The number seven myth about Generation Y is that they want their managers to do their work for them.

Sometimes managers tell me that Gen Yers "delegate work back up" to them. Sometimes managers tell me that Gen Yers do part of the task or responsibility or the project then give it back to the managers saying, "I left A,B, and C undone and I was hoping you could finish it up for me."

This leads managers to sometimes think that Gen Yers want them to do their work for them. That's not true.

Gen Yers want managers to teach them how to do their work very well very fast.

Gen Yers want managers who will set them up for success every step of the way: Managers who will help them avoid unnecessary pitfalls, managers who will help them avoid wasting time going in the wrong direction, managers who will teach them the short cuts, managers who will break things down and spell things out for them step by step, and teach them to dot every i and cross every t.

That's what Gen Yers want. They don't want you to do the work for them. They want you to teach them.

BONUS MANAGEMENT TIP
DON'T LET GOOD PEOPLE GET INTO DOWNWARD SPIRALS
Don't let good people get into downward spirals. When an otherwise good employee is struggling, help the employee see what's going wrong and how to make things go better. Break down the project, responsibility, task, or skill into small pieces. Guide and direct the employee in accomplishing one very small piece at a time. Instead of suffering the pain of failure, the employee will get a chance to bank one tiny success after another.