As company teams continue to expand and become younger, most managers will encounter this problem—how to manage post-90s employees? Many people have slapped countless labels on the post-90s generation, mostly associated with 'unreliability.' But in reality? Experience is a matter of time; reliability often depends on the individual and the manager's behavior. Excellent managers often ignore age and instead adjust their management strategies based on the team structure. Managing post-90s employees requires removing labels and respecting them from the heart—you are the team's leader, not just a manager, so you need to balance authority and humanization. At the same time, you need to lead by example and shape the team's values—you need to help them grow better. When they genuinely recognize you and are willing to follow you, the team can maximize its value. Returning to the manager themselves, what style suits you best? How to stimulate the enthusiasm of each member? How to optimize rules to keep the team at its strongest? Peter Drucker once said that a manager is someone who does things right. This has never been easy, and relying on rote learning to achieve excellence is unrealistic. True leaders often grope forward through pain and pressure. Below, Enjoy: Every generation has been seen by their parents as the 'beat generation.' But in fact, no generation has ever collapsed. Our country, nation, and society have always been progressing. Remember, the 'beat generation' criticized before was the post-80s. The older generation thought they were mostly only children, with superior living conditions, lacking the spirit of endurance, and unable to bear responsibility. The young people born in the 1980s are now 37-year-old uncles, gradually becoming the backbone of this country. Whether this generation collapsed, facts speak louder than words. A society that suppresses young people has no future; any conservative who hinders human progress will inevitably be eliminated by history. Future generations like the post-00s and post-10s will also be labeled as the 'beat generation,' but I firmly believe that the new generation must be better and stronger than their parents. Okay, that's enough chicken soup... Below, I'll share some experience from a manager's perspective. The definition of management is actually vague, and every manager's understanding is different.

  1. Other colleagues are working overtime, but an employee leaves on time—is that difficult to manage?
  2. When assigning tasks, an employee clearly shows dissatisfaction or even protests—is that difficult to manage?
  3. An employee is always late for work, and criticism, education, or even fines don't work—is that difficult to manage?
  4. The department goes out for drinks and singing, everyone else goes, but this employee doesn't want to—is that difficult to manage?
  5. Finding that an employee complains about the company online—is that difficult to manage? What answer would you give when facing these problems? Answering yes or no is not the correct answer. Management is an empirical discipline. To improve, you must combine theory and practice. It is unrealistic to become an excellent manager by rote learning. The kids I'm leading now (in the internet industry) are almost all post-90s. In getting along with them, I'm constantly adjusting my management strategies. Mindset 1. Remove labels and respect them sincerely When discussing the 'internet celebrity economy,' I once asked a minor beauty for advice on what apps people around her use, what TV dramas they watch, and what hot topics they discuss. She introduced some situations as if counting treasures, and I shook my head. It seems I'm really old; I can't understand what young people play with now, I sighed. It's not that you don't understand, but you don't agree, the minor beauty said. I thought about this for a long time and found it was indeed the case. Who hasn't chased stars when young? Who hasn't loved a scumbag when young? Who hasn't been childish, pretentious, and chuunibyou? Who hasn't liked some new things that adults consider 'not doing their proper job'? Our lack of understanding of today's young people is just like thinking we were idiots back then; it's just a resistance to immaturity and unfamiliarity. 2. Be the team's leader, not just a manager When I first started working, I thought 'being an official' was a great thing, like an ancient emperor, very imposing. Later, I realized that becoming a true leader is full of pain and pressure. Immature managers think of power first, while mature managers think of responsibility first. Managers in this era should not be 'emperors' high above, but should strive to be 'teachers' or 'elder brothers.' As the team's leader, you must protect the team and strive to let everyone in the team grow, and hard work can get corresponding returns. Methodology 1. Lead by example When each team develops to the end, the overall atmosphere and working style will definitely be very similar to the personal style of its core leader. If you want everyone to work hard, but you play games in the corner; you want everyone to be punctual, but you always have no concept of time... then your good wishes will never come true. Example: Xiaohong, who just graduated, started her first job. Her boss seemed like a very kind person. When she first arrived, the boss told her that the team's atmosphere was to say what you think, including pointing out problems with the boss himself. Once at a department meeting, Xiaohong pointed out a flaw in the boss's plan, but was criticized harshly by the boss. From then on, even if she saw problems, Xiaohong never proactively gave feedback to the boss. 2. Shape the team's values Every time I recruit, I reiterate the team's core values: learning, happiness, and multiculturalism. Learning Love learning, think deeply, like exploring the unknown, and be curious about the world; continuously learn new things in daily life; don't be afraid of making mistakes at work, learn from mistakes, and we will grow. Happiness
  6. Must work happily: An unhappy process will not lead to a happy result; if employees of a company don't feel happy, they can't bring happiness to its users.
  7. If you're not happy, you must say it: If you're wronged, say it; if you're bullied by other departments, say it; if the workload is too heavy and you don't have time to accompany your boyfriend, say it; if you don't want to work overtime, say it; if you have your period and it hurts so much you can't work, say it.
