Outnumbered

Maybe it's like programming the DVD and having an account with Twitter...I'm suddenly aware that this child of the 60s has to get with the program. And the program for today is: We're outnumbered by nincompoops in the workplace. There is a dearth of leadership, mentoring and support for all the young people leaving the safety of the university and finding themselves unarmed in a shark tank.

For example, a young client arrives and spins a Scheherazade-worthy tale of pure and pitiful incompetence at a well-known company and the people who occupy their corner cubicles. Given this young man's credentials, competence, charisma and character, you would think that management would nurture his progress in the hopes of encouraging him to take an ownership role in the company's success. Trust me, this is a superstar in the making.

The problem is, no one is thinking.

His boss systematically underutilized, underinformed and excluded the young man from meetings. Rather than stoke the young man's fire and use it to build the department, the boss followed the path of all bad managers and did everything possible to discourage his commitment to the company.
As we all know from previous jobs, we don't work just for the money.

It's not the first time I've heard this story from a client. The opportunities for developing young talent are being blown everyday because no one gives a damn. From my experience working with these fine young men and women I can tell you that they want to work their heart out but they need generous bosses, people secure enough to take pleasure in someone else's success.

And you don't have to be a boss to do this. Young professionals are in desperate need of post-graduate guidance. A lean organization might mean bigger profits but it will also mean that someone entering a company will not likely have a manager take a vested interest in them.

College prepares you to deconstruct Trollope. It doesn't prepare you for the chicanery of 21st century corporate America. And with the nincompoops ascendant, our young graduates, shiny with hope and expectation are finding themselves hopelessly and helplessly outnumbered.

Call up your favorite new graduate and take her to lunch.