perceived as ‘fun’ and a ‘Gen Y time waster’, the use of which needs to be controlled, managed, and in some cases prevented during the work day. When I grumbled, my parents counseled me to be patient- they shared that in their time, use of telephones was restricted- there was only one land line, which usually was on the boss’s table, and personal calls were NOT permitted, except in a dire emergency! Resistance to change is normal; but as a Gen Y leader I feel that the pervasive suspicion of the addictiveness

of the internet in the older leaders is counter-productive. What is ironical is that a medium like the internet that cashes in on people’s swiftly reducing attention spans is scorned in India over a decade into the 21st century.

Connect

To know how to speak to an audience is only about half the job done. In a country of well over a billion, the need to know the subconscious concerns of your audience is vital. With elections in full swing across India, concerns, beyond smartphones and sex, surface vehemently and frequently among the young people that reside in India – over 70% of India’s population (below 35 years of age) (Census 2011), and one fi fth of the world’s total youth. (The Economist, 10th February 2014, “Our poll of young Indians: A New Generation”).

To assess the enormity of the clash between the old and the new India, The Economist teamed up with a leading mobile phone messaging platform, called Nimbuzz, to quiz young Indians and fi nd out what they think. The exercise is planned to be repeated each month until the national election in May. The first round of questioning was conducted in January, and the results published in an article on the 10th of February 2014.


In the recent past, some of the most successful campaigns (Unilever’s Lifebuoy Handwash campaign, or MTV’s Rock The Vote series, All India Bakchod’s It’s My Fault video or even Acorn Foundation’s Dharavi Project.) have also been about social awareness. Irrespective of whether or not they are branded, they have had

audiences and viewers think about whats socially relevant.

At the end, it is safe to say, that a leader who wants to speak to the youth today, needs a multitasking brain. The successful communicator to this audience not only thinks of the subject, but also its backdrop, etymology, context, appeal, tools and strategy in order to optimise response for the resources invested. One size or product does not fi t all demographics. Customisation is key. It is okay to copy a model, so long as you either acknowledge it or bring a novel fl avour to it – which, in itself can be a modest tribute to the original. Thorough knowledge of numbers and scalability of your strategy can enhance the effectiveness of your communication strategy.

The path is clear. The pulse, throbbing. Craft your message, bring out your best voice, throw it across the halls of the digital world, and reach the amphitheatres of hearts and minds of Gen Y.


Fact: 65% of pre-school children today will be employed in jobs and careers

that do not currently exist

Fact: The top ten jobs that were most in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004

Fact: By 2015, the Millennials, which is another moniker for our demographic cohort, will be 50% of the workforce, worldwide.

Technology for us is not just an addiction. It is what drives us, and what we use to discover and comprehend the world. In India itself, we have over 900 million mobile phones and we are second only to China. By June 2014, it has been predicted that we are going to have over 185 million mobile-phone based internet users. As tech entrepreneurs, if we have a solid idea and are able to execute it well, we will be able to transform these lives, rapidly and at scale.

As Millennials, we are also global citizens, and we are only tethered to our wanderlust. We want to visit every country, and we want to travel as much as we can. We

live, engage and learn visually. For us, it is cool to be smart, and to be able to put those smarts to use. We are at the helm of a society that lionizes intelligence, whether it is innate, acquired or artifi cial.

Technology, then, helps us to assimilate large amounts of information quickly, so that we can better leverage what we know to make the world a better place. Business for us is not just about earning an income, it is genuinely about how we can make use of our own strengths, and fi nd synergies with the strength of others, to improve and impact society at large. In India, we have a rather large number of problems that need solving, rooted in operational ineffi ciencies. It is wondrous to see how an increasing number of entrepreneurs are coming up with a slew of innovative, market-based solutions that profoundly transform lives and empower societies. In the social sector, there is a surge in investing in rural companies that use new technologies to tackle problems around access to healthcare, clean water,

GOING DIGITAL: GENERATION Y AND OUR FUTURE IN THE ONLINE SPACE IN INDIA

GAARGI RAMAKRISHNAN

About the Author

Gaargi Ramakrishnan is the Co-Founder of Findable.in. Not only is she the Co-Founder and Co-President of the Harvard Club of Mumbai, but also the Executive Secretary of the Young Women’s Wing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Gaargi worked with UNICEF as a State Consultant in Maharashtra, developing a training module on entrepreneurial skills for adolescent girls.


sanitation, renewable energy, and better logistics and delivery mechanisms. In the retail sector, e-commerce companies like Flipkart and Jabong are penetrating rural markets far more rapidly than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

So rather than accepting the rules in front of us, prima facie, we would like to make our own. A clear symptom of our ever-growing autonomy can be seen in the fact that an increasing number of business school students from top schools abroad, who were sponsored by top companies to earn their MBA degrees, are choosing to pay their employers back, so that they can change industry and/or function, or start something of their own. Another symptom is the increasing number of students from top college and graduate programs abroad that are returning to India to lead change and build from the ground up here.

This is, then, a great time to be an entrepreneur in India, particularly in the technology space. Not only are startups gaining traction in terms of employment demand among young college recruits, but families are also beginning to support their loved ones as they establish or work for startups. This is largely a new phenomenon, as I still remember that in 2011, my usually-not-so-traditional South Indian family, would refer to my professional qualifi cations as ‘Co-President of the Harvard Club of Mumbai’ (a voluntary position), and not as ‘Co-Founder’ of Findable.in (my offi cial employment credentials), when asked by curious neighbors, friends and colleagues. Findable.in is an online and app-based product locator, which helps you fi nd a wide range of products you want in stores near you. It was not until they visited our Mumbai offi ce, after we opened offi ces in Mumbai and New Delhi, till we had over 15 employees, and till I patiently took them through the website and the beta versions of the app, that they considered this to

be a fruitful endeavor. It is great to see a marked change in the widening familial acceptance of choosing roads that, earlier, were often discouraged from being taken.

Not only is there more demand for jobs at startups, but there is also a burgeoning and now almost robust infrastructure around the startup ecosystem. We have a smorgasbord of investors and capacity-building entities to help startups take off. From early stage venture funds and angel investors, to large scale venture capital and private equity funding, there are plenty of people willing to take a chance on a talented individual with a solid idea. More importantly, there are also a large number of incubators and accelerators, particularly growing on college campuses across the country, that help students get their ideas off the ground and that provide experienced help with operational and strategic constraints. There is also a wide range of supporting infrastructure, in the form of shared offi ce space rental options, special bank accounts, and companies that specialize in design, technology, human resources and legal matters for startups.

My experiences at the frontlines of the entrepreneurial landscape have also made me acutely aware of the gaps and challenges of the sector. Although there is a strong confl uence of opportunity, entrepreneurism, money and slowly changing government policies, there is still a dearth in the number of contextually informed businesses that are able to get past the constraints and connect the dots. So here are a few reasons why, and what I have learned and tried to do to solve these problems.

(a) Finding the right talent

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” ~ Jack Welch


To be able to build the right technology, we need to fi rst invest in the right people. Even though the rules of the game are changing, and there are younger generations that are interested in taking that leap of faith with a small company, seasoned professionals and qualifi ed executives often do not want to give up their lifestyles and income levels to work at a startup, unless they are starting up their own. So world-class entrepreneurs at the Founder level in India are rather ubiquitous, but fi nding the right talent the middle and lower rungs of company hierarchy is extremely challenging. Not only is it diffi cult to fi nd the right talent at these levels, but it is even harder to keep them motivated.

What worked for us: Hiring bright, young students from top schools that are innately hungry because they need the experience to pursue graduate programs (so they are more interested in getting the right learning experience and our recommendations than in a large salary), and getting interns with similar backgrounds and intentions. We also invested in smart people that have a strong work ethic, and that are hungry to shift industry and/or function. When you give someone the opportunity to shift, you are training them up in that space (since they do not come in with any direct experience), and inherently, it is easier to earn and retain their loyalty. They not only bring in a different and valuable perspective, but we also found it easier to train talent to learn than to unlearn. This recruiting strategy of focusing on hiring junior employees that are already intrinsically motivated ended up working out very well for us.

(b) Bureaucracy

Our senior management spends a signifi cant proportion of time on legal, tax and compliance issues, which in itself, carries a large opportunity cost. This is time that could be better spent on increasing

operational nimbleness and developing and executing better user acquisition strategies. We need a tectonic shift in governmental policy and in the execution of these policies for startups to become speedier, and to soar higher. However, given that these are external factors that are largely outside of our locus of control, we try to fi nd solutions to work alongside these constraints.

What works for us: This is where jugaad innovation becomes invaluable. We consistently try to fi nd creative operational, technical and strategic solutions to better use the time we have, to counteract the almost inevitable amount of time that needs to be spent on red tape.

(c) Content & information asymmetry

‘Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected’ – Steve Jobs

For the longest time, brands used to create and disseminate clear communication strategies on what the brand was about and what it stood for. Since the internet began consistently delivering, consumers are extremely knowledgeable not only on the products of a particular brand, but on the products of its competitors. The asymmetry is now skewed towards the consumer, whose ever-changing demands mean we have to come up with content that suits these demands just as quickly.

Outside of Bollywood and cricket, one of the biggest gaps in the online space is indigenous, quality content. Given the inundating number of players in the online content market, it is diffi cult to fathom that this would be the case. However, there are only a handful of players that are able to provide credible, consolidated, original, and functional content that is also able to keep users consistently engaged. Creating this type of content is extremely labor-


and cost-intensive, and is also often not prioritized heavily enough.

What works for us: Aesthetics and content matter. Pay attention towards and money for creativity. We invested in a high quality graphic designer, as well as solid content experts. Our blog, for instance (blog.fi ndable.in), is one of our greater success stories – it has visually strong and well-written content, it has helped us consistently pique the interest of our users, and has also been a strong driver of users to the website.

(d) Balancing Customer Acquisition and Retention

One of the biggest challenges is balancing our focus on building a new user base with managing our existing user. Given that we are severely resource limited in terms of both labor and marketing budgets, it is extremely diffi cult to achieve the right balance.

Today, we are also constrained by the fact that this is a new generation of internet users in India, and a lot of users and companies still do not have the dexterity that is largely present in Silicon Valley. We have to consistently evangelize our product. In terms of marketing, on the user acquisition side in the current operating context, venture capital and private equity money in online retail is being largely spent on extravagant marketing budgets. E-commerce companies are pumping crores into online and ATL user acquisition campaigns, and the winner is going to be the company that can sustain this spending pattern the longest.

What works for us: In terms of customer acquisition, we spend less on online marketing, and try to fi nd and invest in creative ways to have this grow organically. We then try to maintain a fl uid two-way approach to marketing, with campaigns that are relevant and dynamic, and that

consistently keeps the users engaged. In terms of business development, we have curtailed the categories and geographic areas we are focusing on, so we are able to effectively build new relationships while paying attention to our existing users and retailers.

(e) Going outside of the box to build and manage retailer relationships

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

In India, there has been a signifi cant change in the technological infrastructure of organized retail. However, basic software like centralized point-of-sales (POS) systems is currently understood by only a few technical personnel that know how to wield this technology. There is also some sort of Chinese wall between the technical teams and marketing teams in larger companies, which makes it diffi cult to fi nd the right person to talk to. We then have to educate business development and marketing personnel from a large number of these retailers on the rather expansive limits of the technology they already have in place. This is a time-consuming, labor-intensive endeavor. However, we took comfort in the fact that even Google has to do it. I recently went for a seminar on marketing strategies for SMEs, and we had a representative from Google talk about the benefi ts of using YouTube to reach out to target audiences. In the west, Google is evangelizing its new products like Google Glass, but in India they are still evangelizing one of their most basic and popular products – YouTube.

What works for us: Where interests align, and for relationships that matter to us the most, we pursue these relationships doggedly, and monitor them closely. We also expose ourselves to as many different networking and learning forums as


humanly possible. This not only helps us with acquiring more retailers and users, but it also helps us with expanding our circle of ideas and identifying strategic partnerships. We focus on networking down, not just up, and on connecting and aligning interests between our stakeholders. We try not to gate keep our relationships (except to respect and protect the privacy of our retailers), and we try to facilitate fruitful relationships, which usually end up having high future rewards. We also try to exert infl uence by having a value proposition that is tough for retailers to refuse.

(f) Prioritizing what you want to do most with your product

Finding the right direction for a viable product is inherently diffi cult. There are usually a lot of choices and often not enough information available to make the right choice. We cannot even stand on the shoulders of giants, as the operating context for the tech industry in India is so new. There are not enough mentors available to guide us on such matters, given the nascence of the industry.

What has worked for us: With Findable.in, we learned to focus on one aspect of the product, and to get it right. We had the choice of being:

(a) a discovery-utility site and app, which simply lists products and provides users information on the availability of those products, or

(b) A community-based, information marketplace model where users share recently bought products and favorite brands and trends with each other. Users would also have access to experts on the products and trends in the categories of those products.

We chose (a). We wanted to have a clear communication message (‘fi nd products in stores near you’) and have a clear call to action (get information on the product, order from their online store, and fi nd/call/get directions to the closest store). We picked three stark pain points to tackle with this information: (a) users want to browse what’s actually available in stores near them, (b) they know what they want but they do not know where to get it, (c) they want to know whether a product is in stock or not.

We developed the website and the app so that the users could get this information. We are then consistently trying to improve the user interface to maximize effi cient use and the delivery of correct information.

In Conclusion

By singularly focusing on our product fi rst, and making sure we are consistently delivering on our brand promise, we have slowly increased our user base, signifi cantly increased our retailer base, and we look forward to transforming the way people shop not just in India, but globally.

I would like to sign off with the words of one of the greatest philosophers of our time. These words embody my generation’s unrelenting optimism about the future of a better world, and our role in achieving it:

‘You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.’ - Dr. Seuss, Oh! The Places You’ll Go!


Are you sure we can do this?” was the echoing voice in the room when I

presented my Business Plan to the India Leadership in my fi rst year of leading the team. My plan proposed that we double the size of a particular account by going after very high value global business. However, it would mean that we might lose our stronghold over some India businesses, a few that we had held for a couple of decades.

A year later, we had delivered 146% growth and had created a high-impact network on the account, which opened up the possibility of discontinuous growth for the next decade.

In my view, this great comfort with exponential change is at the heart of Gen-Y leadership. As Gen-Y leaders, we add greatest value to our organizations by imagining and creating a new reality

that was previously considered diffi cult or unachievable.

In Asia, when we Gen-Y leaders joined the workforce, job security and abundant opportunity was already on the table and this made us unafraid of fi nding our own remarkable life trajectories. We were burdened with much less bureaucracy and red tape than any generation before us and this took away our cynicism. In contrast, we started our careers with a great sense of possibility, because of what Clay Shirky calls the ‘Cognitive Surplus’.

To paraphrase, Shirky notes that in a connected age of social media, we are no longer limited to our own environments for inspiration, creative action and the feedback loop. As a leader, I have personally benefited a lot from this Cognitive Surplus. In learning leadership, business and marketing, I always had

GEN-Y LEADERS: THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’

SIDDHARTH KANORIA and SHAGUN SETH

About the Authors

Siddharth Kanoria is a Vice President at Quantum Consumer Solutions, a research and consulting partner to global brands like Unilever and PepsiCo. Siddharth is responsible for taking on game-changing mandates from clients across the world, especially projects that have a strong future focused lens. He leads a team of 25 researchers in Quantum’s Mumbai offi ce.

Shagun Seth is an Associate Manager at Quantum Consumer Solutions and is a strong advocate of psychology and travel to unlock powerful consumer insight. Shagun works with global clients on hybrid projects that bring together multiple research disciplines towards game-changing insight. Shagun leads projects teams and is responsible for the delivery of high quality research.


physical access to stalwarts in my company and industry. But unlike any leader before me, as I learnt the ropes of leadership, I had access to the philosophy and actions of Seth Godin, Steve Jobs and Clay Shirky as well.

It was not always smooth sailing. Most of us in Gen-Y went through really rough waters in our early years. Our imaginations were at a different plane than the reality and ambitions of our organizations and we found ourselves in positions of limited power and influence. Those who are successful Gen-Y leaders today understood how to navigate through the resistance of the status quo, despite the challenge.

Early on, we realized that tact would matter more than a loud call for change. Most of us found evangelists who would further our cause on our behalf and convert others in the organization. We slowly built the critical mass and learnt the value of shooting the breeze. In communicating our intent, we had to master one-on-one conversations before we specialized in public announcements at Town Hall meetings.

Successful leaders tried to change a small part rather than change a large whole at one time. While our generation has often been called impatient, those of us who succeeded were patient with small change and worked with persistence towards the eventual sea change.

We demonstrated our philosophy through our ability and created tangible and meaningful impact. For instance, when I wanted the organization to move towards catching the big-fi sh, I fi rst went and caught a couple of them myself and when large numbers were on the monthly reports, they spoke on my behalf.

Needless to say, there is frustration in the early years of a Gen-Y leader. Every no is resounding and sounds like a broken

dream. Naysayers in senior positions cause the greatest angst. The only ones who are worse are those who are hierarchy conscious and put down an idea only because it comes from ‘someone junior’ or someone who does not understand ‘how things have always been done’.

As a result of this initiation, Gen-Y leaders have adopted a few principles that they live by:

Breakdown of the Power Distance: Gen-Y leaders assume that there are no walls and no rigid compartments within which leadership needs to be classified. We have little regard for the power distance that authority brought for the previous generation. For instance, it is important to me that the jokes about me should not need to be clandestine and there is healthy banter and camaraderie. This breakdown of walls is not just directed downwards. Even with their own bosses, Gen-Y expects more open and informal relationships, even if the ‘oldies’ are not ready for it yet.

Openness and Diversity: There is also a great sense of openness and diversity encouraged by Gen-Y leaders. I believe that the most critical dimension of team building is working with other interesting people and I am constantly looking for talent with different backgrounds and unique skill sets. There is a tendency in any team to reject those who are not like them and Gen-Y leaders need to bring diversity together with their own openness. My ideal team is one where no two-team members are alike. Today, my team is an eclectic mix of people with different backgrounds, educational profi les and interests. I believe that when the gay activist, the psychologist and the aspiring herpetologist collaborate, groundbreaking work is produced.

A fl uid notion of work-life balance: With digital technology, the demarcation between work and non-work spaces has broken down for Gen-Y leaders. A critical


unifi er is following your passion, both at work and outside of work. On a daily basis, I fi nd myself practicing this fl uid notion of work-life balance and I allow my team to practice it as well. For example, I would encourage my team member to go to her dance class on Friday night and send me the report on Saturday instead. I believe that such pursuit of passion creates greater self-enrichment in each individual, and they bring this back to the team. The intermingling of work, social and leisure spaces also creates a close-knit team.

Not just about money: Gen-Y leaders recognize that much like them, their teams are demanding and impatient about their reward. In every one of my team members, I see that while the promise of future growth is exciting, it means little if they cannot start seeing it today. A bigger paycheck no longer does the job either. Today, travel opportunities, company culture, the quality and energy of the offi ce space are not good-to-have values but can be potential deal-breakers. As the team gets diverse, my challenges increase exponentially because each person is motivated in a unique way and one-size-does-not-fi t-all.

