Can You Tie the Knot?

Why Your Best Intentions Are Backfiring with Younger Employees

A dental practice owner called me last week, frustrated. She'd hired two new team members in the past year. Both had excellent credentials and interviewed well. But after six months, one was thriving while the other seemed completely disengaged.

"I treat everyone on my team the same way," she told me. "Same training, same expectations, same recognition when they do good work. I don't understand why Sarah loves working here and Jessica acts like she can't wait to leave."

When we dug into the situation, the pattern became clear. Sarah was 38, had worked in dental practices for over a decade, and appreciated the stability and clear protocols the practice provided. Jessica was 25, fresh out of dental assisting school, and was quietly questioning whether she'd made the right career choice.

Same treatment. Completely different needs. And that gap was costing this practice a good employee.

The Expensive Reality of Managing Everyone the Same

Here's what's happening in small businesses across the country: owners and managers who pride themselves on "fairness" are accidentally creating environments where some people thrive and others struggle, not because of their ability or work ethic, but because their needs aren't being recognized.

The numbers tell the story. Workers under 25 report just 57% job satisfaction compared to 72% for employees over 55. That's a 15-point satisfaction gap that represents real people feeling disconnected from their work and real businesses losing good employees they could have retained.

In healthcare practices specifically, this shows up as younger staff members who seem unmotivated, older employees who feel like they have to carry extra weight, and patient service that becomes inconsistent because team dynamics are strained.

What Younger Employees Actually Need (And Why Traditional Management Misses It)

The dental practice owner assumed that good pay and job security should be enough to keep Jessica engaged. But research shows that nearly 90% of Gen Z and Millennial employees say purpose and meaning matter significantly to their job satisfaction. At the same time, almost half don't feel financially secure, and 70% report experiencing burnout.

These aren't contradictory demands. Jessica wasn't being unreasonable. She needed to understand how her work mattered and see a clear path for professional growth, while also having realistic expectations about workload and work-life balance.

The practice owner was doing what she'd always done: providing steady work, fair pay, and occasional praise for good performance. For Sarah, who valued stability and had already established her career direction, this approach worked perfectly. For Jessica, who was still figuring out her professional identity, it felt like treading water.

The Cost of Ignoring Individual Motivation

I see this pattern repeatedly in small service businesses. A manager provides what they think is good leadership, but they're actually managing to the middle, which means some people get exactly what they need while others get a poor fit.

Companies with formal recognition programs see 31% lower voluntary turnover, but here's what most business owners miss: recognition looks different for different people. Some employees want public acknowledgment in team meetings. Others prefer private feedback. Some value learning opportunities as recognition. Others want additional responsibility or schedule flexibility.

The dental practice was giving everyone the same type of recognition: a brief "good job" and an annual bonus. Sarah appreciated this approach because it aligned with her preference for consistent, low-key feedback. Jessica interpreted the minimal feedback as disinterest in her development and started looking for positions where she felt more valued and guided.

When Management Structure Disappears, Problems Multiply

Another issue I'm seeing more frequently: small businesses that eliminate management layers to cut costs, then wonder why their teams seem directionless. Recent surveys show that 41% of organizations have reduced management positions, and 43% of employees report feeling leader misalignment as a result.

In small businesses, this often means owners trying to manage everyone directly while also running the business. The result is that individual needs get overlooked because there simply isn't time or systems to pay attention to what motivates each person.

Building Connection Through Individual Understanding

This connects directly to the first pillar of strong teams: connection. Real connection means understanding what energizes each person on your team and adjusting your leadership approach accordingly.

This doesn't mean lowering standards or creating different rules for different people. Standards for quality work, professional behavior, and customer service should be consistent. But the way you communicate those standards, provide feedback, and recognize good performance can be tailored to what works best for each individual.

The dental practice owner started having brief monthly conversations with each team member about what was working well and what would help them be more effective. Sarah appreciated these check-ins because they provided clarity and consistency. Jessica used them to discuss her professional goals and get guidance on skill development.

Within three months, Jessica's engagement improved dramatically. She started contributing ideas in team meetings and took on additional responsibilities. The practice owner realized she'd nearly lost a good employee not because Jessica wasn't capable, but because Jessica's needs for growth and purpose weren't being addressed.

Creating Clarity That Works for Everyone

The second pillar, clarity, becomes even more important when you're managing people with different motivational needs. Clear expectations and documented processes provide the framework that allows individual approaches to coexist successfully.

When standards are explicit and accessible, you can give some people more autonomy while providing others with more guidance, knowing that everyone is working toward the same quality outcomes. This prevents the situation where individual attention feels like favoritism or inconsistency.

Building Culture That Retains Good People

This brings us to culture, the third pillar. A strong culture accommodates different working and communication styles while maintaining consistent values and standards.

The most successful small business owners I work with have learned that treating people fairly doesn't mean treating them identically. Fair means giving each person what they need to do their best work within a framework of consistent expectations.

This approach requires more attention from leadership, but the payoff is significant. You stop losing good people who just didn't fit your default management style. You start getting better performance from everyone because they're being led in a way that actually motivates them.

Making This Work in Your Business

Start by observing what energizes different people on your team. Does someone seem most engaged when they're learning something new? Do they thrive with independence or do they prefer collaborative work? Do they need to understand the bigger picture or are they motivated by mastering specific skills?

These observations become the foundation for leadership that maintains high standards while acknowledging that people are motivated by different things.

Ask yourself: are there team members who seem disengaged or underperforming who might just need a different approach to leadership? What would change if you spent time understanding what actually motivates each person instead of assuming one approach works for everyone?

The goal isn't to become a different manager for each employee. The goal is to become a more effective manager who can help each person contribute their best work to your business success.

Talk soon,

Jim

Jim Heinz is the founder and owner of Jim Heinz Consulting. During his 30-year career in the medical industry, he transformed struggling teams into high-performing cultures while maintaining patient satisfaction and operational excellence. Jim knows what it feels like to inherit dysfunctional teams, implement accountability systems, and create workplace cultures where good people want to stay. His Team Building Blueprint reflects battle-proven lessons about what works and what doesn't when leading teams under pressure.