A Special Note From Robert Wendover
I am hard at work on a new book entitled, Common Sense by Friday: How Effective Managers Foster Critical Thinking Skills in the Menu-Driven Generation. As the sub-title explains, the book will provide readers with practical tips and insights for fostering confident problem solving among those now joining the workforce. It is politically incorrect these days to say anything negative about those under thirty. But the fact is many are struggling to thrive in the workplace.
Our research indicates that young people tend to be uncomfortable outside of the menu-driven environment. They have underdeveloped critical thinking skills and lack self-confidence in their ability to cope with the ambiguous situations that life throws at everyone every day. Yes, there are many under 30 who display their brilliance. Sadly, these individuals are far outnumbered by those requiring constant direction, coaching and reassurance in spite of their formal education.
The Millennials are, of course, a product of their times. So as much as older generations are mystified and troubled by this behavior, they have no one to blame but themselves. I am hoping this book will stimulate discussion, but more importantly offer practical solutions to this dilemma. To read the preface of the book, click here.
How you can help . . .
I am looking for managers in all walks of life who are successful at fostering critical thinking and problem solving skills among those under 30. Rather than defining this more, I’ll let you use your imagination as to what I mean. If you know someone like this I need you to send me their contact information so I can connect with them and find out their secrets. They don’t have to be identified in the book, although some may be willing. The important thing is that I get to interview them for about 30 minutes or so.
In return for these connections, I will offer you these two special deals:
If you send me the name and contact information of a person who you believe excels at supervising those under 30, I’ll send you a $30 credit to use on any resource the Center offers. This includes webinars, videos, audios, books, and special reports.
If I include the person you suggest in the book, I’ll send you a $200 credit toward anything the Center offers. (I plan to feature about 50 people.) Click here to send me your suggestions right now.
Thanks in advance,
Bob Wendover
P.S. The person you suggest could be yourself.
P.P.S Look for the book’s release this fall.
I Don’t Care What You Know
I need to know how you think. With the exception of occupations requiring mastery of specific technical skills, it is a safe bet that the majority of applicants are qualified for the job they are seeking. Sure, if you’re hiring managers it is reasonable to pay more attention to those with management experience. But with so many applicants typically possessing time managing others, the specific qualification of management is reduced to an irrelevance. The same thing is true when it comes to front-line positions. When it comes to hiring for non supervisory roles, most anyone who applies is arguably qualified.
This then begs the question, "If most everyone is ‘qualified’ how do we decide on the best person for the job?" That comes down to how they think. We all function in life based on assumptions. If she has a college degree, she must know what’s she’s doing. If he’s managed people in the past, he must be an effective manager. If she’s a CPA, she must be a good accountant. We have all been burned of course by mistaken or, more accurately, uninformed assumptions. Yet we continue to commit these errors daily. In most cases these mistakes have little consequence. But when it comes to hiring, we could be making a twenty, thirty, fifty, or even one hundred thousand dollar error in judgment.
Hiring is not about qualifications. It’s about how a candidate thinks and whether that thinking is the best match for the job and environment. The best way to do this is to observe behavior. The best way to observe behavior is to ask candidates to perform during the selection process. The old adage says that talk is cheap. But when it comes to employee selection, it can be very expensive.
Case Study
I manage medical intern placement for a large hospital system. Those joining our ranks over the past few years have had a decidedly different set of attitudes about learning. Are there any recognized generational differences regarding how generations train and develop their skills? For example, is the training and development regimen for medical students, interns and residents different with this generation than previous generations?
I don’t know that there are "recognized" differences, as in codified, between the generations when it comes to training and development. But there are obviously differences. The three major factors that we believe have impact are technology, skills in higher-order thinking (synthesis, evaluation, assessment) and perception of time (impatience).
Most young people have developed a dependence on what we call "menu-driven thinking" for most aspects of life, whether that’s communication, research, purchasing, banking or anything else. When forced outside of that environment, they can sometimes struggle to develop the answers or resources they need to thrive. Imagine, for instance, if someone took your calculator away. You would struggle to adapt to a manual system even if you had been a whiz at arithmetic years before. The skills we don’t use atrophy. The skills we haven’t learned take time to develop.
This, of course, ties into the higher-order thinking. Education’s focus on skill acquisition has left little time for development of reason and critical thinking. We’re finding this is little better at the college level than it is in K-12. So while your medical interns may have aced their exams, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are confident using critical thinking to solve everyday challenges in ambiguous situations.
As with anyone new to a job, this confidence takes time to develop. Previous generations learned most of their critical thinking skills and confidence through the trial and error of a "manual" world. While adapting to technology has been a challenge, they retain their underlying confidence in being able to perform in ambiguous situations. So-called digital natives have not had those same demands placed on them as youths. Therefore, they face more of an initial challenge in dealing with these situations on the job.
All of this is compounded by a desire for immediate feedback and outcomes as promised by merchants, media, and others. So what to do?
In a training and development environment, solutions can include more video, less lecture, gaming, simulations, and more of an emphasis on blended learning. It is the nature of those under 30 to demand the most efficient and painless solutions to learning. Of course this has been true of any generation as it comes of age. The juggernaut this time around is digital technology.
Delivering instruction is one thing, but it needs to be balanced with the development of critical thinking skills and the ability to manage the ambiguity that pervades our lives and jobs. That can be a tough sell for those doing the training and development, but it must be done. I find that the most powerful question I can ask young learners is "What does it mean?" and then get very quiet and wait for the answer. While there can be some initial resistance and uncomfortable silence, most rise to the occasion given time and patience.
I conducted a series of webinars on these topics this past spring. Recordings of these sessions are available on our website.
To your success!