So, why is Gen-Y’s style of leadership important today?

Rapid pace of change: The business environment is changing at a pace more rapid and dynamic than ever before. For instance, marketing is becoming either lean and efficient or Big Hairy (and) Audacious. The middle road is no longer one of opportunity and is not a place where growth comes from. In this environment, organizations need those who thrive in change and can lead initiatives of change.

As Bob Dylan said it “Gather ‘round people, wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown, and accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone, if your time to you is worth

savin’, then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’”

Non-conformity in business: There is a greater appreciation of non-conformity in the world of business and management. Organizations are realizing that those who challenge the status quo are creating the greatest value. This is especially true in the world of marketing where creative self-expression is more valued than process-adherence. In this environment, we need leaders who can be fl exible with rules and are only happy to reinvent. For instance, I have often questioned the fundamental pillars of global brands and the business models of my client’s organizations and this has initiated the beginnings of change in their brand vision that will fructify at its own pace.

A simple evidence of non-conformity in business and leadership is witnessed in the grooming and persona of a leader. In a traditional country like Russia, one of my business partners told me “You can go to the Opera in Jeans. It is OK. In Russia now, only clerks and bankers wear suits. In the marketing business, the more senior you are, the more informal, expressive and creative your dressing needs to be.”

Propelling a global consciousness: As our world gets more global, we need leaders who are more global as well. Unlike the previous generation, Gen-Y leaders do not bring any baggage of racial disadvantage to a global stage. For instance, I work with global clients with a culture and ethic that is professional, creative and global and in this scenario, being Indian or Asian is only one of my traits.

As an Italian backpacker friend of mine noted: “Today, being racist is the biggest disadvantage you can have. With all the money in Emerging Markets and with colleagues, friends and potential bosses across the world, operating on a truly


global level is critical for every nationality in the world if they want to thrive. The older generation on either side of the racism divide does not get this change.”

There is a common sentiment in the older generation that Gen-Y is diffi cult to work with. However, change was never meant to be easy. In my view, organizations that encourage Gen-Y leadership find the greatest success in the new dynamic reality. In 1997, when Gen-Y was in its teenage years, Steve Jobs summed it up in the famous Think Different ad:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfi ts. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”


I don’t have any advice for Generation Y on leadership; I only have stories and

learning from my own life to offer. I am still, and will always be, learning to lead.

There’s a story of a young man called Hulio who was walking down a street on a cold, winter night and got accosted by a robber. The robber took out a knife and asked for his wallet, and Hulio reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and handed it over. As the robber turned to leave, Hulio said, “Wait. You’ve forgotten something”. As the robber turned back, Hulio said, “It’s a cold night, and if you are going to be out all night robbing people why don’t you take my coat, too”. The robber took the coat that Hulio handed him, and again turned to leave. When he had gone a little distance, Hulio called out to him once again. “Hey. There’s a little restaurant down the road. You must be hungry. Do you want to go with me to get something to eat?” Miraculously, the robber nodded, and they walked together to the little place, sat across from each other, chatted, and had dinner. At the end of their meal, Hulio looked at the robber. “I’d love to buy you dinner,” he said, “but you have my wallet”. Smiling, the robber took out

LEADERSHIP IN GENERATION YSHAHEEN MISTRI

About the Author

Shaheen Mistri The Founder and CEO of Teach For India, Shaheen Mistri is accredited as an Ashoka Fellow (2001), a Global Leader for Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum (2002), an Asia Society 21 Leader (2006). She is the Founder of the Akanksha Foundation. She serves on the boards of Ummeed, and The Thermax Social Initiatives Foundation; and also prominent as a committee member for the National Council for Teacher Education.

Hulio’s wallet, and slid it across the table. “And there’s one more thing” said Hulio. “I’d like your knife too.” Without a word, the robber slid his knife across the table too. And they both went their separate ways.

Hulio represents to me the type of leadership Generation Y needs to have. He believes that the world needs to change and become better, but he understands that all he can change and make better is himself. He knows himself, has conviction in what he believes and has cultivated great compassion and courage. His acts are small, but their ripples are far-reaching and resilient. He does not act to teach, or show, or get. He acts to be.

Leadership, as I’m learning, is about learning to be.

I started my journey at 18, with a big dream that all children deserved an excellent education and with the conviction that I could change the world. Two decades later, having founded Akanksha and Teach For India, I feel even more conviction about that dream, but I’ve learned that each step I take is not about changing the world, but about changing myself. My questions are evolving. I used to ask “What do I want


to do?” Over time my question became “Where can I have the greatest impact?” and then evolved to “Who do I need to be to work towards this dream that I have?” From looking for the big thing that will change things, I’ve started to believe in little things – the belief that what I do now, in this moment, matters. That all I can control is my actions in this moment, and that the collection of my actions will make up my journey.

I have come to believe that three things are really important in leadership.

The fi rst is the commitment to my own personal transformation; the belief in a constant, often difficult process of understanding myself and taking small steps to become more of the person that I want to be. It is learning to pick up the mirror when anything goes wrong, whether I’m a part of why or not, to ask the question “What will I do about it?”

The second is a commitment to something bigger than me. For me, this is a commitment to doing what I can to maximize human potential through education. What you commit to is secondary, but that you commit is important.

The third a commitment to collective action. The belief that alone there is very little I can do but if we work together, with a common purpose and pure intention, there is little we cannot achieve.

This is what I think about when I lead. I think about an India where all children attain an excellent education. I think about how we can work together to make this happen. I think about what I need to change in myself to stay on this journey.

A commitment to learning has been at the center of all of this. For me, my 27,000 Akanksha and Teach For India children have been my greatest teachers. When they’ve exceeded my expectations they taught me that I should have believed

more. When they’ve shared huge personal strife, the kind that no child should have, I’ve learned to have a little more courage. When they’ve taken diffi cult decisions and been guided by personal integrity, I’ve been pushed to live with more integrity.

I remember years ago my daughter Samara was in a three-legged race as part of her sports day. She was tall, and her best friend much shorter than her, and they wanted to do the race together. I remember asking her why she didn’t choose another girl, closer to her height, so that she’d be more likely to win. I’ll never forget her words to me. “Mama, what’s more important? Winning, or your best friend?” She was ten.

I’ve learned tremendous lessons from my Akanksha and Teach For India team over the years as well.

A few years ago, I was invited to drop by on a Sunday movie day at my Akanksha teacher Anjali’s home. Her twenty-fi ve students were huddled in a bedroom, watching “the Kite Runner”, one of three movies they were going to see that day. There was popcorn and pizza, and I remember leaving feeling like Anjali and her husband Neel have really made these children their children. In the unpredictable and harsh reality of the lives these children led, Anjali provided stability, belief, love and the access to opportunity. I remember thinking about how I could widen my defi nition of what was mine. I remember understanding a little more about love.

A few months ago, one of our Teach For India Fellows, Harsh, was on the Tata Jagriti Yatra, a train that takes hundreds of young people on an 18 day trip to understand India better. Harsh noticed that lots of the young people were wasting food, and so decided to stand next to the garbage and when they came to clear their plates would ask if he could eat their food. Seeing him do this, a few others joined him, lining up next to the


garbage and, with love, taking plates of uneaten food to eat. Within a couple of days, no one on the train was wasting food anymore.

I’ve learned to learn from everything. From a book or film, from nature, from what people do and don’t do, from things that inspire me and things that bore me. I’m slowly learning to take everything as a gift, even the

things I most don’t want to happen in my life.

I said this at the start and I’ll say it again. I don’t have any advice for Generation Y on leadership. I am still, and will always be, learning to lead.

But there is one thing I know to be true. It’s a long, slow, beautiful, human journey, this path to leadership.


“Earn your Leadership every day’ – Michael Jordan

There was a time when what it took to be a leader was clear. Today, much is written, said, researched and trained on leadership – one click on Google and a plethora of concepts, models and frameworks jump out at you, covering the behavioral, to the psychological, to the social. Add to that a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world – so for one looking to learn, internalize and demonstrate effective leadership, it’s truly a jungle out there! Predicting what the next decade – scratch that, the next year! – is going to look like is virtually impossible. No organization or company succeeds for decades unless they are constantly looking at ways to reinvent themselves…no individual leader is successful unless adapting, reinventing and leading through that scenario. So what works as a core of leadership, when everything around you is changing? Do you lock yourself way, and think ‘I’m not going out there, it’s too scary!’ or bury your head in the sand hoping eventually the old world will return?

The tried-and-tested may no longer be relevant, and it’s up to you to chart a new course

So take a step back, pause for a moment, look inwards, and think – what of my leadership is core? What was intentional and what was accidental? What did I discover in myself and what did I learn from others? Somewhere, in that maze of self-discovery, you will detect for yourself what makes you tick, not just as a leader, but an authentic one, able to lead successfully through a rapidly changing landscape.

Stephen Covey said, one ‘detects their mission in life’ – in the same way, one self discovers who they were meant to be as a leader, and what you need to do to preserve the core, through different roles, organizations, context, successes, and failures. I write this today not as an expert, expounding on fail-safe leadership behaviors that will take you places, but as a traveler on the path to authentic leadership, having discovered a little of what works, and waiting to unearth much more!

1. First and foremost, live your Values: ‘Talent is a gift – character is a choice’. Every time I work with a new team, a new direct report, a new boss, start a new role, or hire someone, I have taken time to share and clarify the values that are core to me. Every leader must have,

LEADERSHIP: HINDSIGHT IS 20/20!SONALI ROYCHOWDHURY

About the Author

Sonali Roychowdhury heads Human Resources at Procter and Gamble India. She completed her diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from XLRI in 1998, and has been with P&G ever since. Sonali has lived and worked in India, Singapore, and Vietnam. She has varied experience in Talent & Leadership Development, Organization Design, Change Management, Strategic HR leadership, and building high-performance teams. Sonali also has an avid interest in travel.


and be clear on what they value – it’s equally important to make that clear to the team, so that the way results are delivered and rewarded are consistent with those values. The most diffi cult business decisions over my career have been made easy once I have looked at it through the lens of my core values – Clarity, Integrity at all times, passionate ownership, and humility. The more you achieve, the more clarity of personal values becomes critical. You have to be rock solid when dealing with matters of core values or principles.

2. Foster a Democracy of Ideas: Today we work with individuals who are ambitious, driven, but also looking for personal relevance at the workplace – that ‘intangible’ connect that appeals to their individuality vs. generic employment experiences. This is not a syndrome of ‘what’s in it for me’ as is often interpreted within HR, but simply a search for a broad canvas which allows them to fi nd their personal equation in the workplace. They demand transparency, quick action and need for 2-way dialogue. The leader that is able to tap into that energy, harness it to drive innovation, and stay open to being challenged, will truly be able to maximize the GenY contribution. To do that, you have to be there – in the midst of the action, generating the dialogue, allowing status quo to be challenged, and to follow, when needed. In my role, I have found great insights by just being accessible – be it in the offi ce where employees can easily reach out to me directly by just dropping across to my open cubicle (without the red tape of setting up formal meetings!), spending signifi cant time training new hires, or just reaching out regularly to those who may not cross my path in their normal course of work. Accessibility to your people is the

most visible sign that you care! Leaders can bring this to life by extending it to areas like workplace design – at P&G we have removed all visible hierarchical barriers like offi ce cabins, corner seats etc. Most of our offi ces have moved to a hot-desking culture without allotted work-station which drives an agile and flow-to-work behavior. Technology allows each individual to ‘touch down’ at any part of the offi ce as and when they want..the whole space is their offi ce, not just one desk! The fl ow of information, accessibility to leaders has grown in leaps and bounds, and creates a culture where people are encouraged to ask ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why?’. If there is a great idea out there, enable the person to deliver it, and get out of the way.

3. Maintain autocracy of your vision - Be clear on what you want to leave behind – even before you start! At the end of the day, the leader’s role is to lead. In my current role, the India business has been through signifi cant growth and change, not always simple. Many a time, the organization and leadership team have been at a crossroad evaluating several ideas that come up through the organization. Add to that, the complexities of a highly matrixed company, and you have a potential recipe for losing your way! At that time, as a leader, I have looked back onto what I agreed to leave as an outcome when I fi rst moved into my role, and course corrected as needed. The leader’s vision helps navigate the entire team towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

4. Breed talent better than yourself: I often share the story of the Indian crab – a bypasser on the beach saw a row of tightly-lidded barrels. On asking what they contained, he was informed that each barrel had a different type of


valuable crab (to be sold in the market), and the lid was to prevent their escape. The bypasser noticed that one barrel was open – on enquiring what that was, he was told that it contained the Indian crabs – there was no fear of them escaping as if one tried to do so, the others would quickly drag it back into the barrel! Too often, leaders feel threatened to give others their place in the sun. My biggest successes have often come from the results of others – my leadership ethos is to know what one is very good at, and then nurture those around you who are better than you in areas that you are not. Don’t be a ‘one person’ show. We all see leaders who are incredibly hardworking but never seem to be able to get people below them thriving, churning out innovation and far exceeding others expectations of them. Whenever confronted with a choice, always, but always, go for coaching others / training fi rst. P&G being a build-from-within company, developing other leaders is core to success. People processes and KRAS are linked to building capability of others. This systematic effort to groom individuals to leadership roles leveraging their unique strengths esp. at their early career stage is much appreciated by the younger generation, driving better results, and retention. As Jack Welch famously said, ‘Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.’

5. Stay relevant : Having worked across several countries, and different businesses within P&G, one is often tempted to get complacent. That is the death knell of a leader’s growth…the world around us, technology, employee needs, economic volatility is changing faster than we can predict. The only thing a leader can do is learn every day

– something new in their area of work, meet new people – which keeps you relevant. Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to interact with some of the most accomplished leaders across industries…their longevity and sustained success does not come from what they delivered a decade ago, but what they continue to deliver today having reinvented their skills to meet the demands of a VUCA world. Read, learn, teach, observe, try out something new, get feedback, and stay humble – to stay relevant.

6. Build coalitions: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and not by one single individual – the same is true for great teams and institutions. One of my most challenging assignments was being part of a M&A team – a highly visible project, with demanding deliverables, and a small team drawn from 2 different companies/cultures, and who had just met! ‘Position’ power just wasn’t going to cut it here, but we had to fi nd a way to discover common goals and bring everybody along the journey. Looking back, the tipping point came when every person on that team (highly successful leaders in their own right) found a common meeting ground, and were clear on their stake in the end result. It was one of my most satisfying and successful experiences. Coalitions are the order of the day – be it internally in your company, or with your external networks, find and nurture your networks / ecosystem that allows you to grow and deliver in all areas of your profession.

7. Be Personally accountable: Last, but certainly not the least, there is no substitute for ‘fi re-in-the-belly’ – the passion and accountability that a leader must bring to the table. Without it, one is merely fi lling a seat but not really driving change. Throughout your


career, there will be times when you will have to make tough decisions, drive change, and take risks – that is the time when your personal accountability to see things through and take the tough calls will be all-important. Those are the moments when what the leader actually ‘does’ becomes their hallmark vs. what they say. It can be hard, but is the cornerstone of the credibility of a true leader. Come into work every day, ready to be fi red – not literally, but with the energy & passion that to make change happen, you are accountable! Be accountable - for recognizing and rewarding the right behaviors in your team; for rolling up your sleeves and getting the work done when needed;

and for doing the hard right when needed, instead of the easy wrong. No one articulated it better than Colin Powell when he said ‘Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confi dence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.’

So there you are – my personal seven habits as a leader. If they resonate with you, or contradict some beliefs, or challenge some mindsets, so be it. As long as it makes one think, it has served its purpose! So what are your leadership habits?? ‘Whatever you are, be a good one.’ – Abraham Lincoln


The recruiting landscape is in constant flux and influenced by numerous

external factors. The fi nancial crisis several years ago was a global event that affected all of us directly. But more often than not there are subtle changes that impact an organization’s efforts to identify and retain top talent. Organizations need to be nimble and stay ahead of the curve to effectively target the right candidates through methods that appeal to them. As an international educator who has worked with college-aged students and young professionals from across the globe for more than 20 years, I have witnessed first-hand the transition from serving and advising both Generation X and Generation Y. And while all individuals are different, members of each generational group share common characteristics that shape their behaviors and desires and result in different motivations for success and happiness in the workplace.

Generation X: The Digital Migrants

Born in 1967, I came of age during a key digital revolution in the United States. In the late 1970s my friends and I were playing video games on consoles attached

to our televisions. By the early 1980s we were using Commodore 64 or Apple II computers in our homes, withdrawing cash from ATMs for the fi rst time, and learning BASIC in school. By the mid-1980s we were replacing our LPs with CDs and by the late 1980s we ditched our typewriters for PCs. The digital revolution had started a few decades before but it did not really begin to impact the daily lives of mainstream America until the 1980s and 1990s; this was the catalyst for the way technology has come to shape our everyday lives today. As a result, Generation X were some of the earliest adopters of new technologies in the workplace like e-mail, the fi rst instant messaging that would come to revolution and defi ne social media in a few years. As digital migrants, Generation X immigrated to a working world that required the use of technology to survive and to get ahead and we were the fi rst-adopters of these internet-based technologies in the workplace.

Generation X: Different Culture and Shared Values

There were several non-technology related factors that shaped the general characteristics of Gen Xers in the United

RECRUITING MILLENNIALS IN A GLOBAL MARKETKURT PIEMONTE

About the Author

Kurt Piemonte is an associate director in the Career & Professional Development offi ce at Harvard Business School where he has served as a career coach for MBA students seeking international work opportunities since 2005. He has long been committed to international issues in the United States where he has worked with international students and professionals for more than 20 years at several universities and law fi rms.


States. Many were children of divorce, which was less common among previous generations, or were the fi rst generation in which both parents had to work. Because of this they were often latch-key kids, arriving home after school to an empty house because parents had to work well past the school day. Noteworthy also was witnessing during their formative years the downsizing of many large, trusted companies that had promised lifelong employment to their workers. These factors led many in Generation X to be more independent, adaptable, and willing to make personal sacrifi ces to achieve fi nancial success and freedom.

There is no doubt that my peers born in India and China in 1967 had very different lives than I did growing up middle-class America and the cultural divide among us ran deep. But the late 1980s and early 1990s ushered in the fi rst large wave of international students to the United States and they acquired similar attributes to their American peers. Indian and Chinese students were almost exclusively in graduate programs and were supported by research or teaching fellowships. Nearly all intended to settle in the United States after their degree programs. Away from home and family, they had to adapt and be independent and self-suffi cient, a dramatic change from the extended family support network that was common in their home cultures. These students also left their countries for what they felt would be better lives in the United States and would make many personal sacrifices to achieve this. So although the deep cultural traits of each nationality were always present, the working norms for all young working professionals in the United States at the time were essentially the same—independence, adaptability, and willingness to make personal sacrifi ces to achieve fi nancial success—whether they hailed from Delhi, Dalian, or Dallas.

Generation Y: The Digital Natives

Jump ahead to 2005 and we fi nd a world that has been digitally re-mastered. Young men and women entering college and the professional workforce in this year grew up with the internet, e-mail, laptops, and mobile phones in their everyday lives so were comfortable with digital technologies and social media before adulthood. Technology is the obvious infl uencer but there are several other factors that further defi ne them and affect the way they look at the working world.

