Often when I interview managers I always ask them about their first management position. Typically I will want to know what were some of the mistakes they made as a rookie manager. I ask this to see if they have an awareness of things they did wrong and how they have improved over the years.
The most common answer I get?
"When I started out I tried to be to friendly with my staff. I had to learn that it wasn't about popularity it was about being their boss. Now I don't socialize as much or try to be too friendly with them."
This might be smart mgt but according to an article at INC. Magazine it is not what the younger generation wants:
A new Hudson survey suggests Gen Y (born after 1980) and Gen X (born 1965-1979) workers want more direct access to senior management more than their older counterparts: Traditionalists (born 1928-1945) and Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964). Twenty-six percent of Gen Y surveyed would like to socialize with the boss at least once a month; twenty-one percent of Gen X surveyed
Or is it? If you turn those numbers around they read like this: 74% of Gen Y and 79% of Gen X do not want to socialize with the boss at least once a month. Sounds like a confirmation of what all my interviewees have told me: getting overly chummy is a mistake.
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