Global Ideology Management

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As a business owner or manager, it’s important to practice what you preach. If you require employees to be available 24/7 while you’re MIA, or you’re constantly texting on the job while you prohibit employees from using their phones, for example, your hypocritical behavior is sending the wrong message to employees, and they may resent you for it.

Researchers from the University of Missouri (MU) looked at some of the retail industry’s 15.7 million employees and found that these types of inconsistencies in corporate policies and managerial behavior — “corporate hypocrisy,” as they call it — often decimates employee morale and, in turn, leaves a negative impression on customers.

“When [frontline retail employees] experience corporate hypocrisy, they have some visceral feelings,” said Saheli Goswami, one of the researchers and a doctoral student in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences. “These impressions have a high chance of being translated from employees to the customers as the retail employees experience corporate hypocrisy,” Goswami told Business News Daily.

Over time, unchecked corporate hypocrisy could lead to fewer sales, she added.

Goswami and Jung Ha-Brookshire, an associate professor of textile and apparel management and associate dean for research in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences, focused their research on the retail industry because they expected to find a higher prevalence of corporate hypocrisy there as they developed and refined their definition.

“[R]etail stores have part-time employees, so the company and manager are more likely to think of them as replaceable,” Ha-Brookshire said. “The problem is that these employees interact with consumers all the time, and when consumers have a negative interaction, they tend to say they don’t like that store or won’t visit that brand anymore.”

Although the retail industry was the focus of this particular study, the researchers said their findings extend across industries. Entrepreneurs and managers should be wary of the impacts of inconsistent behavior and policies on both their employees and customer base in order to avoid lost business, the researchers said.

“Retail employees can easily transfer their impressions to customers,” Goswami said. “But in any other industry — say, finance — if I see my company, or even immediate supervisor, behaving hypocritically … I have access to share my perceptions beyond consumers. Because of … [websites like] Glassdoor, these perceptions definitely impact other industries.”

Goswami and Ha-Brookshire said future research will include other industries and more thoroughly investigate the effect of corporate hypocrisy on employee turnover and overall productivity. Their initial hypothesis: Corporate hypocrisy is a drag on business across the board.

So, when you’re crafting company policies or just supervising day-to-day workflow, it’s important to hold yourself to the same standards as your employees. Moreover, make sure any changes, along with the rationale for the shift, are clearly communicated to your employees; the key is to make sure they feel appreciated and kept in the loop.

“Employees, including those who perceive hypocrisy, and the managers need to have a good idea about the corporate culture,” Goswami said. “What is the organization about? What are their goals? What are their strategies? I might not agree with a practice or a goal, but that’s something I [as an employee] need to be aware of, so my expectations are adjusted accordingly.”

Enhancing managerial training beyond a simple task-based focus is also key, the researchers said. Including moral and ethical considerations in both the training and hiring of executives and managers would protect against contradictions that could dampen employee morale and future sales, they said.

Lazy. Entitled. Narcissistic. Unreliable. Delusional. Shallow. These are just a few of the terms that have been used over and over and over again to describe the millennial generation.

This demographic cohort, widely accepted as people born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, has been studied and discussed since the term “millennial” was first coined in 1989 by authors Neil Howe and William Strauss. But the surge of research, articles and reports about millennials over the last decade — mostly published by Gen Xers and baby boomers — all seem to draw a lot of the same conclusions: Individuals of this generation are immature, selfish and don’t want to work as hard as their parents and grandparents did.

Of course, the inherent problem with making broad generalizations about a young generation is that they grow up. The “selfish” and “delusional” characteristics millennials may have exhibited can very easily be attributed to the naivety of youth. Now that the youngest millennials are college-aged and the oldest ones are more than a decade into their careers, it might be time to revisit the common wisdom about how to manage and engage with this generation in the workplace.

The evolving millennial mindset
It makes sense that millennial mindsets are shifting as they age and move into new stages of adulthood, said Sherry Dixon, senior vice president of Adecco Staffing USA.

