Purdue CIO Gerry MecCartney advises constant feedback, questioning old nnrules and framing responsibility and mission for Millennial IT staff As CIOs, how should we connect with our youngest team members? My generation—the Baby Boomers—really like being liked as bosses. That is important to us. But that mentality is not helping our Gen Y employees. For CIOs to lead younger people and bring them into line, everything turns to managing expectations. A winning tactic I’ve found useful is to constantly state flat out that if they do these certain things, they are going to be successful. Then when they do those things, you must give them immediate feedback and, if you can, reward and salute them then and there. Feedback isn’t an annual review. The immediacy of the feedback is the key. What doesn’t work well is having the view that you come in and work hard every day, and knowing that you’ve done hard work should be a sufficient reward. The younger generations need to be told that they’ve done well. The quiet hero is not part of their world view. Quiet is translated as passive or uncaring. Likewise, the old model of one performance review a year is not going to get the response you want. Constant feedback will. That feedback has got to be thoughtful, and it’s important to explain the “why” of things. If done well, this can even serve as formal mentoring. There is something to the idea that this generation has a sense of entitlement, but that can be a good thing as long as it comes with a sense of responsibility. Why get up in the morning? The question for us is whether the discipline of coming into the office for specific hours is a necessary artifact of the workplace or some hangover from the factory model. We were taught to come in, wear this kind of uniform, do this kind of work. Maybe that’s the wrong model now, and maybe Gen Y is an agent of that change. It’s something for each CIO to weigh; we must strike a balance that fits our organizations. Discipline aside, instilling responsibility is part of a CIO’s job as the leader. Give them projects with goals, even if it’s maintenance work framed as a project. At Purdue, I also reinforce that after protecting borders and saving lives, ours is the third most important job in this country—educating people. On a wet Tuesday, that’s a worthy job to get up to. Every CIO should identify that driver for their own organization and communicate it to raise their employees’ sense of purpose and pride in what they do. McCartney is CIO and VP of IT at Purdue University and a Council member. E-mail topics or questions for mentors to connect@cio.com. For more information on the CIO Executive Council, visit our public site. Related content events promotion Australia's CIO50 Team of the Year Awards finalists revealed Along with the unveiling of the annual CIO50 List and the team category winners, the 2023 CIO50 Awards will also recognise the inaugural Next CIO winner and a new Hall of Fame recipient. By Cathy O'Sullivan May 31, 2023 3 mins IDG Events brandpost API security: key to interoperability or key to an organization? Understanding the risks of using APIs and how to prepare to address those risks. By Keith Zelinski, Managing Director, Technology Consulting May 31, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Designing the campus of the future starts with high-quality 10 Gbps connectivity By Huawei May 31, 2023 4 mins Network Architect Networking Devices Networking brandpost How an Indian real-estate juggernaut keeps growing by harnessing the power of zero A South Indian real-estate titan is known for the infinite variety and impressive scale of its projects, but one of its most towering achievements amounts to nothing literally. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor May 31, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe