Anyone who is raising or has raised a teenager knows that they can keep you on your toes. However, while their push back may be frustrating at times, it actually contains some great leadership wisdom. Here are seven common things that you’ll hear from your teenager that you should take to heart.
• So what?
• Yeah Mom, I’ll do it later
• No way—I’m not doing that!
• Are we there yet?
• How will I ever use this when I grow up?
• You just don’t know what it’s like for kids today
• Is that it?
So what?
Great leaders create meaning and purpose for their people. Don’t just bark out orders. Help people understand the big picture. People will rally around purpose more than they will a task.
Yeah Mom, I’ll do it later
You can’t do everything. Some things matter more than others. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind. Eighty percent of the value you create comes from twenty percent of your effort. Prioritize your work to ensure that you are doing the most important things for yourself and for your organization. Put off those things that are not critical to the organization’s success.
No way – I’m not doing that
Learn to say ‘no’ and mean it. Protect your time, and more importantly, your team’s time. Keep the administrative and busy work to a minimum if you can’t eliminate it entirely.
Are we there yet?
Teenagers don’t care about the plane trip; they just want to get to the beach. Your boss and customers are similar. They don’t care about all the stuff you “do”, it is what you accomplish that gets noticed. Stay focused on results–don’t just get caught up in activity.
How will I ever use this when I grow up?
Your people’s time is valuable. It might be nice for them to learn your company’s history during orientation, but it probably won’t help them do their job better. Understand what is keeping your people from performing and focus on that. Keep the “interesting” stuff to a minimum and make it available off-line–if they want to read it.
You don’t know what it’s like for kids today
What motivates you might not motivate others. Their goals are probably not the same as yours. Treat each person as an individual. Talk to your people directly. Don’t rely on your managers and supervisors to give you the scoop. And, don’t let the employee survey be your main source of input from your team. Get to know them yourself. The same holds true for your customers.
Is that it?
Your kids want complete solutions. They want the latest smart phone, the apps, the downloads, the leather carrying case, the skins, and the rapid-charger. Give them just one and they’ll look at you like your nuts. Your business needs complete solutions too. If a problem is worth solving, it’s worth solving completely. Don’t cut corners or skimp. It is better to have one problem fully solved than five problems partially solved. The partial solutions often breed new problems of their own.
Following the wisdom of a teenager can greatly improve your communication, team effectiveness, and overall impact. Of course, there are probably a few things that your teenagers can learn from you too.
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Brad Kolar is an executive consultant, speaker, and author with Avail Advisors.
Great post, Brad!
I’d like to share my thoughts about point 3 and 4.
It makes sense to say no, especially because, often, companies assign administrative and busy tasks without really rewarding assigned people. The logic is: we reward value and those tasks do not bring value. I always disagreed with this approach which, to me, sounds the opposite of integrity. There are some boring tasks nobody would like to work on. A few are assigned. They work on something everybody hates and on top of that they are “punished” because their work does not bring value. I believe these companies’ culture should be changed.
As for point 4, it depends on what the company values. If innovation is key, it is important to develop a culture fostering creativity. And creativity is nurtured by interesting stuff. More often than not, at the beginning we do not see the connection among the dots, however it is important to have the options to identify the dots because they are at the basis of the picture.
What do you think about it?
Hey Fabio…I totally agree with you about both points.
As you said, all companies have boring tasks and those tasks must get done. I think it’s the employee’s responsibility to accept that fact and be willing to “step up” and do those tasks when they come around (so long as those aren’t the only tasks they receive). However, you are right, it’s not fair to penalize people for doing what you asked of them.
In terms of your second question, I totally agree with you. innovation requires being exposed to new and different things. My point was that sometimes organizations confuse “interesting” with whatever it is they want to show employees. In the example I provided, I would much rather have someone learn the history of another company than my own. The history of the other company is more likely to spark new ideas.