Closely Related Episode 8: Supervising Gen Z- Part 2
Posted on March 12, 2021 by Samantha Strom, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
The hosts discuss what to do you do when you’re managing someone who’s underperforming
This week, we continue our two part series on Supervising Gen Z. We answer a letter from a manager who is struggling with her direct report. While this employee started off strong in her job, she has been making frequent mistakes and appears quiet and doubtful. The manager is losing trust in her and also working overtime to fix her errors. Since her direct report is a Zoomer, we discuss how generational differences could be at play.
We share a few theories to help the manager confront her direct report. One is to not take on the work of fixing her employee’s problems. It can be tempting to just do the edits, changes, or work yourself in order to avoid confrontation. We talk about ways to give feedback in the moment and confront the situation head on. This leads to a somewhat spirited discussion on whether you should use the “Oreo method” (positive feedback, negative feedback, positive feedback) or just tell it like it is. Throughout the conversation, we discuss how some of these challenges are impacted by generational characteristics of Gen Z. As millennials, we’re special snowflakes at our core. But we discuss how (despite that we loath to admit it) there is some truth to the whole participation trophy thing. When you want immediate success, it can mean you lack resilience. Point one to Boomers.
To listen to the episode go to closelyrelatedpodcast.com. Closely Related is an advice podcast hosted by identical twins. Hannah Strom is a therapist that specializes in sex and relationships and Samantha Strom is a career and leadership coach. Listeners write in questions about love, work, and everything in between.
