Self-Esteem Generation

As a consultant I see the inside workings of many companies. Many of them are highly respected in the market place for a variety of reasons. Behind the scenes, though, it is surprising to find out how poorly managed many companies are due in part to the problems surrounding the youngest members of the organizations who received only positive, self affirming feedback. No teams ever really lost. Everyone received the awards because to do otherwise might negatively impact someone's self-esteem. No child is ever held back for poor performance but socially advanced in order that they are not psychologically damaged. Negative progress reports are transformed into extolling "other virtues". Of course once they reach the workforce they could find themselves blindsided by rigid requirements of showing up on time and delivering results and maybe receiving a poor performance review. Not finding this appealing they move on in search of their "passion" that will continue to reinforce their self-esteem without rigid requirements.

Finding a whole generation like this Human Resource departments are forming new guidelines for "associate" retention. Flexible schedules. Performance plans. Managers no longer have the freedom to give negative feedback or tell their "associates" that they are not meeting expectations without an HR representative present. This has translated into an epidemic of missing goals and deliverables. Deadline used to mean "drop dead date". "Not to go past this date." No such thing any longer.

Self-Esteem has trumped performance in the US. As this attitude grows the US will continue to lose jobs to other countries where performance still trumps self-esteem and comfort even if their wages are considerably lower.