  8. If you say it, we'll change it: We need to clarify grievances and not suffer unjustly. Whoever dares to bully our department, I'll go fight them. If the workload is too heavy to finish, what's the reason? If there's too much work, we find others to help; if efficiency is low, we improve working methods; if we're really too busy, we recruit. If you don't want to work overtime, leave early; efficiency is more important than long hours; go to bed early and get up early to maintain a good working state; continuously learn how to be efficient is the best. If you're uncomfortable with your period, go home early and rest well; hand over urgent matters to colleagues properly; for non-urgent matters, catch up later. If the team can't function without you, then that's my problem as a leader. Multiculturalism
  9. Respect individual wishes: If the team building activity is singing and you don't like singing and don't want to go, that's fine; after dinner, we'll go have fun, and you can leave early.
  10. Tolerate individual differences: Whether you're gay or lesbian, it doesn't matter; you're a member of the team, our important partner. Need to leave early to pick up your child from kindergarten? As long as it doesn't delay work, leaving early is fine.
  11. Simple, direct, and equal communication: Office politics is the team's high-voltage line; once touched, immediately remove. Say what you think, express your ideas boldly and directly; that's the most efficient way to communicate. Easier said than done, but if you decide to do it, you must persist. 3. Become a mentor to subordinates and help them grow better Many managers easily make mistakes: 1) Think subordinates are incompetent So they interfere in everything, causing subordinates to lose their ability to think and judge, mechanically doing what the boss says. 2) Poor communication Only tell subordinates to do 12345, but don't explain why 12345. As a result, when encountering 54321, subordinates don't know how to handle it. 3) Power-hungry and bureaucratic Many orders are not to solve problems but to show authority. For example, forcing subordinates to work overtime even when there's not much work, assigning unimportant tasks during rest time, forcing subordinates to drink, perform talents they're not good at, etc. 4) Use 'high-pressure policies' to constrain subordinates' behavior Fining at every turn, or imposing humiliating punishments if tasks aren't completed. The new generation of kids have superior family conditions. After not worrying about basic needs like food and clothing, they begin to pursue higher-level needs like respect and self-worth realization. As a leader, what can you bring them? Let them see a bigger world and become better people. When subordinates follow you and truly learn something, they recognize you from the heart and are willing to follow you, so the team can maximize its value. Regularly hold learning activities, such as technical sharing, skill learning, and work habit cultivation, which can help young people grow faster. While they grow, don't hold the narrow mindset of 'teaching the apprentice will starve the master,' because 'sharing is the best learning.' While imparting your experience, you also consolidate your own knowledge system. The world's top experts are often masters who write books, teach, and solve doubts in their fields. 4. Pay attention to what most people ignore: productivity that cannot be fully quantified As a commercial organization, a company's nature is profit-seeking. Working methods and benefits are to attract talent, improve competitiveness, and gain more profit. Old Marx once said, 'Capital accumulation is obtained by exploiting the surplus value of workers.' This statement itself has limitations of the era. In today's economic environment, commercial companies adjust their corporate culture, employee management, and working methods, essentially to increase productivity. Traditional manufacturing solves productivity through assembly lines and standardization, aiming to quantify human behavior as much as possible and standardize behavior to improve efficiency. However, for modern enterprises, it's hard to be effective by copying old methods. For some occupations, the value of their work is difficult to fully quantify. Example Xiaohong works at an electronics factory. She has a fierce boss who often calls her stupid and loses his temper. Every day after being wronged, Xiaohong silently curses her boss, but her work output isn't affected. Assemble 2 parts per minute, yield rate 99.5%, each production line works 9 hours, rotates every half hour, rests for 10 minutes. If the line is running and a position is empty, the line automatically stops and alarms... Each worker's workload is precisely controlled. Those who don't meet standards are eliminated, and exceeding standards seems meaningless. From a distance, workers on the assembly line look like precise machines, busy in an orderly manner. In an office building more than 20 kilometers away, Xiaoli is thinking about how to increase the company's product sales. Five minutes ago, she thought of a brilliant idea. If this plan is implemented, she is confident it can significantly boost product sales. She estimates it can increase profits by at least 6 million yuan. However, she ultimately rejected the plan herself. She can't forget how her hard work on a project was stolen by her immediate boss; she also can't forget that month she contributed over 2 million yuan in sales for the company, but got her boss's promotion and her pitiful 3,000 yuan bonus. Better to choose a simple plan, so she can be more relaxed. Anyway, no matter how well she does, she won't get any reward. Xiaoli reopened her computer and started working. At the same time, the company's boss just came back from lunch. He will never know that during his half-hour meal, his company lost over 6 million yuan. It's easy to see how badly someone works, but you can never know how well they could have done. Usually at work, we try to set quantitative standards, like KPIs, data reports, etc. But it's hard to quantify the value a person creates at work. For programmers, you can't determine their value solely by their working hours or the amount of code they produce. Similarly, for design, copywriting, planning, product managers, etc., whether they do well enough is relative. A friend who started a business once complained to me that his employees were lifeless and couldn't share his worries. The most chilling thing was that