Voices

Do Partners Need to ‘Parent’ Their Younger Employees?

An interesting blog post came to myattention the other day – one that claims that more experienced staff need to “parent”the younger professionals within a firm. (Insert groan here).

Now, I’m not saying there’s no truthin what Melinda Guillemette is saying on her blog, Melinda Motivates I do think it’s the partners' and more experienced staff's responsibility tomentor their newbies, but to parent?

“How many times did you teach thesame lessons over and over, to your own children … it’s no different in the workplace.You have to give clear, consistent instruction … At some point, there have tobe consequences for non-productive behavior as it is defined by yourorganization’s leadership,” she writes.

Yes to clear, consistentconstruction, but no to parenting and no to coddling. It's patronizing.Treat younger staff like theadults that they are and you are more likely to get an adult response. If they'reon their phone texting or using Facebook – who cares? Are they getting theirwork done? Are they present in the office? If they are not up to speed on the firm's culture or need some tips on being more professional, set a good example by illustrating that culture and those policies yourself.

And while yes, partners can andshould teach their up and comers what they know, parenting is a whole different ballgame.

What do you think?

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