“Like the generations before them, millennials are not exempt from growing up, taking on more responsibilities and experiencing new ambitions,” Dixon said. “For example, they may be focused on getting a promotion, or they may be looking to buy their first home. These types of big life events come with unique hurdles that can bring about self-reflection and understandings that lead to new attitudes in and outside of the workplace.”

It’s also worth noting that this generation grew up in a completely different world and job market than their predecessors, which has tremendously impacted their views and attitudes, said John Covilli, senior vice president the Americas for Dale Carnegie Training.

“We must remember that most millennials were forced to navigate the first stage of their professional careers during the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008, a time when hiring was at an all-time low in the United States,” Covilli told Business News Daily. “That’s a tough way to start a career, but it helped millennials develop a resilience that is crucial in the professional world.”

Covilli believes that as millennials have continued to grow and experience the “real world,” that resilience has shifted into pride and commitment to their work.

“This generation knows their skills, understands the value of work, and embraces the importance of technology to a level that is critical in every profession,” he said.

Why should we still care about millennials?
With the oversaturation of articles and studies about millennials in the workforce, employers may be feeling some fatigue over the suggestions to bend over backwards for this generation. It’s true that you shouldn’t only craft your workplace around millennials: Jason Liu, CEO of sales enablement software company SAVO Group, noted that adjusting management approaches is more about adapting to overall shifts in work style and culture, rather than catering to a generation.

“The way we work today is significantly different than 10 years ago, and 10 years prior to that,” Liu said. “The ideas of open concept offices, working from home and agile transformations across … an entire organization have an effect on how managers and employees work together. As the way we do our work transforms, the way we manage needs to transform as well.”

Although practices like flex hours and remote work policies do align closely with young people’s workplace preferences, it behooves employers to offer these types of perks to compete in today’s increasingly tight job market, said Dixon.

“Taking time to understand what motivates employees at all career stages — and refining management practices accordingly — is key to the success of an organization,” she said. “It would be a mistake to overlook the needs of a group with as much influence as millennials will have in the years to come.”

To Dixon’s point, millennials are the largest living generation in the country, and their numbers will continue to grow in the workforce in the coming years. However, no matter what your company’s demographic makeup is, you do need to pay attention to what your employees want — especially those who currently occupy or will soon be assuming leadership positions.

“A company cannot grow and prosper if it employs management techniques that are outdated and obsolete,” Covilli said. “It’s important to listen to your employees, no matter if they’re 20-years-old or 50-years-old, and embrace their views on how a business is run. A company is only as strong as its employees, so if they’re unhappy with the way your business operates, it’s going to be difficult to motivate them to go the extra mile for you.”

“Millennials bring both desire and skill to working collaboratively, sharing insights, gathering feedback and management will miss out if it fails to harness the power of these skills and interests,” added Liu.

Managing your millennial employees
Smart employers have learned that company policies and management practices need to be flexible enough to adapt to the individual needs of employees. If your workforce is millennial-heavy, here are a few tips to help you connect with this maturing generational group.

Communicate often. One persistent stereotype about millennials is that they crave constant praise and attention. While it’s true that this generation still wants open and frequent communication, it’s not necessarily for the sake of their egos: Dixon said millennials look for this because they are concerned with growth at work.

“They are looking for honest and consistent feedback from their managers to help them improve and develop their skills,” she said. “Employers might consider taking it a step further by laying out a long-term plan for advancement within the company, or offering annual training opportunities.”

Embrace change. In the business world, you have to be ready for change, and that couldn’t be truer than when you’re discussing the millennial generation, said Covilli.

“They live in an era that offers instant gratification, instant information at the touch of a button — that’s not the world that many of us in management positions have lived in before,” he said. “To [retain] a generation that sometimes has a short attention span, it’s important to keep things constantly changing and evolving.”

Foster a strong sense of mission. Richard Stevenson, head of corporate communications for e-commerce software provider ePages.com, noted that many millennials value a shared company mission, and for some, that sense of mission is even more important to work satisfaction than money or material perks.

“It is so important to discuss the mission as work and processes develop and arise, so that younger team members remain motivated and empowered as to how and why their contributions are valuable to the business,” Stevenson said. “It is absolutely worth investing in this process.”