Unlike the previous generation, the cultural divide between a middle-class American and middle-class Indian born in 1987 is not as deep as it was 20 years prior. The world is fl atter now in the middle and upper socio-economic classes and the pervasiveness of pop culture and global brands have dulled the superfi cial cultural differentiators. Children today with fi nancial means around the world live a similar lifestyle of consumerism and all are digital natives, having access to information at their fi ngertips, and they are inundated with information from many directions and at all hours of the day and night. They were born into a world in which everyday activities are driven by convenience and technology and they are the children of affl uence who have grown up during good economic times. Their families are smaller and their parents and grandparents have doted over them and have embraced them more as friends, preferring not to be seen as authority figures by sharing more information than prior generations and providing constant words of support to build confidence. As a result, Generation Y looks to their parents for advice and guidance, communicating openly and seeking validation from them, and they have a very different view of authority than previous generations because of this open communication style.


A Generational Divide

While Generation X tends to be independent, Generation Y seeks validation. Gen Xers sought fi nancial gain and would sacrifi ce personal happiness for it, whereas Millennials want to be fi nancially stable but talk about ensuring they have a work-life balance. It is no wonder these two generations struggle to understand each other in the workplace. But members of Generation X need to better understand and appreciate how to effectively work with Generation Y, which is a much larger cohort that better understands the consumer market that drives nearly all businesses today. Generation Y also have a fi nger on the pulse of youth and the growing middle-class with disposable income and a love of social media in a world today that is utilizing technology quite differently that it was 20 years ago.

Motivators for Generation Y in the Workplace

My colleagues and I at Harvard Business School have noticed a change in expectations among young MBAs with regard to recruiting during the past several years. In 2013 we surveyed approximately 300 of our MBA students to fi nd out what attracts them to organizations and to uncover what they felt were key drivers to happiness in the workplace. We found that once you get beyond industry and geography, the top criteria students cited as important to them in a job and at an organization were:• Reputation of an organization or brand

• Personal development

• Job function

• Passion and/or affi nity for product or service

• Culture

While I am certain several of these same hopes could be found in professionals in prior generations too, it is important to

consider how these concepts might differ and appeal to Generation Y by taking into account their generational characteristics. As such, I believe that recruiters today can only be successful in building human capital if they keep three key elements in mind that appeal to Generation Y: affi nity, exceptionality, and impact.

Affi nity

All organizations define their culture for prospective employees and develop thoughtful mission statements to articulate how their organizations are unique with recruiters serving as the gateway. While members of Generation Y understand that recruiting generally begins with human resources professionals, they really want to connect directly with people in the organization who are like them. They want to assess the work environment and culture and determine if the organization will appreciate their unique characteristics. Aside from identifying with peers at the organization, however, affinity needs to extend beyond people and to the company itself. Young professionals today want to know that they will play an important role in the organization and not simply be a small cog in a big wheel. While Gen Xers generally worked for the sake of working and getting ahead, Millennials are not only seeking career and professional development but also want the organization’s goals, products and/or services to resonate within them.

Exceptionality

Students today want to be sought out for their personal characteristics. While in the past students might have applied directly to job boards and actively searched for roles in industries that interested them, today young professionals expect a more personalized approach. Generation Y has been made to feel special by their parents and mentors and this confi dence should be leveraged to attract them to roles that


will benefi t your organization. This can be done by actively targeting individuals with genuine and personalized messages to explain what about them appeals to the organization. This is far more effective today than taking a passive role and expecting students to contact companies based on brand and reputation. A successful recruiting strategy today requires you to help students see how they will fi t into the organization and how they will thrive both personally and professionally.

Impact

People often misinterpret what impact means to young professionals today. Impact is less about what an employer can provide for them and more about what their value means to the employer. It does not necessarily mean they are seeking an organization that will change the world. Instead, members of Generation Y want to be part of organizations where they will be valued, and ones where they can grow and contribute in meaningful ways to the organizations themselves. This is particularly important for large companies to highlight in an era when the idea of working at a start-up or starting a business is a common theme among young people. Only a small percentage of these students will be entrepreneurs, but this entrepreneurial spirit is pervasive among the vast majority of young professionals today. Smaller organizations appeal to them more than larger ones because they believe that they will be more challenged and will have greater and more direct

impact within a smaller venture. This can certainly be true since smaller organizations tend to be leaner and there may be a greater level of responsibility among more junior members of the team. But well-established companies have the resources and means to offer young professionals opportunities to be entrepreneurial within the function or team. To attract young talent today, it is important for any organization to highlight the fl exibility of a role that will allow the individual to contribute and feel like s/he is adding value and will be an important and contributing member. Beyond internal impact, help them to also see how the organization will impact the way the world operates and how they will be an important part of it.

The world around us is changing at an unprecedented pace. In less than 20 years we have gone from dial-up internet access through our home telephone lines to the convenience of connectivity to the internet at all times through smartphones and 4G technology. As adaptable as members of Generation X are, the digital natives of Generation Y are in a better place to help organizations grow and prosper because they know how best to leverage the technology of today and are developing the technologies of tomorrow. Appreciating the unique characteristics of this generation will be critical to ensuring success and happiness of our future leaders and building robust global organizations that will, in the next decade, once again be challenged with a generation gap as they try to discover what motivates and drives members of Generation Z.


It is ironical, but for most CEO’s, leading some of India’s top companies – the marketplace is never the real challenge. What is, is the ability to keep pace with it – through the ups and downs – and grow. Added to this is the challenge of managing a young and restless work force.

For the last 2 years I have been doing a series ‘Inside India’s Best Known companies’, on Bloomberg TV India. In this program we have looked at what makes India’s best fi rms outperform their peers and stay ahead, consistently. While the series has coincided with what has been a pretty rough patch for the Indian economy and companies, with GDP growth slowing to nearly half, an average of 5% per year from the peak, what has been an eye-opener for me has been the fact that one of the biggest challenges most CEOs complain about is talent and how to ensure you have a team that delivers - especially when the ‘bench’ is getting younger and younger.

The last is a big issue because youngsters who have just entered the work force – Generation Y , the ‘millennials’, or ‘liberalizations’ children’ (those born in the late 80’s and 90’s in the Indian context)

are unique and are disrupting the old rules of engagement.

The English language broadcast news media is a good place to study this ‘Generation Y’ because the sector is new, (the oldest private news channel in India- NDTV is 25 years old), and because it is often driven by the young. The average age in most newsrooms is 30. Before we look at how this trend has impacted the business of news, it is important to understand what this generation is like.

Academics and researchers studying this ‘Generation Y’ have identifi ed interesting characteristics. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe, credited with coining the term ‘Millennials’, described them as a “civic-minded” generation with a strong sense of community, both local and global. Jean Twenge, the author of the 2006 book Generation Me, believes Millennials are part of what she calls “Generation Me” with attributes ranging from confi dence and tolerance to a sense of entitlement and even narcissism!

Ask people about the so called Millennials in India and you will get similar reactions.

YOUNG & RESTLESSMINI MENON

About the Author

Mini Menon is the Executive Editor of Bloomberg TV India and a well known face on Indian Television. Over the last 14 years, she has reported on political, business and fi nancial news with some of the biggest names in the Indian news broadcast space. Mini has also authored a book, ‘Riding the Wave’ published by HarperCollins, on seven of India’s top business leaders. An alumna of St Stephen’s college New Delhi, Mini has been a

Chevening scholar and trained in broadcast journalism in India and the UK.


Most agree that they are self-assured, strong willed and confi dent. They are also ‘doers’ who want to give back to the community and hence are passionate about causes (evident in the ground swell against the Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi last year.) Not surprisingly then that they often question the status quo at work.

While generalizations can often be wrong – there is some logic to it.

In my experience of Generation Y in newsrooms and across offi ces, I fi nd them self assured and clear about what they want. This is thanks partly to economic growth and better disposable incomes in households which have added a blanket of fi nancial security for them. Research also points out how educated upwardly mobile parents have instilled the sense of self worth and confi dence that defi nes the Millennials.

At the work place this means that for Gen Y a job is not something they necessarily need to do to make a living. It is a choice they make based on what they enjoy and are passionate about. This could be open to change. And ‘careers’ are often a work in progress.

While this gives Gen Y a lot of room to enjoy work and hence make a mark in the ‘right’ job - it also means the opposite is true and companies have to work hard to keep them interested. With information a click away, the possibility of getting back to campus anywhere in the world easy, and new sectors and opportunities opening up, walking out of a job is easy and attrition numbers prove many are doing this.

For organizations and team leaders this poses a clear challenge – how do you fi rst attract and then retain good talent and plan for attrition too.

This is a continuous challenge. Old values of brand, loyalty and legacy don’t seem to work as well as they used to but

expectations are high. At every stage managers have to actively engage with employees, communicate, recognize their teams work and contribution. Criticism has to be constructive and organizations have to be open and clear in setting expectations.

Since individualism defi nes Generation Y–companies have to be able to use the strengths this talent pool offers. Often that means a serious mental shift to accommodate a more ‘bottoms up’ approach that allows GenY to ideate, and be creative. Companies also have to invest time and energy on these employees through mentoring and training to ensure that they go beyond themselves and have the emotional intelligence to lead teams in the future.

In the hyper active and competitive world of broadcast news TV, the dominance of Gen Y, rapid growth and the challenging environment in which news channels work have combined to redefi ne the business and most organizations are working hard to correct the problems.

The period between 2005-10 saw a burst of activity in the broadcast news media with multiple news channels coming up and stand alone TV stations becoming networks launching multiple niche channels. This led to a boom - increasing the demand for talent and media schools. As a result, till 2010 it wasn’t uncommon to fi nd someone with 5 years experience who had switched as many jobs and managed a fat pay hike each time. As new channels launched good talent was scarce and so most tapped into rivals, wooing talent with top money. In an increasingly competitive marketplace talent acquisition became the key to success and over time also became a big cost to bear. With running costs increasing year after year most channels cut back on training. The frenzied 24/7 coverage of news anyway meant that most people learnt on the job.


This frenzy didn’t last long and by 2010 the signs of stress were clear. With the economy slowing, ad revenue falling and little innovation that would have expanded audiences, news channels began to sport a bloated middle that had been pushed up with the tide, too fast and an inexperienced and yet costly bottom rung.

Over the next 2 years, as growth slowed the cuts have been sharp across the board and most channels have also tried to lean on increasingly younger teams to manage the fl oor. Programming has been crunched, innovation curtailed and across channels the focus seems to be on a few shows, mostly studio based programs, that don’t require high costs or a diverse talent pool. The last 2 years have also seen major job cuts with TV 18 one of the largest news networks in India, leading the way announcing over 350 job cuts last year. Most networks followed.

While this and a tranche of fresh capital have worked to balance costs in the short term, many of us are today grappling with serious issues. Issues that could be similar across stressed sectors.

1. Constant pressure to keep costs down, given the slowdown has meant that there are constraints on recruiting experienced (and so more expensive) talent which can really help innovate and disrupt – both of which are essential for growth

2. A missing middle (given that most of the job losses were from here ) has also meant the absence of critical line managers to run the show and bring the stability required

3. An increasingly younger workforce that needs to be trained

4. A young leadership cadre that has to deliver with all the above constraints, in a hyper competitive marketplace

If this is the challenge among the smaller companies bigger fi rms have a different set of problems. While these companies have the size, vintage, structures and processes to ensure a balance between experience and adrenaline i.e. youth They too face a demographic challenge and these are as damaging if not addressed fast. Their key issues include

1. How to attract the right young talent

2. The need to skill them so that they can effectively contribute and keep pace with the demands on the ground

3. Developing a leadership cadre that can take on increasing responsibility as companies expand and deal with more complex challenges

4. The challenge of scaling up talent acquisition and training

Talent is clearly at the heart of the challenge of companies. While at a larger level problems are deep i.e. an education system that stresses more on theory and rote than practical real life experience and an inadequate vocational skilling ecosystem that has handicapped young entrants and companies alike, companies can address specifi c problems through a focused approach. Here are four steps that have worked for us especially when you are working with Gen Y.

1) Get them interested : This is really at the heart of it all and money or the starting salary is only one small part of it. Leaders need to really be able to spot the right talent that is genuinely interested in the line of work that you are offering or is clearly inclined towards it. This is particularly true in the media business where work environments are stressful with long hours, tight deadlines and fi erce competition that forces you to be a step ahead to survive.

2) Keep them engaged : this is a continuous exercise and goes beyond simple hand


holding to ease them into a role. Managers need to constantly communicate and engage with Gen Y and reinforce their contribution. They also need to mentor them and help them keep sight of their larger goals so that they know how the work they do is adding up.

3) Be clear: Companies have to communicate continuously - defi ning work briefs and setting expectations. At the same time fi rms also need to be transparent on policies and decisions taken. Engagement with Gen Y has to be a 2 way process

4) Challenge them to improve and push their limits : This is especially important for the Millennials because they have a real need to do something new. This can be done by giving them different kinds of roles and opportunities or different kind of projects to keep them constantly engaged. This in the long run will also create loyalty and give the sense that their work and efforts are adding up to something much larger.

While these are things that organizations should keep in mind – there are three things that they shouldn’t do

1) Don’t Pull them up too fast – no matter how brilliant an employee is, you have to pace growth. Too much responsibility and authority too early could be counter-productive – so much so that the employee can lose sight of the factors that got him or her there in the fi rst place

2) Don’t miss training - Individual brilliance doesn’t mean you are a great manager who can deliver – especially in the case of the Millennials, companies

have to invest in training them to be good managers and team leaders with the requisite EQ to manage peers and teams and inspire them.

3) Don’t forget HR Processes -The process of attracting the right kind of talent, training them, skilling them, mentoring them and engaging with them has to be continuous and processes and structures need to be put in place for this.

Often the task of managing a young and restless talent pool can seem daunt ing – but every time it does, I remember my conversation with N Chandrasekaran, the CEO of TCS. Chatting on the sidelines of my interview with him he told me how the average age of the over 250,000 employees in TCS is just 27. These employees work in many centres across the world and often many of them are in teams that are doing super critical work. Chandra says that at every stage efforts are made to engage, train and inspire these employees and the question - ‘How best can we do this?’ takes a lot of his own personal time.

Hearing the head of India’s largest, and lately most successful IT company , I had two thoughts cross my mind. First that our own challenges in dealing with the demographics seemed small compared to those of a company the size of TCS. And second that perhaps the changes this demographic profi le forced on TCS - in its mindset and approach to employees, helped the company transform itself into a nimble, smart and fast company that rose to be India’s most valued IT fi rm in a tough market environment!


MOVING BEYOND ‘AGE’PRINCE AUGUSTIN, NAMRATA, RAGHAV and NEHA

About the Authors

Prince Augustin is the Executive Vice President - Group Human Capital & Leadership Development, Mahindra Group. Prince has over 30 years of Industry experience in various facets of the Human Resources function with leading Indian and Multinational corporations. He is on the Board of National HRD Network, Member-Governing Council of Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD) Roundtable in India and Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) Human Capital Group. He also

serves on the Boards of Mahindra Group companies Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd, Mahindra Namaste Pvt. Ltd and as the Chairman of Mahindra Contech Ltd.

Namrata is a B.Tech in Electronics from Punjab University and M.Tech gold medallist from NIIT Kurukshetra. She heads OD and talent management for Farm and Auto businesses of the Mahindra Group. Namrata is a certifi ed behaviour analyst in MBTI, FIRO B and MaC Quaig and has published in IEEE, Microelectronics and Reliability, Human capital and NHRD. In October, 2010 she was awarded the ‘Best upcoming Women Leader of India’ by WILL forum.

Raghav, a postgraduate from XLRI Jamshedpur, works in the Group HR team of Mahindra & Mahindra and is a part of the Group Management Cadre (GMC) program of M&M.

Neha did her MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur in 2013. As part of the Group Management Cadre program of the Mahindra Group, she currently

works in the Organization Development team at the Mahindra Auto and Farm Equipment Sectors.

Introduction

Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not

moving fast enough", says the 29 year old CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg – a man who built a company that took over the world in the last one decade. The quote characterizes the future: disruptive,

fast and increasingly social. Right from ‘anytime, anywhere’ services via mobile apps to entire governments being brought down by leveraging social networks; everything is going through a paradigm shift. One can see the emergence of a new set of beliefs founded on a more open set of values, leading to disruptive change, across technology, society or business. This

“


new set of beliefs and values when brought into the organization (in form of Gen Y employees) has the potential to create friction or breakthrough performance, depending on the way it is harnessed.

In order to succeed, organizations need to align to the new ‘work values’. For instance, today, the spirit of constantly challenging the status quo or collaborating through technology is crucial. GenY, being born and brought up in this new world order, has a head start when it comes to leveraging technology. Organizations need to embrace this new work culture which both increases the speed and scale of execution and helps align the different groups of people spread across diverse geographies, businesses and age groups.

In this article we look at some of these new age work values and move away from the usual defi nition of Gen Y merely by age.

A peep into the Gen Y world

A study of the various research articles on Gen Y summarize their world view as below:

Views on…

• Life: I will change the world

• Work: I work to make a difference

• Relationships: I am connected with everyone

• Workstyles: Network and teamwork

• Value Systems: Look around and adapt to what’s new

• Technology: I can employ it

Research reveals that they seek variety at work and constantly want to enhance themselves with new experiences.

According to a Corporate Executive Board (CEB) research in India, Gen Y employees who have a high intent of staying with their current organization are more likely to do so due to future career opportunities (80%) and development opportunities (70%) than other important factors like compensation (61%). A good salary is important to them but not at the cost of personal time, which is to be used for pursuing their interests. A clear difference is also emerging in the learning style of Gen Y, which has become more technology-oriented and social. This is the era of just in time learning and Internet is used as a tool to participate and build common knowledge.

In the organizational context, it is important to see the above world views in line with the external realities which are now characterized by a familiar term VUCA – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. The challenge for organizations is therefore to work on systems which recognize these world views while creating value in the marketplace.

Finding Answers in the Organizational Context

In the above context it is clear that the whole model of how employees are looked at by organizations needs a total revamp. Earlier, organizations looked at people (or human resources) as those which need to be recruited for a job, trained and if found working well, then retained by compensating for performance.

This model of give and take is now undergoing a shift to relationship based management. With the intervention of technology, changing learning styles and a high focus on work life imperative, the new mantra is to build relationship capital with employees. It starts by initiating, developing and evolving relationships as described in Figure 1 below.


Figure 1: Moving beyond ‘Give and Take’ to ‘Building Relationships’

It is the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) of an organization that guides it in this journey and also acts as a communication tool for the current and prospective employees as to what they can expect from the organization. This EVP, when translated into organizational practices, leads to a consistency in experience which not only reinforces the brand but also enhances the trust between organization and employees. And this trust plays the major role in evolving relationships.

