There have been articles in the newspapers and business magazines about New-age millennial managers changing company culture for the better. The reasons being given are:
· They work for a purpose
· They pursue development
· They don’t want to be bosses, and so on
One thing people have not noticed is that they are also always ready to move on, in their search for better opportunities. They have no loyalty and no long-term relationship with the organization, most of the time.
We need to accept and understand that culture is not an overnight dish. It takes years to make and build one. In those years the environment has to be stable to let the culture take shape so that it can be followed for years subsequently. With the continuous movement of millennials, who look for moksha in a snap and whose satisfaction with the present is of very short duration, the culture does not remain strong, to hold on to its base.
And before you start labelling me as an old conservative anti-millennial person, let me say that I also find another set of problems with the so-called experienced managers, as well. They are rigid in the culture they have formed. They feel that all the time youngsters are looking for WIIFM. But, who doesn’t?
Let us understand that no culture should be rigid. Values can be – like honesty, integrity etc, but culture is built by people. When people change it is obvious that the culture will shift a bit now and then, and then maybe over a considerable period of time, the culture will change. The things to be kept in mind is that culture change should not alter the objectives of the company and the vision, the mission, DNA etc.
Positive and selfless culture can only be built by people who have values, who think long term and who have very few personal agendas like the Level 5 leaders attribute as described by Jim Collins in the legendary book #goodtogreat. Culture goes far when the focus is on others, on employees, customers, and society; not only on the maximization of shareholder’s wealth. People fail to realize that if they can keep the employees, customers and society happy, maximization of shareholder’s wealth is an automatic by-product.
Let us focus on #makingworkplaceshappier.