With President Obama's campaign message of "Change" still echoing throughout the US, thousands of people are applying for jobs with the federal government, many hoping to bring about the kind of change the new president encouraged. But a lot of these folks will have little experience in government or in the specific fields in which they want to work. As they come in with grand ideas for change they will need to balance that with an understanding of reality...an understanding that many of them won't have due to that lack of experience.
As an employer, you may often find the same situation with your Creatives, and you might find it hard to maintain that balance. On the one hand, you want to take advantage of new employees' motivation, and they will bring some fresh ideas from outside your company, perhaps introducing new ideas or new perspectives that can help your firm grow. New employees, especially young ones (and ESPECIALLY Creatives) often come to you because they are looking for something challenging and someplace where they can make a difference.
At the same time, without experience, they are likely to come in with some ideas that just aren't feasible, and in some cases have been tried already and failed. Your older employees may not take them seriously, and may in fact see them as a threat to their own positions...after all, if these new folks have all the great ideas, maybe the experienced ones won't be able to keep up with them. So until your newbies get some experience, it may be tough for them to come up with practical ideas that have a shot at getting implemented.
But remember, your young new employees may want to being about change NOW and may not be prepared for a work environment that doesn't automatically accept everything they say. What should you, as a leader, do?
First, you have a responsibility to your business, so you can't put new ideas into practice merely to keep your new employees happy. If something won't work don't be afraid to say so, though it's best to do it in a non-confrontational way; don't go out of your way to make someone look bad or feel foolish in public.
Second, you don't want to squash your employees' motivation, so be sure to evaluate each idea individually rather than just dismissing everything because "they're too young to know anything." Your employees will value your opinion more if they know it's based on thoughtful analysis rather than stereotyping.
To help with this, be honest with your new employees up front, letting them know how they will fit into your firm. Make sure they know if you want them to gain some experience before volunteering their opinions or if you want them to jump in headfirst right from the start. If they know the rules of the game they are more likely to stay with your until they have the chance to contribute meaningfully, rather than having expectations about their role that don't get met. They might not like stifling themselves (if that's what you have the do) but they'll appreciate your honesty. It would also be good to have a development plan for them, something to give both you and your new Creative a chance to mark their progress toward the point where they can maximize their contribution.
Finally, make sure your more experienced employees also understand your expectations for the newbies. If it's important to you for your new employees to feel they can contribute openly, then it should be important to your older employees as well. You might consider partnering you new Creative with an experienced employee who can show the newbie the ropes. This kind of mentoring can be useful to both parties.
You hire people because you think they're good, so it seems silly to lock them in a box and not listen to their ideas. Indeed, your Creatives come to you precisely because they want to do something interesting, and you're liable to lose them if you don't put them to good use. At the same time, they need some seasoning to be their most effective. Rather than just letting things play out on their own, take some positive steps to strike the best balance between their motivation and their level of experience.
1 comments:
I enjoyed reading your blog and it brought to my mind an experience I had on my first job as a programmer. I had just started with a large international company, and it seemed to be, at the outset, a great place to learn and get my feet wet. I was given a mentor, and attached to a team working on a large project. After a few weeks of learning the ropes, I had a small code change I had worked out as a fix to a minor problem they were having. After vetting/ testing the changes with my mentor - she gave it the green light and said "it is ready to go". So the next day when they called inquiring of the status, I pushed it over.
The fireworks from that action still lie in my memory today. I was questioned by the head of the team, my mentor was dragged in, and I was told that they did not like my "initiative" and it reflected poorly on all the others in the team. I, as a newbie, was puzzled. (I should mention here that, no, I am not good at office politics) Wanting to learn from my mistakes I asked my mentor several questions such as 'Did I need some other permission before doing this action? Was the code wrong? Did it affect any other systems? Was there a negative impact to my actions I didn't see?' and I was surprised that the answer to all of these was no. Soon after the second in command brought me into his office, closed the door, and quietly told me what no one else would 'What you did was correct, but you did it too quickly - and now the customer has an expectation of service that is higher than we like.' I realized that this company was not the right fit for me, and soon left and joined a small software firm that had no mentor program, but I enjoyed a high level of responsibility immediately, lots of creative problem solving, and found my niche. I became a seasoned programmer. I would never go back to or recommend the first company I worked for ever.
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