Talking of EVPs, it has been a common myth that Gen Y is more attracted to organizations having a ‘trendy’ or a youthful employer brand. However, CEB research shows that in India, seven of the top 10 preferences for joining an employer are common across generations. Gen Y stands out only in its strong preference for innovation at the workplace, which in any case is a robust business need rather than a need to create connect with Gen Y. It is therefore suggested that organizations must communicate a universal employment brand that emphasize on the characteristics of the organization that appeal most strongly across generations. At Mahindra, after a thorough research, we have formulated our EVP which not only resonates strongly with our brand pillars but also connects deeply with the employees. One strong reason for this connect are the efforts we have put in to design and deliver on experiences as promised under our EVP.

We propose that future ready organizations align with four defi ning values in order to create a connect with Gen Y and sustain performance in the marketplace. In each one of them, through some examples, we will see how we at Mahindra have tried to initiate, develop and evolve relationships with the Gen Y employees.

A future organization must:

1. Constantly challenge the status quo – embrace change and dynamism through technology

2. Endorse flexibility – at work and outside of it

3. Prov ide cont inuous feedback , recognition and opportunity

4. Be collaborative & inclusive – work interactions which are not linear, but rather chaotic and span locations/ geographies

Constantly challenge the status quo

The Gen Y think, communicate and learn in sync with today’s information environment. They are passionate about innovation, fast progress and entrepreneurship. Organizations can help encourage this by providing a platform for working on great ideas with other great people around. The Mahindra War Room, a business case study competition at premier B-Schools of the country, is one such platform which not only gives a chance to some of the brightest Gen Y undergrads in the country to present their business plans to the Top Management of Mahindra but also projects a brand externally which is open, innovative and aggressive. Since its inception, the Mahindra War Room has consistently been among the top ranked B-School competitions according to AC Neilson study and has helped the


Mahindra brand in hiring from the same campuses.

Internally, we have the concept of ‘Shadow Boards’ where young out performers across companies come together to critique the functioning of businesses and recommend strategies to the top management. Over the past years some great ideas have emerged out of Shadow Boards, including the one for diversifying into the commercial vehicles segment. Such platforms help attract and engage the Gen Y along with developing some of the future leaders for the organization. The challenge here is to design an objective and transparent method of selecting young employees for these prestigious programs as everyone wants to be a part of such forums providing which helps them with visibility, challenges and great learning opportunities. Over the years we have worked on our talent management process to help us bring together the brightest youngsters around.

Endorse fl exibility – at work and outside of it

Learning agility is a hallmark of the emerging workforce. There is a need to constantly feed into their skill sets. Organizations like McDonald’s promote the “Learn and Earn” concept. While ordinarily people would have to quit their jobs and attended college full time, McDonald’s supports their education both in terms of program design and the number of days needed to attend college.

Work-life balance is crucial but is not only about going home to family. It is also about how life balances at work. One example is a large online travel portal - it has in-house ‘Hackathons’ in which a bunch of employees get together and hack code all night — a 24-hour event that the COO

fondly dubs “pajama party” which gives rise to many innovations. At Mahindra, we believe that good skills can lead to some great work, but for excellence one must have a passion for something. To ignite this passion for automobiles and give direction to the ones who already have, we started with something known as ‘Auto Passion’. Under this initiative we launched India’s fi rst auto centric quiz, Auto Quotient, in association with NDTV, aimed at showcasing the battle within India’s engineering brigade and to prove who’s got the higher Auto Quotient. It also acts as a powerful tool for employer branding in campuses and on similar lines we also started Farm Passion and lined related initiatives under it to connect with rural India.

On the other aspect of work-life, we have just embarked on the journey by attempting to optimize work place fl exibility through fl exi time and work from home options keeping in mind not just the age factor but also the diversity factor. Research in this area, for India, shows a different picture than generally assumed for Gen Y. CEB’s analysis shows that in India, younger generations’ preferences about work-life balance are very different from more mature economies like US and Europe where youth are more focused on the ‘life’ part. Attitudes do not converge globally until workers reach their late 50s. One must therefore design work-life balance programs with caution as they cater to the individual needs of the employees and their country of work rather than making generalizations by age group. Having said that, as businesses expand globally to encompass different time zones and holiday calendars, keeping ‘work’ and ‘life’ disjointed may be slightly diffi cult as coordination and dependencies across geographies may exist.


Continuous feedback, recognition and opportunity

Generation Y leaders crave attention in the forms of feedback and guidance. They appreciate being kept in the loop and seek frequent praise and reassurance. ‘Manager connect’ is an important infl uencer as per a recent Aon Hewitt study done on Gen Y in India. They may benefi t greatly from mentors who can help guide and develop their young careers. Many of the young guns in our organization frequently seek “sounding boards” to discuss their issues and often come back with logical, practical ways to deal with them. Based on an employee insights study, Recognition has been made a key element of our employee value proposition. At Mahindra, we have a plethora of awards both monetary and informal which can be given by any Manager anytime during the year, within a specifi c quota governed by an online rewards portal.

Organizational systems and learning interventions will have to promptly answer questions such as “where is my career going?” Clearly, transparency is the key. Legacy and tenure are increasingly being replaced by clear performance metrics. Most companies are looking to start youngsters on career pathing much earlier and enabling them to fi ll multiple roles across the organization in their fi rst 7-10 years. TAS (Tata Administrative services) or our Mahindra GMC program for example, places people across group companies and people emerging from these programs become the next-generation leaders for the organization. We recently launched an online career pathing tool called ‘mPower’ which enables employees to establish their dream career path in the organization. Employees are very excited about this tool but the challenge here is to manage their aspirations and organization reality.

Collaborative and inclusive mindset

Young leaders seek perspectives from people across locations, backgrounds and functions. In fact, the way they interact and work may seem disorderly and chaotic but technology ensures that results are better without compromising the speed of decision making. Getting access to a wide network of expert collaborators will become crucial, as more and more views will be required for decision-making. Pervasive data networks will become even more important as data and insight will be required across many more locations and channels to support distributed decision making. We recently launched the concept of ‘policy co-creation’ where employees suggest changes and modifications in organizational policies and procedures. Employees welcome this as they get an opportunity to defi ne their workplace. An added bonus is that we sometimes end up getting some remarkable ideas from employees. When we recently launched our electric vehicle, Reva E2O employee purchase scheme, we received great branding and promotion ideas from employees who are in this case the ‘customers’.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that Tomorrow’s Leaders will be in charge of the future. The way we move employees across the organization, the way we appraise them, the types of rewards and how we think about work and engagement need to undergo a shift to establish lasting relationships with people, keeping in mind the business realities. Many HR organizations have built linear models for progression, articulated job descriptions using competency models, and defi ned work processes in an orderly fashion. While all this work is extremely valuable, we need to make it all the more


dynamic as the business models themselves are constantly evolving. Peter Drucker has said, “The leader of the past knew how to tell, but the leader of the future will know

References: Managing Gen Y at the workplace – 6 Myths Series, Corporate Executive Board (CEB), 2011

Driving Breakthrough Performance in the New Work Environment, CEB Corporate Leadership Council, 2012

Multi Generations in the Workforce: Building Collaboration, Vasanthi Srinivasan, IIM Bangalore, March 2012

Big demands and high expectations, The Deloitte Millennial Survey, January 2014

Authors:

Prince Augustin, Executive Vice President-Group HR and Leadership Development, Mahindra Group

Namrata Gill, Vice President-HR, Capability Building, OD and Talent Management, Auto and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra

Raghav Pareek, Manager, M&M

Neha Londhe, Manager, M&M

how to ask.” The responsibility is on us to prepare our future leaders to ask the right questions which will enable them to lead our businesses in their own special way.


The reality is that the talent crunch has been hiding in plain sight. Every year, large numbers of college-educated women enter the Indian professional workforce. Yet somehow this rich talent pool has been ignored, overlooked and under-utilized. An important reality is that highly educated “white collar” women are entering the workforce in the Indian market. What attributes do these women share? As the fi rst generation to enter the professional workforce in sizeable numbers, what is the scope of their ambition? How does our Indian culture support or derail their aspirations? What are organisations doing to attract and retain this tranche of talent?

Diversity and inclusion have been steadily gaining traction in corporate India in recent years. Much of this is centered on gender diversity, and companies are beginning to realize the business imperative of hiring women and creating an equitable work environment. But there is another aspect that human resource managers in India need to wake up to: The importance of effectively managing a multigenerational workforce.

One may argue that organizations across the world have always had to manage a multigenerational workforce. While that is true, India’s demographics are creating some unique challenges. Even as the world is graying, India is getting younger. By 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years of age compared with 37 in China and the U.S., 45 in Western Europe and 48 in Japan. Currently, more than half of India’s population is less than 25 years of age. Employees come from different regions, religions, linguistic traditions, castes, communities, culinary tastes, races and genders. A generational difference adds another layer of complexity. This

CHALLENGES FACED BY THE GEN Y WOMAN IN TODAY’S WORKPLACE

MONA CHERIYAN

About the Author

Mona Cheriyan is the HR Director and member of the Advisory Board of ASK Investment Managers Pvt Ltd. She is also the President of the WoMentoring Committee of the National HRD Network, Mumbai Chapter. She has a rich and varied experience of over 26 years. Prior to ASK, she was associated with Oracle, Essar Group, NIIT & Sophia Polytechnic in various capacities.

Mona has been the recipient of the “Super Achievers Award” by the Indira Group of Institutes for outstanding achievement

in the fi eld of Human Resources in 2007, the “HR Leadership Award” awarded by the Employer Branding Awards in 2008 and the “Women Super Achiever Award” awarded by the World HRD Congress for 2009.


creates a workforce that can fi nd itself divided in more ways than comparable workforces in most countries.

To be successful in India, employers must rely on the country’s exceptionally educated and ambitious professional workforce. Unlike in some European countries where the workforce size is shrinking, India’s working-age population is on the rise, steadily growing through the last years, and expected to continue to do so in the future. But attracting and retaining these valued employees – and by association, their skills and experience -- continues to be a challenge. Large numbers of employees in India are under the age of thirty; they have new expectations about fi tting together jobs and family life, and they are speaking loudly about their desires to be able to balance work and life.

Today’s Gen Y has a completely different perspective about work. While earlier women entered the workforce to supplement an income, today the motivator is a “career” in addition to money. The Gen Y woman is clearly aspiring for the top job and not content with just “any job”. Her focus is to compete with the best in class colleagues and deliver her best.

Discrimination is an ongoing issue—in both local and global companies. Gender bias, centered on executive presence and communication style, continues to limit women’s careers in India. Cultural constraints also limit women’s upward mobility. Because of societal disapproval of women traveling alone in India, women often eschew customer/client-facing roles which involve frequent business trips. This tends to “cap” their careers. Safety concerns are a fact of daily life for professional women in India. Families frown upon working late, especially younger women and often this hinders their work life.

Survey results1 indicate that gender and age may have a compounding effect. Gen Y women who had experienced gender

discrimination were more likely to report generational confl ict or discrimination than those who had not. Fifty-one percent of Gen Y women who observed or experienced gender discrimination also reported generational discrimination. The types of generational or age discrimination reported included: being perceived as incompetent or inexperienced because of age; name calling such as “kid” and “girl”; being passed over for promotions because of age; and being held to different standards because of age. The fi ndings corroborate with previous studies on the gender dimension of ageism. One study found that in the age group 16-24, women appeared to be at more of an age disadvantage than men in the same age group. According to the researchers, “Being female tended to intensify age prejudice and ‘double jeopardy’ was reinforcing rather than simply additive.”

Working mothers in India are able to aim high, in part, because they have more shoulders to lean on than their Western peers when it comes to childcare. Between hands-on extended family, inexpensive domestic help and an increasingly wide range of daycare options, professional women in India are not sidelined by motherhood. But while childcare may not be a heavy burden, eldercare is and will only get worse. Almost all highly qualifi ed women in India already have significant eldercare responsibilities, with a fair number having parents or parents-in-law living with them. In fact, “daughterly guilt” can outweigh “maternal


guilt” among professional women as they juggle careers with family responsibilities.

Chief among the obstacles to a woman’s ability to contribute is the realities of the workplace. With few supports to help them manage their jobs and families, women drop out of the professional ranks at dramatically higher rates than their Asian counterparts, severely diminishing the pool of women available for senior level positions. This so-called “leaky pipeline” is poised to have signifi cant economic consequences for employers who stand to lose these accomplished women at precisely the moment in their mid-careers when their knowledge and ability to contribute is on the rise.

According to a Catalyst study, women in India reported higher levels of diffi culty managing work and family demands compared to men, 52% of women compared to 39% of men. Men were more likely to say that managing work and personal life came “easy” to them, 61% of men compared to 48% of women. 67% of women agreed that their company provides enough flexibility, compared to 75% of men. Women were less likely than men to convey that their workplace met their expectations in terms of fl exibility, 33% of women compared to 26% of men.

My experience has shown that the greatest level of female attrition occurs at the middle-manager level, when confl ict is especially acute around career objectives, integrating family and professional priorities, and insuffi cient training to reach the top. The numbers of women decline steeply the higher up the ladder you go, from 53 percent at entry level down to just 19 percent of executives in the C-suite. The drop-off is even more dramatic in India where a mere fi ve percent of top leadership and Board members are women. A recent government bill mandating that public companies in India must have at least one woman director is a step in the right direction. But it looks at the problem from only one angle — that of creating

opportunities for women versus what it will take to build a sustainable pipeline within organizations. This makes it an organizational and HR imperative to rebalance gender diversity efforts away from merely fi lling leadership/board and spots toward both reversing the trend and building the pipeline early.

What can organizations do to retain the women in their workforce?

I have found, regardless of what Gen Y women expect to achieve through their work or what motivates them to do work, they report fi ve features that enable them to do their work:

• clear understanding of goals and expectations;

• open communication channels;

• encouragement from co-workers and supervisors;

• having voice heard; and

• clear understanding of roles and responsibilities.

Sustained interventions toward these goals should include a process of identifying high-potential women as early as 3-4 years into their professional careers. The Gen Y woman needs to be nurtured by providing development trainings and mentoring. It is crucial to help them to create career maps and address barriers to advancement. Offering family care supports to make it possible to successfully manage career and family is also a way to address the needs to the Gen Y woman. Organizations that plant the seed early have been singularly able to grow a pool of talented women,


create a wealth of role models for young professional women to aspire to, and retain the knowledge base these talented women represent.

While Gen Y women’s experiences vary, when faced with workplace challenges young working women largely apply individual solutions to workplace challenges rather than working through or with their employer. For example, the most reported strategies for achieving work-life balance included: paying attention to health, getting suffi cient sleep and taking vacation time as strategies they have used to achieve work-life balance. Far fewer women have taken actions related to their organizations or their work. Only one in ten women discussed work-life balance challenges with their manager or human resource department. Similarly, Gen Y women’s actions to confront gender discrimination focus on individual solutions.

More than 40% of Gen Y women have confronted managers and colleagues about the discrimination observed or experienced, 14% have left an employer over discrimination and only 13% have reported discrimination to human resources. The fi ndings suggest that Gen Y women may be unaware of employer-based solutions to workplace challenges; employers may not be addressing the needs of Gen Y women; and or employers may not provide uniform solutions to workplace challenges confronting Gen Y women. The lack of employee/employer engagement in solving workplace challenges may contribute to the inequities experienced by Gen Y women.

I believe employers should acknowledge the needs of the workforce and gear

themselves towards more effectively recognizing employees at different life stages. Maternity leaves, for example, often negatively impact performance appraisals, with women who take such time automatically deemed less competitive than their peers. This begins a chain reaction of diminished roles, signifi cant slowdown in pay and growth, low representation in conventional reward systems (e.g., short- and long-term incentive programs, trainings, critical assignments), and finally, inevitable questions about whether the trade-off to return to work is worth it. It is at this moment that women are most vulnerable to dropping out. In order to avoid these vicious cycles, organizations need to think about recognition systems that value these women and effectively integrate them back into the workforce following leaves. Such programs should help returning women fast-track skill gaps and become mentors for others about managing work and family while providing a performance-rating system that ensures a woman can resume her career trajectory following leave.

Changing course I am sure will require a concerted effort by employers. Building engagement in particular – the key to creativity, innovation, and productivity – will necessitate that employers offer assistance that helps women grow their careers, navigate stress, and satisfy their desires for a balance of work and life. Those who recognize these challenges and respond to them will realize energized workforces able to capitalize on both the potential of the overall talent pool, and the considerable contributions presented by India’s increasingly career-focused and ambitious young professional women.

Reference1. Kara Nichols Barrett ,“From Gen Y Women To Employers: What They Want In The Workplace And Why It Matters For

Business”, Research on Career Choices, Challenges and Opportunities, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation, October 2011. http://bpwfoundation.org/documents/uploads/YC_SummaryReport_Final_Web.pdf Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Ripa Rashid, “The Battle for Female Talent in Emerging Markets”, The Globe, March 2010.

2. Laura Sabattini, Nancy M. Carter, “Expanding Work-Life Perspectives: Talent Management in Asia”, Catalyst, May 16, 2012. http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/expanding-work-life-perspectives-talent-management-asia


I am writing on a topic that engages me constantly as the founder of a start-up

F&B consumer company. Our company’s progress towards building a brand is in its early stages and I cannot claim at all to be an expert on the topic. We have covered a very small part of the long journey and little else. I can only hope that my curiosity and focus on the subject will raise some productive thoughts in the reader’s mind.

Background

A business becomes a brand when it occupies a place in the heart and minds of consumers and they start thinking of it as an individual with whom they have a relationship. In the process it starts acting like a mirror to customers – real or perceived. Trust, faith, delight, positivity, beauty, inspiration and many more such elements of emotions or feelings become recall factors for the brand. The underlying business transaction becomes somewhat secondary. An innate thing starts acquiring a persona. How amazing!

This takes years and often decades. All this, while maintaining a relentless focus on the customer in fast changing markets that call for ceaseless innovation, a resilient

team, luck and lots more. It is a thrilling and a tough endeavour. But there are surely great consumer brands with riveting stories that see the light of the day. I have to admit that for me the most fascinating of such stories have unfolded internationally.I know that there are some great Indian businesses and many good Indian brands but when we talk, of the greatest, only international ones come to my mind. I always used to wonder why this is the case? The answer is still not fully clear to me. I am beginning to suspect though that with our gradual recognition globally and an associated build-up of confi dence and talent, this will soon be a miss of the past.

For a viable business to hopefully rise to a level of a brand, it has to be built with a set of beliefs and ideals. By this I mean a very crisp articulation of what the business believes in, how these beliefs are for the greater good of the consumer and society as a whole and how it intends to operate and achieve these beliefs. A relentless pursuit of these ideals and beliefs by the founding team is essential for a business to acquire a brand personality. And this is no easy task. It takes 5 - 10 years or more – in my mind, at least in the Indian

BUILDING A BRANDAMULEEK SINGH BIJRAL

About the Author

Amuleek Singh Bijral is the CEO and founder of Mountain Trail Foods private limited and building arguably India’s fi rst organized tea anchored retail chain by the name of Chai Point.Amuleek Singh Bijral is a full-time MBA graduate from Harvard Business School, class of 2006. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering from T.I.E.T Patiala. He was the Managing Director, RSA for India and SAARC before starting this venture. Prior to his MBA, he worked in multiple roles at Microsoft

Corporation


context – before a business gets fi rmly on to the rails of a core value proposition and profi tability. And these are 5-10 years of ceaseless execution and often hit-and-trail learning. To persist for such a long period in getting a business off the ground is rare, tough and foremost so fortunate. To do so with a set of beliefs and ideals, is even rare. No wonder it is so thrilling to see great brands emerge.

