February 2022 Volume 4

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Playing Defense Young women in the work force might subconsciously approach day-to-day life defensively, having experienced the statistics and reflections noted above. Given their heightened awareness of the challenges they might face in the manufacturing workplace, women of this generation could feel more compelled to protect themselves from harmful behaviors, damaging ideologies and other threats. Therefore, it is critical that mentors both acknowledge the mentee’s daily challenges and adjust their language and advice in a way that benefits the mentee to the highest extent possible through preserving the comfort of all parties. Effective mentorships always are built through a high level of trust. Trust is built when patience and understanding are practiced during every interaction and when humble apologies and reflection are offered when trust is at risk. Many people might not give priority to the understanding that language and delivery of conversation could change how a mentee receives a concept. For example, instead of asking “Who takes care of your kids?” rephrase it as “I have challenges finding childcare because of my travels. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you with similar challenges.” Instead of insisting “This is a very dirty job,” try rephrasing as “When I started my career, I was surprised by some of the things that I saw. I learned ___.” Rephrasing this way prevents miscommunication but addresses topics that mentors believe are important to address. Mentors often have the best of intentions when they voice concerns regarding topics they believe their mentee might be worried about. However, women might be defensive about those topics therefore conversations require mindful consideration of language and clear communication to help avoid misinterpretation of intent.

Being inTheir Corner Contrary to the “snowflake” stereotype, the youngest working generation is open to feedback and criticism. What is lost in translation is that, although young women do appreciate constructive comments on their performance, particularly over no comments at all, they also strongly value positive encouragement. Young professional women tend to be their harshest critic, often because of the factors that are noted above, including internet influence and Impostor Syndrome.

Mentors should be “in the corner” for these young women, providing constant feedback, but more importantly being their best cheerleader.While giving constructive criticism, some people opt for the “feedback sandwich,” putting a negative comment in between two positive ones. I instead recommend freely offering praise and constructive positive comments whenever an opportunity presents itself and giving helpful advice, instead of pointed statements, when mentees are not meeting expectations. Advice on how a mentor witnessed or personally managed through a challenge is more helpful than criticism for the sake of feedback. In the Harvard Business Review, the senior programming director for Disney Institute, Bruce Jones, communicated the importance of positive recognition, even if the mentor-mentee relation is that of peers, stating “Research shows that positive peer-to-peer recognition increases employee engagement…When that happens, you’ve succeeded in moving beyond work teams; you’ve created a community of people who truly support and enable one another to accomplish great things together” [7]. Similarly, a study that was conducted by Psychology Today looked for the cause of motivation to go beyond expectations at work. The study found that 20 percent of respondents cited camaraderie and peer motivation as the highest motivator. “Feeling encouraged and recognized” was near the top of the list as well, with 13 percent of respondents citing it as their highest motivator [8]. Colleagues who are committed as mentors shouldn’t risk leaving the positive reinforcement solely up to the people who are managing their mentors. They should step in to make sure that their mentee feels valued and appreciated. Certainly, managers,

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