the window in the tech department was broken, and after he went on a business trip for a week, no one fixed it. They have no entrepreneurial spirit! he said angrily. I think this is ridiculous: Did you include fixing the window in their KPIs? Did you give them a bonus for fixing it? This is the admin's job; what does it have to do with the tech department? Why should subordinates pay for your ideas without compensation? Many managers haven't seriously thought about this. They think employee obedience is natural. Such managers should be eliminated. Practical 1. Have real power: personnel and financial authority Many people have been hurt by these two things. When the boss asks you to join, it's all smooth: you recruit your own people, set your own salaries, and your team is your call! But after you join, you find that one subordinate is the boss's brother-in-law, another is a partner's relative, and your immediate boss is jealous of your recognition and gives you a hard time... You go to the boss pitifully, and he comforts you kindly: 'Young man, don't worry. I invited you to solve problems. If you can't handle this, how can I trust you with bigger resources? Come on! I believe in you~' So you throw yourself into work with passion, but soon find problems:
  • Subordinates are not only incompetent but also uncooperative
  • Recruitment quotas are delayed for months
  • New performance incentive systems are ignored by your boss: 'Young man, you're capable, but you're new here. You need to learn to integrate into the team. Don't rush. You're young; your EQ needs improvement~' When I was young, I always thought that truly awesome managers should be smooth, adaptable, able to turn the tide, and lead a group of sheep like wolves... But you can't make bricks without straw. You can't change a person who has been educated for over a decade and has formed a stable personality and worldview through limited time, energy, and loose employment relationships. Or more directly: No one can truly change another person unless that person wants to change themselves. When reading Ming history, I read a story about Qi Jiguang recruiting soldiers, which is very interesting. When preparing to fight the Japanese pirates, Qi Jiguang found that the local Ming army was poor in combat, undisciplined, and had no fighting spirit, with a combat effectiveness of only 5. Qi Jiguang didn't doubt life or read garbage like 'Ten Rules for Managers,' 'A Management Story a Day,' or '108 Rules for Leadership.' He didn't force himself to reform the corrupt army. He visited various places and recruited thousands of farmers in a region with a tough folk custom, trained them himself, and with theory + practice + the right targets, built the strongest army in Asia at that time. If you don't have real power and are just a commander without an army, it's really impossible to build your own excellent team. Many companies have unified benefits. A bunch of uncles take kids to drink and sing KTV. Although everyone thinks it's boring, you don't have the power to do something different, like things young people like, so it's hard for subordinates to feel your care. Free snacks? Flexible working hours? Outings and BBQs? Regular brainstorming and sharing sessions? You don't have the power to do something different. In the end, some people are assimilated, and others choose to leave. Without real power, you can't constrain subordinates' behavior, establish your own rules, or refresh the team. Without a strong team as support, it's hard to gain a voice in the company or achieve anything. In short, your power may be big or small, but you must have it. 2. Determine your management style In modern careers, an important turning point is the change from grassroots employee to manager. This change is not just about promotion and salary; it means a change in thinking and perspective. What kind of manager do you want to be? Few people seriously think about this. Gentle, understanding, willing to give employees a relaxed environment; strict, harsh, autocratic, demanding of subordinates; different management styles have different strategies and philosophies. Management style is usually closely related to the manager's personality, so when determining your style, you must analyze it based on your own personality. If you're naturally kind, enthusiastic, and approachable, then pretending to be strict, tough, and using high-pressure tactics to manage subordinates will definitely not be effective. Early managers often imitate their bosses or admired entrepreneurs. (Like the domestic trend of imitating Steve Jobs...) In my opinion, the best way to shape your unique management style is to be yourself. There will be countless people telling you how a manager should be, that you can't do this, blah blah blah... Just insist on being yourself. No one likes a hypocritical, awkward boss. 3. Refresh the team Refreshing the team is a problem all managers can't avoid. This is very, very important. It involves political struggles, collaboration efficiency, team atmosphere, and even company values and future direction. I won't expand on it here, but I'll emphasize one point. Not everyone can be used by you. The so-called 'any person placed in the right position can use their strengths' is pure chicken soup. If you find unsuitable people in the team, at an acceptable cost, you must replace them as quickly as possible, especially when the team is small. 4. Consistency between management strategy and management behavior Sometimes I see subordinates idling and leaving the company early, and I feel a sense of dissatisfaction. This emotion is subconscious. But I know clearly that this emotion is harmful and wrong. When this happens, there are generally two reasons:
  • I didn't assign work clearly, so they really have nothing to do.
  • I didn't cultivate good work habits in subordinates, like timely feedback on progress, so everyone knows what each other is doing. This is not the subordinate's problem; it's my own problem. It's because I didn't arrange tasks properly, leading to gaps in subordinates' work. If they've completed their tasks, why can't they leave early? If I criticize them for leaving early or not working hard, it's like breaking the rules I set myself. In the future, no one will believe in the rules I make. When making core rules based on the team, think more and decide carefully. Once decided, don't change easily, or it will greatly affect the team atmosphere. Source: CharlesWang (ID: Mr_CharlesWang) -END-