Sustaining a brand’s belief system

The question that I bring up for refl ection here is as follows - How do we ensure that the belief and ideals initially formed within the business never lose their potency but grow stronger and more viral across all employees with passage of time? One can look at this question in a broader sense and apply it to organizations and institutions of all sorts but my intention is to discuss this from a perspective of a business brand. My views are also led by my team’s endeavour of building an F&B brand as an entrepreneurial venture. I have chalked out time based phases in the business venture’s evolution to discuss and evaluate the above posed question. I have also used the terms CEO and founder interchangeably – assuming that both are the same person.

1. Year 0 to Year 1 phase - In my opinion, this phase needs fi rst and foremost the CEO or founder’s unwavering focus in communicating to everyone within the company a belief system that needs to be engendered. This while realizing that his views may not be complete or even fully correct. His front-deck view has to give him the confi dence on his analysis and perceptions. This is the stage when the CEO/founder is engaging with investors to get their interest and side by side attracting initial founding

team members or co-founders. In this stage there is a thrill and head-wind of the new venture. As one gets some initial traction here – with investors or new team members –communicating the belief system becomes less of a challenge and more of a delight.

In our case when we started taking about organized retail for Chai, it surprisingly, to me, came across as a bold and perhaps foolish an idea. I thought of it as a clear cut gap in the market which was very large. But many thought of it as something that had no merit simply because no one had thought of it as a worthwhile pursuit. But this made me even more persistent and passionate. I would go on and on proclaiming it as a major miss in the market. There were indeed lot of valid concerns proposed by many serious evaluators of the idea. Some VCs felt that the low ticket size would make it unviable. I did not have the insight or even a real appreciation of this feedback but I still stuck to my guns. My bravado logic being that once a brand was built then some premium would get built up in the offerings and make it viable. And I very conveniently refused to think as to who would back it to the stage where it becomes a brand.

2. Year 1 to Year 2 phase – The CEO has to ensure that the core team (slowly taking shape) is continuously engaged in evaluating the right kind of belief system for the company to be successful. This is the stage in which the new venture is still getting a grip on its core business. Initial assumptions are being challenged. Earlier thought target segments are being reconsidered, cost overlays occur, time delays are frequent and products need reconfiguring. There is reinterpretation of business’s core focus and so a redefinition of the business’s belief system. A CEO


has to engender confl ict and debates around the business. After all there is substantial diversion from the initial chalked out route. This phase gives a good indication of the founder/CEO’s drive to run the marathon and importantly the set of initial team members who are willing to join in the run.

3. Again for us at Chai Point, this was a phase when we were forced to acknowledge and execute a pivot on our initial plans. We realized that pursuing blue-collar alongside white-collar segments would never allow us to bake in gradual premiums into the product. And this was essential for the idea to be fi nancially viable. We completely shelved blue-collar real-estate locations and started focusing on white collar hubs. I still remember the tens of hours of debates within our team on this shift. But thankfully we aligned and moved ahead. To me as the CEO, it was still faith that over-rode the shift while to many in our team it was a scary turn. To many outsiders it did seem as if we did not know what we are trying to do. I was fortunate in having the support of our angel investors and as a result I just steamed ahead with this move. There was no compunction. No regret.

4. Year 2 to Year 4 phase – This is the phase where hopefully the core customer target segment is clearly in sight. This lends more clarity on business execution and pace of operations increases. This leads to newer team members joining in. They are joining in at a time of hard arrived at business traction so the momentum carries them through. Investors are also often supportive and often there is capital available to be deployed. This is the stage in which the CEO starts seeing a much larger company for him to singularly engage

and ensure that all employees have understood and bought into the brand’s goals and are working accordingly. The CEO has to fi gure out a scalable system to spread and ingrain the belief system in every new and old team member in the company. The questions to refl ect over at this stage include:

a. Who should become the program manager in driving this belief basis behind the brand across every employee in the company? It should be in my mind the HR leader. What kind of a person should be the right HR leader here?

b. What should be the execution plan behind this agenda? Assuming the HR leader is the owner for this plan, what resources would the HR leader need for this to be done aggressively on an on-going basis?

c. How should th i s exerc i se ’ s effectiveness be measured?

5. Year 4 to Year 10 phase – This is the phase wherein the operational challenges in running the business take on a new hue. Some of the earlier leaders fi nd it diffi cult to adjust to this reality. The appeal of the early stage start-up is slowly fading away – no more cross functional responsibilities, gut or instinct based decisions are fewer and more analysis behind decisions is sought and there is a much more urgent need to communicate formally so as to reach out to a larger and often wide-spread employee base. Some members of the old core-team may decide to leave the company. Some new ones join in and these are typically from larger established companies. Their approach to work is more process driven (typically an area in which the company is weak) and less driven by passion. The questions to refl ect upon here include:


a. How to facilitate a strong connect between the old guard and the new sr. management joiners?

b. How to ensure that the new joiners are able to look at the venture with lens different from the ones in place in their earlier workplaces?

c. There is a strong case for formally arriving at the business’s purpose of existence and an associated belief system? A bigger team with new members needs to keep market data and insight into perspective as various brand elements are discussed. This process of re-infusion of the business’s belief system needs to happen in a planned fashion.

d. How should this be done systemically is the most important question? How much of this this should be driven by the HR leader? What role does the CEO specifi cally have to play here?

HR leader as a brand ambassador

Our company is also just entering the Year 4 to 10 phase and I am getting increasingly convinced that this stage onwards the HR leader has a pivotal role to play in embedding a strong business belief basis across all employees. The founder-CEO still has to be the chief force and prime spokesperson but he needs to act upon a systemic plan laid out by the HR leader. There has to be an operational rigor around establishing and communicating the business’s belief system. There are people policy aspects that need to be carefully tailored to give a deeper operational authenticity to the brand beliefs. Recognition and incentives being an area with the most leverage. Equally important though are multiple, even if seemingly minor, aspects of operations across all functions that jointly create a big

impact on the whole idea of brand beliefs. This is no more just a communications arena. It has a huge operational life of its own.

As a CEO of Chai Point, I feel that we have a very clear business direction ahead of us. We are growing fast. Our employee count is increasing dramatically month on month. We are slowly being noticed by the largest players in our segment. Our prelim experimentation is now leading to a stage where we have to decide whether we make big bets on some crucial product development avenues – this implying major fi nancial and operational obligation. Amidst all this a culture is spawning within the company. I often think that I have some pulse on it but many a times feel that I am somewhat behind in my perceptions and need help. I am beginning to feel that we are at a stage wherein we need a mature leader to work who will focus on our hiring and training infrastructure. But critically do this while partnering with me on articulating and nurturing our culture. Not as some goody good extra-mile activity but something with true operational rigour.

This now brings up an interesting and the fi nal question for the purpose of this article. What kind of a HR leader is up for such a task? Remember the core HR operations still exist and for a company at this stage need a whole lot of work. Number of people continue to increase fast in the company, processes and policies still need framing or reframing, training programs still not very mature – simply put there is a lot of core HR work to be done. Yet what is needed is for the HR leader to undertake all HR operations under a larger umbrella of establishing a core belief system throughout the company. In essence, the HR leader has to lay out a systemic and operationally rigorous plan for defi ning a company’s HR workings that in turn are based on the business’s belief system.


Does one pick up a HR leader in the classic mould? As in someone who has traditionally led HR operations, ideally, in the same industry segment. One who has a proven track record in HR operations rigor and can easily manage a complex operation but may not be someone who has the ring of passion for the business and brand. Net, should one pick up a classic mould HR person who will need to be genuinely initiated into the business’s belief and purpose before he or she can lay a similar plan for the entire company.

Or does one fi nd a general management experienced leader who has a sense of passion for the industry segment and fi nds fi rm professional meaning it. But has probably very little or no experience in classic HR operations. Such a person will need help and time in successfully running core HR operations. And time here may not be something that the company can afford. As the operation grows, the people complexity increases rapidly. A great brand is after all built only on top of operational excellence.

Where am I leaning on this decision? One, I have two front runners for the role and both are women. I have reached the conclusion that fi rst, what is important

is the conviction of the right candidate. That person should give me, as the CEO, the comfort that I need to take the bet on her. Conviction matters here. We are at a stage where HR is the most critical of all our scaffolding structures. It has to bear the stress of scale and mistakes in lot of other functional areas. I see our culture as the safety net that will allow us to recover from our mistakes. That candidate has to exude confi dence in stitching that safety net. I fi rmly do think that this has little to do with prior work-experience but lot more to do with a certain love for situations where one’s work has monumental implications. Second, I think I am clear now that I need to look for genuinely strongly employee empathy. I am wary of HR jargon that seems to somehow drain out all the basic employee friendly emotions. This is a tricky one though. With scale and speed, you do need a certain objectivity that can portray one as being as somewhat distant, especially in context of employee management. Humour here I feel has a role to play. It’s tough to perceive hard-driving professionals as lacking in empathy if they go about their jobs with a smile always handy. And yes, at the time of writing this article. I am yet to make my decision. And like the reader, I look forward to a successful conclusion.


Gaurav Singh, in his late 20s, is the founder of the 3.2.1 Education

Foundation which has been running a government primary school in Mumbai for the past two years. The school provides an English-medium primary education within government infastructure at the government operating cost per child. His school is popular in the community as it enrolls 240 children – in contrast to the school it replaced that had 26 children total in the same space. Gaurav, a former engineer, taught for two years through Teach for India and then trained as a school leader through the US-based KIPP Foundation.

Shalini Sachdev, in her mid-30s, is the principal of a government school in Pune that has been run in partnership with Akanksha and the Thermax Social Initiatives Foundation. Last year, Class 10 students from her school were the fi rst ever Pune municipal corporation school students to take the state board exam in English. 100% of the students passed, with 72% achieving a fi rst class, demonstrating that it is possible for children to learn effectively despite socio-economic obstacles they face. Shalini, who worked in the education NGO space prior to becoming a

school leader, is adding to her experience as a school leader through the India School Leadership Institute National Fellowship.

Gaurav and Shalini represent the emergence of a new generation of school leaders in India. They want to ensure that India’s education system, the largest in the world, delivers the demographic dividend that India’s youth promises. However, they have to break through a system that has historically never acknowledged, and hence neglected the development of school leaders and made it extremely diffi cult for bright, young leaders to enter the space or make improvements.

School Leadership in India

Research on the importance of school leadership suggests that it is a key lever in transforming our education system. A study by the US-based New Leaders shows that the effectiveness of the school principal accounts for 25% of the impact that schools have on student learning.1 Stanford University Professor Nick Bloom and his colleagues studied headmasters in India and globally, and found that a one point increase on their scoring of school management practices is associated with a 10% increase in student performance.2

SCHOOL LEADER TRAINING: CRITICAL MISSING LINK IN SCHOOL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

ASHISH DHAWAN

About the Author

Ashish Dhawan is the CEO of Central Square Foundation (CSF), a philanthropy fund and policy think-tank focused on improving the quality of school education in India. Prior to founding CSF, Ashish ran one of India’s leading private equity funds, ChrysCapital. Ashish is an MBA from Harvard University and a dual bachelor’s (BS/BA) holder from Yale University.


Yet, India has neglected the space of school leadership and the central and state government have only recently begun to introduce measures to improve the selection, training, management and support of school leaders.

The challenges start at the most basic level of the presence of a principal in every school. In 2011-12, only 59% of primary schools with enrolment of 150 and above and 54% of upper primary schools with enrolment of 100 and above had headmasters.

While school leader selection is a state function, and states have varying requirements, generally school leaders in the government system are appointed based on seniority of tenure as teachers. In private schools , most often the school leader is appointed based on their performance as a teacher. Neither mode of school leader selection accounts for aptitude and experience.

Currently, school leaders in India are responsible for the entire school but are typically limited to a purely administrative role. A 2002 study by Prof. R. Govinda, currently the head of the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA), on the roles of head teachers in the management of elementary schools in six states noted that centralized management rendered head teachers completely inactive in school development planning.3 The study noted that head teachers could not introduce a new textbook or course of study, they had no authority in the school’s fi nancial management, and they had very limited role in staff management given that they are unable to appoint a temporary teacher, recommend a substitute teacher, or stall/reverse a transfer order.

The limited view of school leadership is refl ected further in the training for schools leaders. Currently, there is no special credential that is required to be a school leader as long as one is qualifi ed to be a

teacher. In the absence of any credential requirement, there are no post-graduate degree programmes that school leaders must have completed.

Within the government system, school leaders undergo minimal in-service training once they are appointed. District Information System for Education (DISE) data highlights that the total days of in-service training head teachers received in the 2009-10 academic session ranged from 0 to 18 days. In states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, school leaders only receive 2 days of training. As a result of this lack of training, they take an administrative approach to the role, and continue to take a limited view of the role.

School Leadership Development Efforts

There are various efforts underway to reform school leadership, to both recruit and train a new generation of Gauravs and Shalinis.

In recruitment, a few states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal have begun direct recruitment and aptitude testing for aspiring school leaders. This shift causes three important results. First, it establishes the range of competencies for a school leader as there is a clear rubric on which candidates are assessed. Second, it ensures aptitude and merit-based selection for the role, thereby screening out candidates that see a limited role for themselves as school leaders. Finally, it opens up the realm of school leadership to younger teachers, who would previously have had to wait their turn till they could become school leaders. As these changes are quite recent, it is important to track the results of school leaders appointed in this manner and assess their impact.

School Leader training received a big boost in 2013, when the National Centre for School Leadership (NCSL), was established at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration


(NUEPA) with support from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The Centre was established at (NUEPA) to build leadership capacities for development of school education in states.

NCSL has developed a National School Leadership Framework which outlines the knowledge, skills and attributes required of a school head that within the context of a broader and larger vision for the role of a school leader. The Framework has been followed by the creation of National School Leadership Curriculum that identifi es the requisite content, learning materials and assessments to guide the training of school leaders. The phase 1 of this program has been piloted in 8 states, with plans to expand to an additional 6 states this year.

In addition to government efforts, there have been various non-governmental organisations that have developed school leadership programmes. This article looks at two young organisations that are leading the development of school leaders in India – the India School Leadership Institute (ISLI) and the Kaivalya Education Foundation (KEF). Both of them have deep and extensive engagement programmes with school leaders and combine classroom learning with coaching and peer support.

India School Leadership Institute

ISLI began in 2013 and is completing its pilot year. It was founded by a partnership of organisations with experience in the education space: Akanksha, Central Square Foundation, KIPP Foundation and Teach For India.

ISLI’s curriculum for leadership training adapts international best practices to the Indian context. It has drawn heavily from the strategies of many organisations, including the KIPP Foundation, which runs a network of 141 government-supported, high-achieving schools in low-income communities across the United States and is renowned for its school leader

development programme. The curriculum is a mix of academic and experiential learning as participants receive exposure to new ideas combined with intensive coaching by a seasoned educator at their school sites.

ISLI has two year-long programmes – the National Fellowship and a Delhi City Fellowship. The national fellowship includes a three-week academy and six weeks of additional out-of-school time. The City Fellowship is being piloted in Delhi and is designed primarily for school leaders from affordable private schools and consists of a week-long academy and weekend sessions spread across eight months.

Based on the common traits and practices of excellent school leaders, six strands form the framework for ISLI’s programming:

1. Leadership for Equity - Develop a thorough understanding of the inequities in education and learn to set high expectations for the academic, social , emotional and physical development of all students from low income backgrounds.

2. Leadership for Results - Develop a clear vision, mission, values and goals for the school and its team, execute effectively on long and short term plans and measure student, adult and school performance using a variety of data.

3. People Leadership - Develop a strong school culture and manage change effectively, invest in comprehensive professional development for staff, create a collaborative learning community in the school and celebrate the team.

4. Personal Leadership - Build awareness of one’s own strength and areas of improvement and their impact on others and the environment.

5. Instructional Leadership - Set a clear academic vision, demonstrate an in-depth understanding of effective


instruction and an ability to support the team in practising the same.

6. Operational Leadership - Manage time and resources effectively and create systems for sustainability and effectiveness and create school systems that reflect the school culture and support student learning.

The goal of the programme is for leaders trained by ISLI to develop their skills so that they can transform their schools into places where low-income students achieve exemplary learning outcomes and character values. ISLI will track progress on school and student performance over the next three years in these schools to assess the results of the programme. Over time, the goal is for these leaders and their schools to serve as models of excellence across the country.

Kaivalya Education Foundation

Kaivalya Education Foundation is a pioneer in the school leadership space in India. Kaivalya’s programmes focus on government primary schools and since 2008 has worked with 1,235 schools across the three states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The organisation runs two related programmes – the School Leader Development Program and the Gandhi Fellowship.

The School Leadership Development Program (SLDP) is a three-year programme that provides holistic training and support to the school leaders of government primary schools. It initiates school leaders to experientially understand and develop skills so they can effectively manage and lead their schools. The programme inculcates leadership skills and imparts knowledge to school leaders so that they can innovate ways for a child to learn effectively, create a vision for their schools, manage stakeholders conduct reviews and assessments productively and solve problems.

The SLDP curriculum inculcates meaning, joy, learning and pride in school leaders.

The programme attempts to build the integrated capacities of school across four aspects of school leadership:

1. Personal Leadership: Developing intrinsic motivation, self-awareness and ability to critically analyze experiences and shift own mindsets. Emphasis on refl ective practice, proactive problem-solving and goal-directed planning.

2. Instructional Leadership: Improving teaching and learning processes and encouraging adoption of child-centred, activity-based teaching and learning. School leaders learn to mentor their teachers into adopting the attitude and skills required for making their teaching more effective and result oriented.

3. Institutional Leadership: Focuses on the school as a system, improving school processes and effectively engaging the stakeholders in the functioning of the school. The school leader is expected to design and implement processes to enable peer-learning and collaboration among staff, engage families and the community, and manage the organisation by strategically allocating resources and support.

4. Social Leadership: Getting parents and community involved in the education of their children, encouraging enrolment and ongoing participation within the education system. It encourages the school leader to involve the c o m m u n i t y a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s in planning, implementation and monitoring of the working of the school by mobilizing and collaborating with systems that already exist such as School Development Committees or Village Education Committees.

Kaivalya’s SLDP is supported by the Gandhi Fellowship. Fellows are chosen through a selective process and commit to two years of supporting school leaders in government primary schools. Each Fellow is assigned fi ve schools and tasked with supporting the school leaders bring


References (Endnotes):1. “Principal Effectiveness: A New Principalship to Drive Student Achievement, Teacher Effectiveness, and School Turnarounds.”New

Leaders. Washington, DC, 20092. Bloom, Nicholas, Rafaella Sadun and John Van Reenen, “Does Management Really Work?” Harvard Business Review.

November 2012.3. Govinda, R., Role of Head teachers in School Management in India: Case studies from Six States” The European Commission.