Try to learn from them. Above all else, be open to your millennial workers’ insights and perspectives, said Liu: You just might learn something that can help your business.

“Like every generation, [millennials] bring their own worldview — but the pace of technology advancement is at an unprecedented level, so this is the first generation to also bring such a formative shift in technology usage,” Liu said. “We need to look for how we can learn from the ways millennials naturally relate outside the enterprise, as these are the communication channels and behaviors they will bring with them.”

Being the boss means that, to achieve goals, you not only have to be personally inspired by your job, but you also have to inspire those around you. But what if you’re terrible at it?

Though there are countless good bosses out there, there are an equal number of ineffective leaders. According to the Great Boss Assessment survey by S. Chris Edmonds, founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, only 45 percent of survey respondents say their boss inspires their best efforts each day. Fifty-eight percent say that their boss treats them with trust and respect daily — which means that 42 percent of bosses treat team members with distrust and disrespect.

“Bosses can be bad by micromanaging and not giving employees the autonomy to do great things,” said Bruce Cardenas, chief communications officer at Quest Nutrition. “These can really derail a boss’s standing in the workplace, because it could hinder someone’s drive to do a good job.”

Furthermore, bosses can be bad if they don’t appreciate their employees, Cardenas added. [See Related Story: Are You a True Leader, or Just a Boss?]

Amy Casciotti, vice president of human resources at TechSmith, a software company that provides practical business and academic software products, said that these traits contribute to poor leadership:

Poor communication. It’s very frustrating for employees to have a boss who doesn’t communicate well to provide his workers with clear direction or expectations.
A micromanager. When bosses micromanage, it shows a complete lack of trust in their employees to do their jobs correctly.
Playing favorites. Bosses who play favorites with employees and give preferential treatment make poor leaders.
Not unlike any other team member, bad behavior from the boss can cost the team potential success.

“Having a bad attitude and treating people in an unkind way has a negative effect on success. I think this is one of the most fundamental, basic things in business,” Cardenas said. “It has a toxic effect on the group when bosses should be positive and inspire people daily.”

If you’re realizing that your leadership skills need improvement, worry not: Your career can still be salvaged. Here’s what you can do to become a better boss.

Communication is key
Whether it’s a personal or professional bond, communication is the root of a healthy relationship. Being proactive about and open to communication will improve not only how you lead, but also how you’re received by your team.

“Listen and observe more, talk and multitask less,” said Matt Eventoff, owner of Princeton Public Speaking. “We all give clues as to what is going on internally on a regular basis. Those clues give great insight into how to communicate with your employees more effectively.”

To identify potential issues before they arise, Eventoff suggests that you focus on employees’ nonverbal communication, tonal and pitch changes, and changes in regular communication patterns.

Recognize your employees’ strengths
No man (or woman) should be an island. That said, no one leader has even been successful without help. Good leaders celebrate the strengths and successes of those around them.

“Get good at spotting the strengths of others, including your direct reports, peers and your boss,” Dr. Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist, said. “Research indicates that paying attention to the strengths of others is a critical element in developing others to be more successful, as well as building effective partnering relationships.”

Understand the demographics in your office
Gaining perspective on your multigenerational office can make you a better boss as well. The way your baby boomer employee communicates may not be the same as that of a Gen Xer or millennial. Having a firm grasp on motivations and communication skills can help you as a leader in the long run.

“If you don’t make the time to get to know your staff, you’ll never understand them and be effective with that cohort of your staff. This helps break down those gaps,” Cardenas said.

“Understanding what people value and what motivates them makes it much easier to communicate job expectations, offer the right type of support, or even make changes that will better suit certain teams’ performance,” Casciotti added. “Regardless who you are speaking with, you need to learn how they prefer to communicate, and implement those preferences into the workflow of the organization.”

Remaining self-aware and learning from others will help you in the long run when it comes to your career.

“You need to lean on your subordinates and people that are in a trusted leadership position to learn from them. Not everyone is a natural-born leader, so there is an opportunity to absorb what other leaders at the company are doing successfully in their roles,” Cardenas said.