2002.

about a significant transformation in their schools. The role of the Gandhi Fellows is to help build the school leaders’ leadership capacity, overcome challenges and improve the quality of learning. They specifi cally support the school leader in creating and implementing the school development plan.

Opportunities in School Leadership Development

Despite the pioneering efforts of Kaivalya, ISLI and others, there is still a huge need for school leadership training in India. A key challenge India faces is how to do school leader training on scale and training and professional development departments in corporate bodies have a large opportunity to developing effective training programmes.

As the government prepares to strengthen school leadership training, now is the time for innovation in training. Companies with large-scale operations may have leadership development programmes that are effective across geographies and include training and coaching. They can adapt these to support educational institutions in developing their leadership capacity and demonstrate effective interventions being brought to scale by the government.

The Companies Act 2013 mandates that companies of a certain size in India have to spend up to 2% of their net profi ts on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The new regulations will cover around 16,000 companies. Companies could adopt schools and their leaders and work to develop their capacity to deliver quality learning. The collective potential of these companies to build the capacity of

community institutions such as schools is immense.

Another opportunity for companies is for those that operate schools around their factories. These companies could invest in training their school leader and assess and highlight the impact of this investment. As their own schools become models of excellence driven by high quality leaders, they can demonstrate the importance of leadership training.

Further, human resource, training and leadership development professionals also have a unique opportunity to contribute with their skills in a unique way. One challenge in the school leadership development models is a shortage of coaches and mentors that can work with school leaders to provide them guidance. If individual professionals could volunteer an hour a week to coach a school leader it will go a long way in helping them internalize the theories of effective school leadership and provide needed encouragement on their path to improving their schools.

All of India’s schools are potential gold mines. They need to be trusted in the hands of effective leaders. Developing leadership capacities of the school heads for quality improvement and effective management of schools is a fi rst step toward re-imagining the school education sector. With the recent progress in the school leadership space in India, there is a unique opportunity to create a new generation of dynamic and effective school leaders. Gaurav and Shalini are just two examples of the transformation that can happen in schools with trained and motivated leaders.


About the Author

Uma Ganesh is the CEO of Global Talent Track, India’s premier Skills development company, funded by Intel, CISCO and Helion Ventures. The venture partners with the corporate sector for capacity building in universities and providing employability skills to young people in India.

GEN X AND GEN Y : IS CO-EXISTENCE POSSIBLE?UMA GANESH

Gen Y comprising of those born between 1980 and 2000 would form close to 75% of the global workforce by the year 2025. While it is true that every generation has got smarter and more prosperous than the previous one, millennial men and women born in an environment that has had transformational impact due to digital technologies have developed a signifi cantly different outlook towards various aspects of life. This is the generation which cannot imagine life without internet, computers and mobile.80% of Gen Y is working on two or more devices while simultaneously watching TV! So what does all this mean to the corporates and how do they cope with Gen Y in the organizational context?

Recognizing the differences between Gen X and Gen Y

At the outset, it would be useful to make a brief comparison of Gen Y with Gen X. Parents of Gen X grew up in times of scarcity and limited resources and hence they were groomed to believe in the values of focus on hard work, investment in education and both men and a signifi cant percentage of women both pursuing their

careers albeit mostly in the same location. Gen Y on the other hand has relatively much better access to larger amount of resources and has grown up in an environment where digital technology has touched every aspect of their lives. Gen Y also values education but has been much better informed and conscious in making decisions regarding the type of programs and careers they wish to pursue unlike Gen X who have had comparatively limited choices. Gen Y men and women nurture their careers with great care supported by active networking and peer infl uence with women keen on pursuing their careers of choice even if it means staying away from their families.

Fun at Workplace

It is a fact that most organisations are run by Gen X comprising of a growing number of Gen Y employees. The organisation processes, structure and methods are built to suit the former and have not changed much over the years resulting in confl ict with the style and approach required to deal with Gen Y employees. For instance, we often refer to Gen Y as lacking work


ethic and not as hardworking as the previous generation. We fail to recognise the fact that Gen Y employees love to mix work with fun. They are as focused and diligent on completing the work at hand but do this in their own way. They are comfortable working from anywhere, any place and hence work does not suffer. They may want to enjoy their weekends but know how to prioritise at times of need and ensure deliverables are met.

Coping with irreverence

Sometimes Gen Y is criticized for their irreverence. This is an interesting theme to delve upon. Firstly because of the exposure they get, Gen Y employees have their opinions fi rmly in place for most of the things. At the same time, there is a certain expectation in terms of relationship that they have of their seniors. It is a fact that unlike the previous generations where there was a clear distance between the parents and the children and the latter used to look upon their parents with some sort of fear or reverence, in today’s times, Gen Y is used to be treated as equals or friends by their parents. Having grown up thus, they expect a similar type of relationship with the adults in the organisation. This psychology needs to be understood and appreciated as it becomes easy to give and take feedback. We need an open and transparent environment that creates room for everyone, valuing contribution from each member of Gen Y or Gen X.

Setting challenging goals

Gen Y gets bored with work that is repetitive in nature and expects to do meaningful and challenging work. It is a fact that every job would have some routine elements and some elements which would be interesting and exciting. Gen Y expects more of the latter, prompted by the exposure and higher awareness they have of their environment as compared to the

earlier generations. Therefore managers have to think of ways of making their assignments challenging and set tall goals for the energetic Gen Y.

Supporting aspiration for quick wins

Another concern often heard is the ‘get successful quick’ syndrome of Gen Y. Gen Y does not have the patience to slog for years to attain promotions or to afford a luxurious lifestyle. They want to make fast moves and are willing to work hard to get there, including their ability to take risks and even pursue entrepreneurial opportunities to achieve their ambition. Gen Y employees straddle multiple goals while they pursue their careers. In a recently concluded survey among young IT professionals in Pune, it was interesting to note that beyond starting on a job with an IT company and doing an onsite assignment for a few years in the US, what they wish to do is to become a ‘rock star’ or pursue their real interests which would enable them to get ‘recognised’ by the media and people far and wide. It is therefore important for organisations to rethink their structures and compensation frameworks. Allowing young people to don the mantles of responsibilities faster, providing impressive titles and designations, facilitating outcome linked compensation plan rather than years of experience/level based remuneration, enabling quicker promotions feasible and redesigning organisations with flatter structures are some of the measures that would signifi cantly motivate Gen Y employees to stay with the organisation and build their careers instead of looking for frequent changes in order to satisfy their quest for success.

Special Attention for Gen Y women

Is there also a significant difference between Gen X and Gen Y women ? The answer is a defi nite ‘Yes’. Gen Y women


are far more career focused, confi dent of themselves, have clear views on equality of men and women at workplace as well as at home and have demonstrated that with perseverance and commitment, they are able to grow successfully with the organizations and make a signifi cant impact. A McKinsey report shows that companies with gender-balanced executive committees have a 56% higher operating profi t compared to companies with male-only companies. Another study conducted by Catalyst shows a 26% difference in return on invested capital between companies with 19-44% women board directors as compared with those who had no women on their boards. Hence increasingly businesses are working towards hiring and retaining larger percentage of women in their workforce recognising the value women executives are capable of bringing to their workplace through their unique characteristics that businesses can benefit from namely, multitasking, paying attention to detail, confl ict resolution, ability to deal with fuzziness, fl exibility and creativity required for problem solving and innovation. These are some of the key capabilities in demand today as businesses are redefi ning the new leadership capabilities required for building and sustaining successful businesses and Gen Y women have a natural advantage in contributing to this new leadership construct.

Gender profi le in employment is a useful indicator to highlight the industries which are attracting large percentage of Gen Y women and the environment they are creating to retain them. According to the survey carried out by McKinsey, services sector employs the maximum percentage of women employees. Within this sector, the fi nancial services and insurance (60%), professional services (56%) and media and entertainment (42%) industries employ the largest percentage of women. Even if it

means a lot more efforts are still required to ready women candidates to be absorbed by other sectors and attract a signifi cant pool of educated women who are not part of the workforce currently, we now have a huge head start in enabling corporate India take advantage of women’s pull towards services industries. We have the opportunity to build on this vantage point to nurture and develop women leaders from this pool while continuing to enhance the attractiveness of these sectors for women. As the Mckinsey Study indicates, even the conservative estimates show that GDP would increase by up to 2-4 percent annually if women’s employment rates were raised to 70 percent which is the current rate in the developed countries.

As Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Coca-Cola says, “Smart organizations — and those that succeed over the next decade and beyond—will understand that the 21st century is the ‘Women’s Century.’ Therefore, several organizations have started working in right earnest to bring on board capable women employees in larger numbers and identify mid level and senior managers to provide them with focused mentoring and coaching support with the view to developing them as future leaders in addition to sensitizing the current workforce on how to adapt to gender diversity at workplace. They are also rethinking policies and work environment which would enable women executives, particularly those belonging to Gen Y to successfully pursue their career goals. At the same time, it is also important to examine the traditional concept of work and workplace which were designed primarily for men previously and refl ect upon what is the fundamental redesign that is required to recognize the presence of large number of women at workplace and how this redesign could lead to better productivity and a conducive work environment.


A happy co-existence of Gen X and Gen Y

Gen Y employees have undisputedly better skills than the previous generations in the use of technology and their understanding in the smart usage of technology to solve problems or innovate. Gen Y lives, interacts and test their ideas with known and unknown people around the globe with absolute ease. Organisations should encourage them to use these skills and knowledge in the work context and involve them in rethinking the business propositions propelled by the power of technology.

Gen X, on the other hand, has rich experience and valuable insights on various aspects of the business and in the past the younger generation by and large learnt at the feet of these masters. The days of looking upto the managers with awe and reverence and as the sole source of learning and guidance are over. Hence the traditional management style of command and control and expectation of respect because of age or levels in

the organization have to be put aside. The challenge for Gen X managers is to how quickly earn the respect of Gen X and get him/her quickly to be aligned with the organization goals. This would mean casting away the traditional role of a ‘manager’ and donning the role of a ‘coach’, a ‘mentor’ and a ‘team player’ without compromising on the focus of moving towards the target with appropriate task allocation by inculcating a sense of ownership and responsibility.

This makes the organisation dynamics interes t ing as i t h ighl ights the interdependence of both the generations and underscores the importance of learning from one another and simultaneously contributing towards organsiation’s capability building process. Ultimately, successful relationships, healthy work environments and positive outcomes could emerge by applying the age old principles of engagement, involvement and ownership – principles which continue to be effervescent be they Gen Y or Gen X.


About the Author

Dr. D. Prasanth Nair, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Calicut University and doctorate from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.Currently, he is the Managing Partner and Country Head of Inhelm Leadership Solutions – a HR fi rm specializing in search, consulting and outsourcing. Before this, he headed Global HR for Cipla. He also headed the Human Resources function and Insurance distribution

business for Thomas Cook India Limited. He was a member of the Thomas Cook Group HR Directors Forum and the Thomas Cook Group Sustainability Working Party.

AN IMPORTANT DRIVER FOR GROWTH – INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CAPABILITY TO MANAGE

THE NEW GENERATION WORKFORCEDr. PRASANTH NAIR

Of late we have been seeing Industrial Relations (IR) problem emerging from

different places across Industries. While there may be specifi c issues in each case, this also points to the need to improve IR capabilities in organizations and the requirement to understand and relate to the new generation of blue collar employees. The paper analyses the reason and comes up with possible solutions.

Context:

In the last couple of years, we have industrial relations issues erupt in various reputed organizations. What is striking is the fact that this is neither a localized phenomenon nor industry specific, as the fl are ups have happened in locations across India – Gurgoan, Chennai, East, Coimbatore and parts of Karnataka among other; and across industries – automobiles, engineering, electronic and aviation, to name some. And there are others that we have not come to know of.

While the specifi c reason behind each of them might be different which this paper does not intend to get in, this also forces us to introspect whether there is adequate Industrial Relations ( IR) capabi l i ty in organizat ions. Further, do the HR managers have the requisite skills to engage with new generation blue collar workers? Do we have the capability to manage IR situations driven by competitive forces on one side and new age worker dynamics on the other?

Why is this important? In fact it is important not just from a pure organizational need of harmonious relationships so as to maximize productivity and minimize disturbance, it is critical from a larger economic point. If India desires to grow at 8%+ in the next 10 years (with many attendant benefits in social-economic sphere), the manufacturing sector needs to propel the same. And for manufacturing


to grow, harmonious industrial relations become the key.

Analysis:

The factors that have contributed to the need for appropriate IR capability emerges from macro factors such as contributors to India’s GDP, changing demographic profi le of the blue collar workers and declining power of powerful trade unions, industry specifi c factors like business needs arising due to global competitive pressure and focus at the fi rm level and functional factors such as the orientation of the HR professionals. We will briefl y analyse these.

Macro-economic factors: Since the early 1990’s the %age contribution of the service sector has increased. While manufacturing continued to be important, both from resource allocation and talent opportunities, the options increased leading to discretion in preference which at times did result in sub optimal choices.

A very important element that has contributed to the need for a different IR capability is the change in the demographic profi le of blue collar workers. A completely different generation of blue collar workers – having grown up in the liberalized economy (post 1991) – have come to the work place. The present employee is different from the employee 25 years back. He/she is as “aspirational” and connected as any other in the demographic band, is ambitious and respects knowledge and behaviour, not authority and chain of command. From a transactional analysis point of view, ‘adult-adult’ transaction is the desired one, different from the other possible scenarios.

Another aspect that needs to be taken note is that with rising migration, he/she may not be from local community wanting a life time employment with the organization having a huge stake in its continued success. He/she wants value

add in terms of experience, job knowledge and who knows after some years, may go to some other place including abroad. Managing an “aspirational”, migrant worker today requires a different skill set as compared to the worker two decades back. Additionally, the approach of new generation of blue collar workers towards negotiations is different from what it was some years back – they are more fact based and on ‘here and now’ as compared to what it was some years back when it was driven by relationships and long term view.

Another macro factor that is affecting blue collar worker dynamics at the work place is the gradual decline of the powerful trade unions. This is contra-intuitive – trade unions while they were blamed for lot of ills in the IR scenario (this article will not discuss this aspect) served an important purpose as well – They helped align the different viewpoints of individual workers thus providing a collective bargaining platform, thus, bringing in clarity on who can take a decision on behalf of workers. They also brought in some degree of stickiness as far as workers were concerned both to the union and fi rm, thus improving predictability. The present workers also are not driven by personality led union; the support would be more based on issues and their needs. The decline in trade unions and absence of leadership meant that negotiations needed to be done differently in a context of ‘fl oating platforms’.

Industry specifi c factors: In brief, due to the competitive scenario, especially the China factor and enhanced ‘environment’ norms, there is intense pressure on the manufacturing industry to be effi cient. And this has translated to pressure at the worker level in terms of productivity norms and work profi le. Another manifestation of the competitive scenario has been the increased focus on short term results. At the fi rm level, this has manifested in adoption of practices like use of contract labour


(because of lower wages), pruning of other than minimum benefi ts and patterns of loading among others. Managing such a scenario of balancing short term and long term requires HR capabilities different from what it was.

Orientation of HR professionals: There was a time when HR meant IR and managing trade unions was absolute for organization success. This resulted in HR leaders emerging who knew, understood and managed IR – the business partner in HR meant managing IR. Every young professional wanting to get into HR profession needed to have a stint in IR, thus giving them experience and exposure to the same. With economic liberalization, emergence of services sector and decline in power of trade unions, the importance accorded to IR diminished and the focus of HR shifted. The business partner in HR meant proactively infl uencing business strategy and aligning it with organization and people. And it is to the credit of HR managers that they made the transition very well. But owing to business pressures and demands on HR both strategically and operationally, a generation of HR managers did not have the necessary exposure to industrial relations and experience dealing with workers or trade unions. Further, since the focus has shifted and popular discourse is not about IR, it does not have the necessary ‘pull’ factor resulting in poor interest amongst HR professionals and HR students. As a result, many of HR managers do not possess the ability to connect with the workers and manage the blue collar employees. So, while HR should and continue to play the role of business partner infl uencing strategy, aligning it with organization and people aspirations, the aspect of IR management was neglected in a generation of HR professionals.

Therefore, while there is a need to have strong IR capability to manage

the workforce, there is defi cit in terms of capability both because the earlier generation of IR professionals operated in a different context and the new generation of HR professionals do not have the necessary exposure. Given this scenario, fi rms have resorted to a ‘legal’ way of managing IR, further creating challenges for them, thus creating a vicious cycle.

Way forward:

Please fi nd below some suggestions on ways to improve IR capability in organizations to manage the new generation workforce.

• Improving skill of HR practitioners:

HR courses: In each of HR course being offered at various levels, introduce compulsory and suffi cient coverage of IR. Since the existing cases are outdated, industry and institute should come together to expose students to contemporary IR – through case studies, visiting faculty, fi eld visit among others.

Introduce certifi cate course of IR Management for existing HR practitioners: Institutes and HR network forums can introduce a certifi cate course for working professionals.

Compulsory stint in IR for junior and middle level HR executives: as part of career development plan, IR exposure should be given to all HR executives.

HR groups, networks and associations should have seminars, conferences focused on IR – this will help in sharing best practices, enlarge perspective and also encourage young professionals towards the function.

Orientation to non HR managers


Supervisor / Junior Manager Skill building: the fi rst line manager or supervisor needs to be given basic IR skills; often this is the fi rst contact with work force and improving capability here is critical.

Senior Management orientation: Senior team can be given orientation to IR so that the implications of decisions can be clearly understood.

• Worker empowerment and engagement: Some initiatives are proposed with the aim of improving understanding on part of HR of the new generation workers and creating an atmosphere for the workers of ‘belonging’ to the organization which will in turn facilitate better IR environment.

Union Development: There is a need to bring up the next level of union leadership for which organizations and institutions can take a lead by providing appropriate training inputs and give suitable exposure.

Job rotation of identifi ed blue collar worker to HR: To enhance understanding of the new workforce, an initiative would be to allocate new generation work force in HR department. This will help understanding, thus improving capability.

Work force ownership, development and engagement: Organizations should focus on

empowering work force – the new gen workforce aspires for getting the voice heard and organizations can prepare them through development and engagement. This will improve overall organizational ability to manage situations. A lot of initiatives being undertaken for enhancing ‘fun at work’ for white collar employees can be cascaded to blue collar workers as well.

Conclusion:

The above paper has focused on the manufacturing industry. It will be useful to mention that there exists possibility of trade unionism in form of collective platforms emerging in IT/ITES, fi nancial services sectors among others. As a result of global competitive forces, wage infl ation in India and rise of other markets, many of these sectors may lose their cost competitiveness resulting in increased focus on one of their biggest cost heads – the employee cost, thereby creating employee dissonance. Hence the overall context driven by macro, fi rm level and operational factors requires that we need to enhance the IR capabilities in organizations. HR professionals need to build up IR management skills and possess the willingness to connect to the new generation of workers, for which all the stakeholders – government bodies, Industry /HR bodies (like CII, Assocham, NHRD), organizations and HR educational institutions – need to come together and play an active role.


About the Author

Yogi Sriram is Senior Vice President – Corporate Human Resources, Larsen & Toubro Limited. With an experience of 37 years in the Human Resources Development function, Sriram is the fi rst HR professional in India as Fellow of the All India Management Association. Not only is he the President of the Bombay Management Association (BMA) but also the President of the Mumbai Chapter of National HRD Network (NHRDN). He

serves on a HR committee to advise the board of NMIMS.

LEADERSHIP – GEN YYOGI SRIRAM

One morning this February, I had the honour of being invited as the Chief

Guest by an engineering institute situated in the industrial Campus of a Mumbai suburb, offering diploma programmes to young students. The institute organized this event to give an opportunity to young teams to showcase projects involving technology, science and engineering. Several bright eyed and eager students from the institute participated in this mega event.

I was walking around to visit the projects, when I came across a very smart young lady. She was extremely articulate in explaining how the device, that her team had created, worked. I was deeply impressed, and asked her a question that is usually on the minds of most HR folks like me – whether she would want to work in India or go abroad for higher studies and further career. She just smiled. Then, I asked her whether she would like to join the company I work with on completion of the diploma programme. She paused for a while and said, “I would like to live for the moment”. I was amazed by the quality of her answer which demonstrated high

EQ, presence of mind, focus and absolute honesty.

The answer the young lady gave in this brief episode is illustrative of the leadership traits amongst the Gen Y today. I occasionally hear people of my generation complaining that the Gen Y lacks loyalty, and is mercenary in the way they view their relationship with an organization. I tend to disagree. A dichotomy does exist, because labour markets are simply not what they used to be – while employees do not offer to work with companies till retirement, companies have ceased to offer lifetime employment as well!

I have deep respect for Gen Y today, because I think they are responsible, focused and definite about what they want to do. Their focus on their career and knowing about what they want are similarities that they share with the baby boomers. Hence, being a boomer, I seem to relate with them. The dissimilarity between Gen Y and baby boomers is perhaps in the attitude. My generation grew up reading Ayn Rand’s non fi ctional work ‘The virtue of selfi shness’. The spirit of those times was “You do your thing


and I will do mine”. The leadership in today’s Gen Y is demonstrated by more collaborative behaviour. I do not have any scientifi c explanation for this, but I see that the maturity and responsibility in handling relationships is better in the Gen Y of today than what I saw in the young professionals with whom I grew up.

We are a blessed country to have a very responsible Gen Y who are budding leaders and are eager to participate in the business of tomorrow’s corporate India. Just think of what China is going through with the Little Emperor syndrome! Only a small percent of today’s Chinese youth are fortunate to be educated in higher education institutions. They are typically supported by 6 to 8 adults, with four grandparents, two parents and may be some aunts, often being a product of the single child policy that China practiced in the past, for close to 2 decades. Many of the current youth in China are seen as being protected and pampered. On the other hand, we are a fortunate country, since we have a large population of responsible Gen Y. Statements such as – ‘the potential that we have will be squandered unless they (the Gen Y) are provided with employment and unless we create opportunities for them…… or else they will go astray’ – are unconvincing to me. Our Gen Y is fully capable of creating employment opportunities and has the ability to be entrepreneurs or successful self-driven leaders in the industry. As someone once said (and this message is important for Gen X and the Boomers), “Leadership is about pointing people in the right direction and then getting out of the way”. In my view, this is the strategy

that should be followed by the Boomers in Gen X while dealing with Gen Y.

We have a programme in our organization that systematically measures the competencies of leaders in varying bands of experience. Young emerging leaders are also keen to participate in these Development Centres. One of the competencies in these centres that is diffi cult to measure and develop is ‘Entrepreneurship’. Many development programmes create good managers, but not entrepreneurs. Boomers grew up witnessing a Hindu rate of less than 3 % GDP growth, and consequently are timid in their risk taking ability. The young Gen Y of today have grown up in a very different economic environment in India with far better levels of GDP growth, and their self-confi dence and consequent ability to take risks makes it important for us to invest in programmes that build these competencies amongst them.

Finally, Gen Y has the leadership potential of using data & resources like no other generation has done before. Social networking, data analytics, big data, Boolean modifi ers – all these enable young Gen Y leaders to use information for power. You may recollect ‘Informational power’ being identifi ed as an important base of power (French and Raven, 1959) and I have no doubt that this type of power will be available to Gen Y to strengthen their place in becoming the leaders of tomorrow.

(The views in this article are purely personal of the author and do not in any way refl ect his employers views)


HBR CASE STUDY AND COMMENTARY GEN Y IN THE WORKFORCE

TAMARA J ERICKSON“RU BRD?” 1

The text message from Ashok stood out in bold block letters on the small

screen of Josh Lewis’s iPhone. Am I ever, Josh thought, stuffi ng the device back into his pocket and emphatically rolling his chair away from his PC and the backlit spreadsheets and formulas that had made his eyes bloodshot and his mood sour. He stood up, stretched, and took a minute to consider his plight: For the past three days, he’d been crunching U.S. and international fi lm sales, attendance, and merchandising fi gures nonstop for his boss, Sarah Bennett, the marketing chief of the movie division of Rising Entertainment. Bennett and her team were in the midst of prepping the promotions, advertising, and branding plan for the next Fire Force Five fi lm; her presentation to the company’s CEO, its head of distribution, and other unit leaders was planned for Friday.

Two more days—many more hours, many more stats to go over before I sleep, the 23-yearold marketing associate estimated. He plunked himself back down in his chair.

A recent graduate of the University of Southern California, Josh had had visions of making films that offered strong social commentary— like Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth or Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me—and distributing them on open platforms so that his message could reach the greatest number of people. With some championing from his uncle—a well-regarded TV producer who knew people who knew people—Josh joined Rising Entertainment, one of the top three multimedia production and distribution houses in the world. The company boasted

large fi lm, television, home video, music, and licensed merchandise units, with a catalog of thousands of properties. Josh expected that the studio, with its location in the heart of Los Angeles and satellite offi ces in six countries, would offer plenty of excitement and opportunity—ever-present TV and fi lm shoots on the lots, hobnobbing with industry power brokers, the inevitable offers from competing studios, and, of course, the terrifi c LA nightlife. But now, with 10 months on the job, and most of that time relegated to mundane, ancillary projects that informed the bigger initiatives his boss was spearheading, Josh was feeling numb. Who would have thought that life in a big movie studio could be so routine? he thought to himself.

Suddenly there was that familiar vibration from his iPhone and another text message from Ashok: “WRUD? TAB?”2 A break sounded great. He replied immediately— “BRT”3 — and set off for their favorite meeting spot. As he was heading out, it occurred to Josh that he should let Sarah know where he was. He fi red off another quick text message.

Sounding Bored

By the time Josh got to the high-backed purple booth in the corner of the commissary, Ashok and Jessica were already there. Ashok Devi worked in Rising Entertainment’s TV division as a promotions associate. Jessica Sadler had started out in the fi lm division but, for now at least, was working as an assistant in the company’s legal group—ostensibly to help out a team in transition but really to fi gure out if law school was in her future. The three had been at USC together, studying


a broad mix of business, communications, and fi lm, but they had become particularly good friends since joining the company around the same time, braving orientation together and now commiserating with one another about the fl aws in their respective work groups—in which each was among the youngest on staff.

“Aw, what’s wrong, Josh?” Jessica said, noticing Josh’s serious expression as he shuffl ed over to the table. “Did your mom call HR again?” Ashok, who was sitting next to Jessica, just grinned and shook his head.

Josh shot them both a look. “Whatever. I’ve been buried all week with ridiculous busywork. Sarah’s all amped about this distribution and marketing plan for the Triple-F series. But I’m just not feeling it,” he vented.

“Have you tried explaining that to Sarah?” Jessica asked.

Josh had. A few weeks earlier, during a small team meeting in which Sarah was outlining her marketing premise for Fire Force Five: Reignition— the details of which centered primarily on TV ads and an aggressive print campaign— Josh had casually joked about how 1990s the whole plan was. It was as though DVRs, fi lmrelated websites and blogs, virtual worlds, and YouTube didn’t exist, he thought. As though the question of how to capitalize on the freecontent movement was still something plaguing the guys in the record business and not anyone else.

No one watches network TV anymore—or network TV ads, Josh had pointed out during the meeting. Instead of relying chiefl y on traditional marketing channels, he said, why not try new media? Make the movie theme song available for download for Guitar Hero. Or, even better, make one or more of the Fire Force Five movies available online and embed teasers for the latest sequel within them.

Sarah had immediately balked, noting the creaky Rising Entertainment website, which boasted very little traffi c and even less functionality. A “successful” online campaign for the third Triple-F movie in 2005 had nearly taken down the studio’s entire network—including critical sales force connections.

“So how about striking deals with, like, Hulu or There or Gaia? They’re well suited to handle the traffi c—much better than we are,” Josh replied. These days it was just so much easier to download music, movies, and TV shows how and when you wanted them. To have, as Jessica joked, old 90210 and new 90210 existing peacefully on your laptop. “We’d be leveraging one of Rising Entertainment’s biggest strengths, its library, in a way that gets the company out in front of the movement to free content.”

“All great points,” Sarah had responded. “But our budget is soft right now—everything is soft right now. I’m not sure we have the time and resources to throw at these channels.” Josh opened his mouth to respond, but the marketing chief cut off the discussion there and went on to her other notes.

That was the end of that, Josh explained to his friends. “I guess I just expected that I would get to act on more of my ideas,” he complained, as they fi nished crunching through a large order of lime-cilantro chips and salsa. “And that the higher-ups here would have fi gured out by now that the model’s changing.” By the time Ashok, Jessica, and Josh had gotten down to salty crumbs, the three were in fi rm agreement: Sarah just didn’t get it.

The View from Above

Should all the bullet points be fl ame balls? Sarah Bennett wondered, only half joking with herself. She was in the midst of building her PowerPoint slides for Friday’s meeting with CEO Sam Smithstone and,


as always, fi ghting the urge to add crazy animation and special effects to her presentation. After 10 years at Rising Entertainment, the 37-year-old marketing chief still saw herself as a budding creative rather than an established suit. But she understood her role in the hierarchy: manage the people and the details.

Still, it was a far cry from where she started. A native of Long Island, Sarah had gotten her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and held an undergraduate degree in fi lm studies from NYU’s prestigious Tisch School. She moved to Los Angeles and worked her way up in Rising Entertainment, from an entry-level copywriter, to marketing associate, to head of the 22-person fi lm-marketing unit. Sarah had a lot riding on the latest Fire Force Five release. A big opening weekend would go a long way toward helping her lobby for one of the positions she was really interested in: EVP in either international business development or family fi lms.

The Fire Force Five series was one of the company’s strongest and best-known properties: The three Triple-F movies released over the past 10 years had generated more than $2.4 billion in box-offi ce receipts and almost as much in merchandise sales. The buzz was building for the upcoming fourth release. Already, Sarah had leveraged the decade-long relationships she’d cultivated with reporters at Entertainment Weekly, Variety, and other magazines to place behind-the-scenes and making-of feature articles—each of which stoked the chatter and anticipation among Triple-F fans. She’d overseen the production of a highimpact trailer that would be reviewed in Friday’s meeting, and she’d also been coordinating with Rising Entertainment’s publicity department to get most of the Fire Force quintet booked on the usual morning and late-night talk shows.

Now, Sarah was staring anxiously at the envelope icon in the bottom-right corner of her screen: Where were the numbers she’d asked Josh to generate? Sarah just couldn’t afford to stay at the offi ce tonight; every minute she was late to pick up four-month-old Rosie from day care was costing her (fi nancially and psychically), and she had already logged plenty of overtime this week. Sarah was ready to alert her husband that he’d have to handle the pickup, when the Outlook message popped up: “You have new unopened items.” It was close to 5:30 PM when Josh’s report arrived, and the last couple of case studies looked pretty sketchy, as if he’d thrown them together quickly. But there wasn’t enough time to send them back for revision, Sarah decided. She’d work on them further in the morning.

Sarah quickly dropped the numbers into her slide deck and was about to log off when she spotted the bright pink “coaching” sticky note slapped on the side of her monitor. A few months ago she and the other frontline managers at Rising Entertainment had gone through a special HR-facilitated training session about integrating the newer, younger hires into the company. “Invest the time,” the managers were told. But what many of them heard was “Sugarcoat.”

Sarah quickly dashed off an e-mail to Josh. “Great job! You’re the best.” Who was she kidding? He’d done a half-assed job, and he knew it. Like so many of the young people hired by the studio recently, Sarah thought, Josh was far more concerned with getting praise than with earning praise. How else to explain that “look at me” move in the team meeting a few weeks back? Not that Josh’s ideas were bad, Sarah recalled. They just weren’t very well informed; he hadn’t bothered to think about things like, well, money and infrastructure and talent. If I had tried something like that when I was


an associate, I would have been back at square one in a heartbeat, she thought.

No one had even bothered to show her the ropes until she’d been on board awhile, Sarah recalled. But, following HR’s directives, she promised herself she’d take time to explain to Josh exactly how his analysis had been received, how it fi t into the overall presentation, and how she’d structured the pitch—after the meeting. The clock was ticking.

Bypassing the Boss

Sam Smithstone was already late for a dinner meeting with a couple of potential clients at the Ivy. The freeway would be murder. So he didn’t take too kindly to Josh Lewis’s overly solicitous greeting in the hallway late on Thursday and his attempts to conduct a drive-by pitch. “Stop by my offi ce at 8:15 AM tomorrow,” he told the marketing associate. “Or walk with me, if you want. But keep up.”

The break-time discussion with his friends the day before had emboldened Josh. As soon as he’d returned to his cubicle, he sent Jessica and Ashok an urgent e-mail: “Who would know details of our current distribution and intellectual property agreements for the Triple-F fi lms?” Jessica shared the name of a veteran IP lawyer in her department. Ashok had no contacts to share but responded nonetheless with a morale-boosting “XLNT!”4 Rather than devote even more time to Sarah’s assignment, Josh opted to turn in a “good enough” version near day’s end. Then he had raced off to legal to fi nd Jessica’s colleague. He’d spent most of Thursday morning and afternoon fl eshing out his plan.

Now, walking alongside the studio head, Josh took a moment to establish his pedigree, telling the executive where he went to school and why he chose Rising Entertainment. As Josh chatted up the CEO

with ease, Sam was instantly reminded of his daughter—who was around the same age, now living back at home, and would similarly corral him to talk gadgets, politics, and pop culture.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it here—so what did you want to run by me?” Sam said, trying to get Josh to cut to the chase before they reached the lobby.

Josh carefully but quickly laid out his ideas for putting the Triple-F series online as a marketing ploy for the new installment and employing nontraditional distribution and promotion channels. Even before Josh was done, Sam stopped and smiled. “That’s some fresh thinking— I like it,” he said. “Can you talk through these ideas during tomorrow’s meeting? Maybe provide some P&L projections or a point-by-point comparison of your plan against the plans we’ve used to market and distribute Triple-F in the past?”

“I can,” Josh replied, neglecting to tell the senior leader that he hadn’t actually been invited to the meeting and wasn’t even sure where it was being held. “I will. Thanks, Mr. Smithstone.” Sam was only seconds out the door when Josh grabbed for his phone and typed an urgent message to Ashok and Jessica: “AYT?5 SOS!”

• • •

“Oops!” Sarah literally bumped into her boss as they were both getting coffee in the commissary early on Friday morning. She had been so fi xated on the slight stain on her blouse—spit-up? orange juice?—that she hadn’t even seen Sam Smithstone approaching, Styrofoam cup in hand. Good thing there’s a cover on that, Sarah thought.

“Great work cultivating the new guys, Sarah. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Josh,” the CEO said in passing. “I love his approach, and even better, I love the wiki he sent around last night explaining his idea. See you in a bit.”


Sarah stared after Sam. What? Wikis? She was amazed on every level, starting with the fact that the CEO even knew who Josh was. I wasn’t even sure he knew who I was, she thought. Her astonishment slowly abated—replaced with a burning desire to talk things over with her young marketing colleague, particularly before the Triple-F meeting in a few hours.

Sarah pulled out her BlackBerry and punched out a message: “Josh, in my offi ce, please, in 10.”

How can Sarah and Josh work together more effectively?

• Three commentators offer expert advice.

CASE COMMENTARY

BY RON ALSOP


This is a classic case of impatient Generation Y meets “pay your dues” Generation X. Similar scenarios are being played out in many workplaces as Gen Yers, with their great and sometimes unrealistic expectations, clash with older workers. Josh Lewis is in a hurry to see his ideas implemented and get into a more senior position at Rising Entertainment, while Sarah Bennett believes in putting in your time before expecting recognition and promotions. It’s telling that she wasn’t even sure CEO Sam Smithstone knew who she was, despite her role as marketing chief for the movie division.

Such generational confl icts are inevitable but certainly manageable when members of the various generations are willing to listen to one another and make accommodations. How to heal the relationship between

Josh and Sarah? For starters, Sarah must reprimand Josh for blindsiding her by going over her head and presenting his marketing tactics directly to Sam. Like many Gen Yers, Josh doesn’t respect the corporate pecking order. His generation has little tolerance for lines of authority and proper protocol. Some corporate managers even call college-age job applicants “student stalkers” because they fi re off e-mails to everyone from the CEO on down to try to get the inside track to a job. But such brash behavior won’t fl y at most companies. Josh needs to respect Sarah’s authority and try to work with her, not bypass her.

Sarah should fi rmly tell Josh to air his future grievances with her rather than go directly to her boss, but she also must take steps to deal with the frustrations that motivated him to be so headstrong. Like many Gen Yers, he wants to know that his work is meaningful and have input into big decisions. He also needs constructive feedback about his suggestions. Too often, it seems, Sarah has dismissed his ideas as impractical and considered him too inexperienced to participate in important strategic meetings. She has failed to appreciate his valuable knowledge about new media and social networking and his creativity in dreaming up fresh marketing ploys that will appeal to his generation, the prime movie-going audience.

Today’s bosses may sometimes feel like babysitters, but they’ll have to get used to spending more time with their young workers. The investment should pay off in improved morale, productivity, teamwork, and innovation. Clearly, Sarah has been struggling to balance her time at the offi ce with her family responsibilities. But that doesn’t excuse her failure to encourage

1. Are you bored?2. What are you doing? Take a break?3. Be right there4. Excellent!5. Are you there?


more communication with Josh. She needs to fi nd opportunities to explain how his contributions matter and affect the success of the company’s marketing programs. Josh and Sarah should plan regular sessions to hash out their differences. While Josh might prefer text messaging and e-mail, it is critical that he and Sarah meet face-to-face for more substantive conversations about workplace attitudes and expectations.

Managers like Sarah also are fi nding that they need to show respect for Gen Yers and encourage them even if they can’t give Gen Yers what they want as fast as they want it. “It doesn’t mean we can be as indulgent as managers as we are as parents; we have to slap them back a little,” a managing director at Merrill Lynch once told me. “But as parents of young people just like them, we can treat them with respect. Maybe they can’t sit in and listen to the presentation they helped put together for senior management. But we can tell them, ‘If not this time, maybe next time.’”

Ron Alsop

([email protected]) is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant, and a former reporter and editor for the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up the Workplace (Jossey-Bass, 2008).

CASE COMMENTARY

BY PAMELA NICHOLSON


Sarah doesn’t have time to get angry. She needs to familiarize herself with Josh’s idea and make sure all the supporting data are there. Given the CEO’s enthusiasm for Josh’s marketing proposal, I think Sarah should actually commend, rather

than criticize, her young report for taking initiative. She should invite Josh to accompany her to the meeting. But she should remind him that he needs to keep her informed so she can manage the details of the project and the expectations of the CEO.

The generational differences between Sarah and Josh contribute to the miscommunication they’re experiencing. Both of them have failed to clearly convey what they expect from one another, and Sarah hasn’t given Josh the feedback that he, like many Generation Y employees, needs to stay engaged and perform effectively. The two also have different approaches to balancing work and life. Sarah keeps them more separate than Josh, who seems comfortable using technology to work from anywhere. As a large employer of college graduates, Enterprise has taken steps to address these kinds of issues, in two important ways:

Training. One of our regional operations in central Pennsylvania has even set up a coaching regimen for entry-level workers deliberately based on the Gen Y mantra of “I want it all, and I want it now.” Senior managers there asked employees what was important to them and how the company could help them achieve their personal and professional goals. The employees requested coaching in four areas of their lives: fi nancial stability and success, relationships, health and fi tness, and career. The senior team at this operation addresses each of these topics in a management training program it calls “The Juggling Act.” The idea is that “having it all” requires having a plan and executing it with equal discipline at home and at work. Employees receive coaching in practical skills, such as scheduling time for friends and family; planning healthful brown-bag meals rather than being a slave to fast-food options; preparing a personal


budget and bill-payment strategy; and using their benefi ts package for retirement planning and other services.

Feedback. At another Enterprise site, which has a high percentage of Gen Y employees, one of the managers developed a feedback system that holds each employee accountable for the branch’s service quality. Once a week, coworkers publicly rank their teammates in the offi ce from top to bottom, based on their customer service efforts during the week. Employees are asked to explain why they voted for the top person and to suggest how others could improve. The resulting increase in servicequality scores has been so signifi cant that the program has been adopted by Enterprise operations throughout the company.

Last, even though our management trainees value autonomy, they still seek affi rmation of their decisions. They get it by working alongside their supervisors in rental offi ces and in weekly meetings to review performance goals.

If Rising Entertainment employed some of those techniques, Sarah and Josh might be able to create a productive relationship based on mutual understanding. It’s clear they have a common objective—the success of the next Fire Force Five fi lm. As much as anything, each needs to respect the other’s ideas for achieving that objective.

Pamela Nicholson is the president and COO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, based in St. Louis.

CASE COMMENTARY

BY JIM MILLER


I’m afraid Josh isn’t doing much here to disprove the theories that some people have about Generation Y: a life experienced through machines, no respect

for what’s gone before, and a constant need for praise, entertainment, and instant gratifi cation. Josh is intelligent and tech-savvy, sure, but he won’t get very far by trying to make a name for himself on the backs of his boss and the members of his work group.

Like many other companies, General Tool & Supply is struggling to hire and retain more Gen Y workers. We’re a large distributor for about 1,000 manufacturers of tools, adhesives, lifting devices, and so on. Our problem is that Gen Y workers seem to have outsized expectations about what we’re going to do for them. At six months, some Y hires have wondered why they weren’t getting pay raises and promotions. To my mind, most in this generational cohort seem loath to commit to one organization — they appear to be looking for a paycheck more than a career. And once I hear and see that in an interview, I’m done.

Josh’s behavior is wrong on so many levels. He’s been hired to do a job, not this other thing that he’d like to do. He has no respect for his boss; that’s apparent in his actions. But he is also putting his team’s work in jeopardy by not completing, to the very best of his ability, the tasks he was assigned. That’s unacceptable. Our organization, which is made up of a bunch of self-directed work teams, is very fl at, so we rely heavily on collaboration. Each of our 60 sales associates has to contribute if we’re to meet our goals. Instead of pulling his weight, Josh decided to push his own agenda—during a deadline crunch, no less. Most important, Josh didn’t recognize that it was critical for him to do fabulous work—even when assigned the most mundane of tasks—that would represent who he is.

For her part, Sarah could have done a much better job of validating Josh’s idea; it was a compelling one, even if it wasn’t


completely thought out. She could have admitted to not knowing a lot about new media or suggested they talk off-line later—or maybe asked Josh to spearhead some web experiments for the marketing group. Sarah also should have taken back control of the Triple-F pitch meeting by telling the CEO at their morning run-in that Josh’s idea was still in development, not something that was ready for discussion but something the team might add in once research on costs and other fi gures had been completed. Because she didn’t do that, the boss is now expecting something Sarah is not sure she can deliver.

To work better together, Sarah and Josh both need to recalibrate their expectations. Sarah needs to take extra time to validate Josh’s ideas and help him understand what it means to be a team player. For so many Yers entering the workforce, the attitude is “I’ll be a full-time freelancer, and work will be fun, fun, fun.” Sarah needs to counteract that by being completely transparent with Josh about the level of performance required (a new idea

needs to be fully researched) and the level of communication required (formal presentations rather than hallway chats). For his part, Josh needs to fi gure out how to pitch his good ideas through established channels, within the established team framework. If he really needs to be a maverick, he can go off and start his own company, where he can follow his own business rules. Or, he can go to a different fi rm that has a maverick culture.

Jim Miller ([email protected]) is the executive vice president of sales and marketing at General Tool & Supply, a distributor based in Portland, Oregon.

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132 January | 2014 NHRD Network Journal

Overview

A recent study reported in the Science magazine concluded that reading literary authors such as Chekhov or Dickens teaches us more about understanding others and reading

real-life situations. Commenting on this, Nicholas Humphrey, an evolutionary psychologist and an emeritus professor at Cambridge University’s Darwin College, said that he would have expected that reading would make people more empathetic and understanding.

Organizations operate in complex business environments today, and require managers who can not only operate with multi-disciplinary skills and expertise, but also know how to navigate change, uncertainty and inter-personal realities. Moreover, today’s Generation Y is eager to prove its mettle and achieve early success. They are keen to follow their dreams and work in a non-hierarchical setting. We are at a Cambrian moment, where rapidly changing technologies are creating new opportunities within large businesses, or forming the substrate on which many new ideas are mushrooming.

Success in this scenario lies in not just knowing the principles of business management, but in implicitly knowing ourselves and those around us. Understanding who we are, what we stand for, how we impact and interact with those around us, determines how effectively we can shape our path and our lives, whether in an organization or in our own venture. Based on conversations from business school deans and recruiters around the world, Srikant Datar, professor at Harvard Business School found that young managers today need to ‘develop soft skills, such as self-awareness, introspection and empathy’.

Reading provides that bridge between functional knowledge and self-awareness. Successful leaders bring together both depth and breadth. This classic T-shaped personality does not develop by following the prescriptive path of narrow education that focuses on building functional skills such as engineering, fi nance or accounting. It comes from multi-disciplinary learning. Those with leadership capability are infl uenced by a wide spectrum of ideas, from business and technology to history and the arts, from cognitive psychology to evolutionary biology. Serious non-fi ction provides synthesised information on a variety of topics. Popular fi ction has a plot driven narrative, which can combine information and imagination. In contrast, literary fi ction requires the reader to assess charged realities, delve into multiple perspectives and debate the actions of imperfect protagonists.

There are a wide variety of books that every aspiring Gen Y leader must read. Youngsters should fi nd the time to read from both the classics and contemporary literature, as well as non-fi ction books in areas beyond management to expand their minds, inspire their creativity and enhance their knowledge. Many organizations are trying to foster this culture through creating internal book clubs, hosting book or screenplay writing workshops, or getting their young employees to interact with authors and thinkers.

The selection below lists a few books that specifi cally deal with that elusive thing that we all dream about and aspire for- fi nding ourselves and fi nding success.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This lucidly written book is a modern day fable about following your dreams, of following the hints that life throws our way, of taking the risk of breaking away from the safe horizon and

BOOK REVIEWS

January | 2014 NHRD Network Journal 133

fi nding unique treasures. With over 30 million copies sold, it is a must-read for every young person.

It is the story of a young boy from the Spanish region on Andalusia, who had trained to be a priest but really wanted to travel the world. He becomes a shepherd, tending to his fl ock in the dry, rugged hills of the region. Filled with dreams of travelling the world in search for a treasure, he journeys to the exotic markets of Northern Africa and into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful meeting with the alchemist changes his life.

Underneath the magically simple story of seeking and fi nding lies the powerful concept of discovering one’s destiny. Speaking on the philosophy behind the story, Paulo Coelho says that people face four key deterrents in their path to their unique success. Firstly, we are conditioned from childhood to do certain things and be a certain person. It takes courage to recognize what we really want to do. Secondly, even when we recognize that, we may not choose to tread that path because we are scared that it may upset the people we love, our friends and family. Thirdly, once we fi nd the courage to do what we must, we are scared of failure. Except that failure is indeed the stepping stone to success, and in every endeavour multiple trials lead to eventual success. Fourthly, even when success seems near, we fear to take it with both hands because we feel we don’t deserve it or feel guilty to see others who are struggling. Only when we can overcome these obstacles can we realize how beautiful our life can be.

The book carries latent but powerful lessons for every Gen Y person who wants to fi nd out what truly motivates him or her. It is a refl ection on life and dreams, and fi nding the courage to make choices that may seem different and unsafe.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

What had started as the core belief for Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, was translated into this book and has evolved into a movement- of building businesses that bring together the usually considered disparate goals of purpose, passion and profi ts. This is the new age mantra for founding and running businesses, which is fi nding fi llip with Gen Y workers around the world.

In an age when business ethics are in the limelight around the world, this new idea of placing importance on the happiness of employees, and building customer service into the role of every employee is a unique way of operating. That it has helped Tony Hsieh in his journey as a serial entrepreneur, from starting a worm farm to founding and selling LinkExchange to Microsoft to creating Zappos, an online selling platform valued at $1.2 Billion, makes for a compelling argument. Tony argues that happy workers who spread happiness to consumers creates brand engagement inside and outside and will lead to profi ts, in the end. The book provides a ten step process for defi ning the core values of a company, starting with the elements of passion, harmony, inspiration, humility, and gratitude. The book exhorts each and every person to become a change agent in the world - to transform not just their own lives and affect their own happiness, but to impact the lives of others and the world at large.

This globally bestselling book offers stories and lessons from Tony Hsieh’s personal journey- things that he did well and things where he failed at fi rst, and suggests an inspired, joyous, connected and purposeful path for leading life and business, whether inside a large organization or in a start up.

134 January | 2014 NHRD Network Journal

Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life by Paul Hammerness and Margaret Moore

The gap between intent and execution sometimes lies in our ability to be organized. Combining the latest in neuro-scientifi c research and insights gained from coaching hundreds of corporate leaders, the authors bring together a series of principles that can enable people to use the innate organizational power of the brain to reduce frenzy and make your journey more productive and rewarding.

Hammerness, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, argues for the concept of ‘serial uni-tasking’ and learning how to fl uidly shift from one task to another. Our brains do not function well when distracted by multiple tasks at the same time. He defi nes six “Rules of Order,” for changing our mindsets—how we think and feel. The book provides tips for controlling the frenzy of the mind and sustaining attention through tasks. It lays out ideas for synthesizing information so that it can be taken across tasks and connected together to create to breakthrough innovative ideas.

Given the rise in complexity at work, people need to balance multiple things, which often leads to stress, lack of organization and frustration. This book provides an effective way for managing complexity and multiple tasks, while maintaining clarity of thought and organizing ourselves better.

Rules of the Game by Sumit Chowdhury

Success begins with self-awareness, and this book begins at that juncture, identifying a set of tenets that young workers must learn to refl ect upon in light of their personal strengths, weaknesses and passions, to create their own rules for success.

What holds people back, despite formal education and acquired knowledge, is not being able to apply this knowledge in their careers in an aware, timely and proactive manner. There are no universal truths. No prescriptive mantras that guarantee success. Rather, success lies in being able to implement on what has been learned. Micro-learning from every experience and situation and by being conscious of their actions, reactions and thoughts, young people can actively shape their personality. Likening career to a game, Sumit Chowdhury draws on his own experiences and offers a framework that can help young workers crystallise their own awareness, develop personal leadership, sharpen their impact, and acquire winning attitudes that can take them towards success.

Peppered with deep insights from business leaders from Indian industry spanning multiple sectors, such as Naina Lal Kidwai, Rupa Kudva, Prasoon Joshi, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Nitin Paranjpe, Sanjay Behl, Vinita Bali, Subroto Bagchi, Chandra Sripada and many more, and combining the bittersweet refl ections of senior professionals of what they wish they knew in their 20s, this book challenges every Gen Y person to unlearn what they must, absorb the wisdom of others and create their unique, personalized path towards success.

Speaking of the book, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Honourable Minister of State for Human Resource Development, says, ‘Chowdhury urges his readers to have an entrepreneurial understanding of themselves, and gives them a valuable toolkit for achieving success in their careers.’

Reviewed by:

Amrita ChowdhuryCountry Head & Publishing Director, Harlequin India


Leadership: Gen YVolume 7 Issue 2 April 2014

NHRD Network Board MembersNational President: Mr Rajeev Dubey, President (Group HR & After-Market) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra

Past National President : Dr. T V Rao, Chairman - T V Rao Learning Systems

Dr Santrupt Misra, CEO, Carbon Black Business & Director, Group H.R. - Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd Dwarakanath P, Advisor-Group Human Capital - Max India Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Offi cer - Aquil Busrai Consulting

NS Rajan, Group Chief Human Resources Offi cer and Member of the Group Executive Council, TATA Sons Ltd

S Y Siddiqui, Chief Operating Offi cer - Administration (HR, Finance, IT & COSL), Maruti Suzuki India LtdRegional Presidents: East: Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, Executive Director (HR) - Retail Sector, Spencer’s Retail LtdSouth: L Prabhakar, Vice President (HR) Agri-Business Division, ITC Ltd West: Ms Anjali Raina, Executive Director, Harvard Business School North: Ms Veena Swarup, Director (HR), Engineers India LtdNational Secretary: S V Nathan, Director Talent (US-India), DELOITTENational Treasurer: Ms Shelly Singh, Co-Founder & EVP, People Strong HR ServicesDirector General: Kamal Singh Editorial Team Ms. Anjali Raina, Executive Director, Harvard Business School India Research Center (Guest Editor for this issue) Dr. PVR Murthy, Managing Editor, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, [email protected] Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, [email protected] Dr. Arvind N Agrawal, President - Corporate Development & Group HR, RPG GroupPublisher, Printer, Owner Kamal Singh, Director General, NHRDN and Place of Publication on behalf of National HRD Network, National HRD Network Secretariat, C 81 C, DLF Super Mart, DLF City, Phase IV, Gurgaon122 002. Tel +91 124 404 1560 e-mail: [email protected] at Nagaraj & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 156, Developed Plots Industrial Estate, Perungudi, Chennai 600 096. Tel : 044 - 66149291The views expressed by the authors are of their own and not necessarily of the editors nor of the publisher nor of authors’ organizations

Copyright of the NHRD Journal, all rights reserved. Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproduced without copyright holders’ express permission in writing.

NHRD fi rmly believes in and respects IPR and we appeal to the contributors and readers to strictly honour the same.

For any further clarifi cations, please contact :

The Managing EditorDr. P V R Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, #8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600 018.

[email protected]

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

The National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal where in each issue is dedicated to a theme.

The journal publishes primarily three categories of articles :

• Conceptual and research based

• Contributions from thought leaders including a limited number of reprints with due permission

• Organizational experiences in HR interventions/mechanisms.

About this issue :

Gen Y (those born from 1980 to 2000) are taking over the workplace. What is the best way to lead and manage this global, hyper connected ‘youth bulge’? How should young Gen Y leaders lead multigenerational work places? This journal brings together research, case studies, book reviews and a spectrum of views on these leadership questions, including for the fi rst time, voices of Gen Y. Business leaders, HR practitioners and Gen Y members will all fi nd nuggets of wisdom that they can apply.

Editorial Board Members :

Dr. P.V.R. Murthy, Managing Editor is a product of I.I.T., Kharagpur and IIM, Calcutta with close to thirty years experience in H.R. fi eld. He founded and runs an executive search fi rm Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants. He is associated with a number of academic institutions. He is trained in TQM in Japan and in human processes from ISABS and NTL, U.S.A. He is the Past National Secretary of National HRD Network.

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, A doctoral fellow from XLRI and AHRD, he is trained in OD and Human Processes from NTL, USA and he believes in applying HR concepts to practice to make it more meaningful and effective. He is a mentor and coach to many young HR professionals.

Dr. Arvind N Agrawal - Dr. Arvind N. Agrawal, Ph.D. serves as the President and Chief Executive of Corporate Development & Human Resources and Member of Management Board of RPG Enterprises. Dr. Agrawal has worked at RPG Enterprises since 1999 and his current responsibilities in RPG comprise of HR and TQM. Agrawal held senior positions in Escorts and Modi Xerox. He was the past National President of the National HRD Network. Dr. Agrawal is an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus and also an IIT Kharagpur alumini, and also holds a PhD from IIT Mumbai.


Leadership : Gen Y April 2014

www.nationalhrd.org

ISSN - 0974 - 1739

NHRD Network JournalApril 2014 Volume 7 Issue 2

A Quarterly Publication by The National HRD Network

Leadership:Gen Y

Tamara J. EricksonRama BijapurkarPriyanka Bhotiya and

Dr. Arvind AgrawalLalima ChhabraAditi TandonRussell MasonShama DalalSaloni ChaturvediDisha MehraPriyanca VaishnavGaargi RamakrishnanSiddharth Kanoria &

Shagun SethShaheen MistriSonali Roy ChowdhuryKurt PiemonteMini MenonPrince Augustin,

Namrata Gill, Raghav Pareek, and Neha Londhe

Mona CheriyanAmuleek Singh BijralAshish DhawanUma GaneshDr. D. Prasanth NairYogi SriramAmrita Chowdhury

www.nationalhrd.org

Nati onal HRD NetworkThe Nati onal HRD Network, established in 1985, is an associati on of professionals committ ed to promoti ng the HRD movement in India and enhancing the capability of human resource professionals, enabling them to make an impactf ul contributi on in enhancing competi ti veness and creati ng value for society. Towards this end, the Nati onal HRD Network is committ ed to the development of human resources through educati on, training, research and experience sharing. The network is managed by HR professionals in an honorary capacity, stemming from their interest in contributi ng to the HR profession.

The underlying philosophy of the NHRDN is that every human being has the potenti al for remarkable achievement. HRD is a process by which employees in organizati ons are enabled to:

• acquire capabilities to perform various tasks associated with their present and future roles;

• develop their inner potential for self and organizati onal growth;

• develop an organizati onal culture where networking relationships, teamwork and collaboration among diff erent units is strong, contributi ng to organizati onal growth and individual well-being.

Documents

NHRD Network Journal - National HRD... Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Regional ... Industrial Relations Dr. D. Prasanth Nair 118 ... Leadership: Gen Y Yogi Sriram 122 Case Study 24. Gen Y