As of 2015, millennials surpassed Generation X as the largest working cohort, and their presence is fundamentally shifting how business is conducted. While it’s unwise to assume an entire generation thinks the same way (tempting as may seem) one thing is clear: businesses must adapt to this new generation, or face the consequences.
Though many articles have been written about exactly this topic, few people even agree on who is and who isn’t a millennial. The typical rule is that a millennial is born between 1982 and 2000, but this 18-year period is vast, leading to subcategories such as the mysterious Xenial. It’s all enough to leave you dizzy. Worse, the media often paints millennials in a very negative light: craving instant gratification, quickly trending towards boredom and being liable to leave any company within a year.
Unfortunately, the negativity appears to be mutual. Many millennials are skeptical that their work lives are heading in the right direction. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Millennial Survey, workplace trust is down a situation that leads to short professional engagement and a lack of trust between employer and employee. Conversely, management often deploys inefficient strategies to deal with their younger employees, leading to conflict and poor team building and corporate culture development.
Not all is lost, however! Millennials may approach and value leadership differently than previous generations, but they do value it. They simply have different expectations than prior generations.
In a world where the social contract between employer and employee has been radically changed, they are simply responding to marketplace pressures, replacing hierarchies with social networks and bureaucracy with agility. They are even connecting with colleagues through social media channels, brainstorming on Twitter, posting on Instagram, etc. This disrupts traditional leadership strategies for the better, pushing companies to respond to the world they grew up and know intimately.
Now, it’s up to companies to adapt. Here are a few notable ways the best managers are leading millennials.
Prioritize Skill Development, Flexibility, and Diversity
People today are goal-oriented, and millennials, in particular, are looking ahead towards the next job, the home they hope to purchase and the retirement they hope to fund. There’s always the next step. 60% of millennials say “purpose” matters when choosing their employer, as they want to make their work life work for them, not just for their employer.
This means they’re seeking to develop skills they can bring with them to their next job, without having to pull their hair out to succeed at this one. For employers, that means providing opportunities to develop the life skills millennials have yet to master, from emotional management to overcoming professional challenges. Developing hard skills can also be important, but these need to be portable – not just mastering a company-exclusive legacy system.
Concurrently, millennials value flexible hours, telecommuting, and location independence. All aspects of modern work that can seem scary to employers are used to seeing the same faces in the same office at 9 AM sharp.
This premium on self self-care, convenience, and time with loved ones can be a benefit, however, as many millennials leverage technology to work harder and longer. They won’t be wasting time stuck in traffic and can socialize with loved ones of their choice rather than coworkers.
Lean into this new workplace dynamic and your team will be happier and more productive. Dig in your heels and insist that the old ways are best, however, and you’ll face significant difficulties hiring top young talent.
Finally, millennials account for more people identifying as multiracial than any other generation. W while they’re more likely to leave a job within two years than any other generation, they are also more likely to stick with firms with diverse management that allow the flexibility mentioned above. Take advantage of this by building a diverse leadership team and staff.
Provide Leadership, Not Management
In report after report, millennials claim their leadership skills aren’t being fully developed, as companies focus on traditional success rather than fostering career development. Leadership-minded millennials know their strengths and weaknesses and know when a company is avoiding the issue to keep them in the same position year after year.
Leadership shouldn’t be viewed solely through the lens of exponential year-over-year growth, particularly if that growth doesn’t benefit a company’s employees. Instead, millennials expect their seniors to inspire others, honor their words, and talk with responsibility for the overall health of the corporate culture.
The good news is, that they’re incredible self-learners, used to finding just-in-time information online rather than slogging through training seminars. They want to learn from peers and coworkers as well as experts and they want to control when, where, and how they’ll acquire new knowledge. This means investing in online and cloud-based knowledge-sharing systems can pay huge dividends, empowering millennials to deliver their best work.
Provide Mentorship and Feedback
Personal mentorship is just as important to millennials as overall leadership. Millennials are seeking to grow professionally through feedback and guidance from trusted mentors. The yearly review is dead, and the regular check-in with team members is thriving, so find where your team is struggling, and offer to coach. This won’t only develop their skill set but also help you retain your team, as mentorship has a huge impact on whether millennials will stick with an employer – if they can’t develop in their current organization, they’ll find one where they can.
Beyond regular reviews and coaching, millennials seeking purpose in their work respond positively to in-the-moment acknowledgment. Praise and recognition aren’t just boxes to be checked, they’re opportunities to impart significance to a job so. Highlighting areas where millennials are excelling offers opportunities to develop trust, respect, and loyalty. This, in turn, will push your team to work that much harder, all while attracting more talent, as the word spreads.
Expanding this beyond the scope of the personal, millennials want to work with leaders who value feedback from employees. With flat organizational structures becoming increasingly commonplace, millennials want their thoughts and experiences validated, rather than simply following top-down orders from management. They understand that the further up the corporate ladder, the fewer leaders understand the situation “on the ground” and the more dismissive management can get. Avoid this perception by seeking and implementing feedback.
Ensure Their Work Has a Purpose
Millennials are seeking purposeful work. They’re not all seeking altruistic non-profit work, but they do want to know they’re making a positive impact on the world today. That means ensuring your team understands the reasons behind their work and how it fits into their company’s overall mission. Don’t just assign work “because you say so” – showcase your reasoning as this will provide motivation.
Studies show that your team will be happier and more engaged at work as a result. A recent Gallup report found that Millennials, more than any other generation, ask, “Does this organization value my strengths and contributions?” so make sure that your organization does.
Embrace Collaboration
If there’s one big takeaway in this piece, let it be that traditional top-down management doesn’t work for millennials, who prefer to collaborate with teams and see their managers as team leaders in their corner rather than taskmasters handing down orders. That means being open to learning from your employees, all while teaching them. Keep those communication lines open! This isn’t just capriciousness – it’s the result of a change to the education system, in the decades millennials went to school.
Having grown up in group projects requiring teamwork, millennials expect to continue to leverage and contribute to teams. Structure your staff in a way that takes advantage of this proclivity towards collaboration.
In conclusion, millennials are… people. They have goals, hopes, and dreams and know what hands they’ve been dealt, good and bad. By emphasizing flexibility, leadership, coaching, purpose, and collaboration, you’ll find the latest generation of employees to be the most dynamic and hardworking yet.
Emma Williams is a young mother of 2, having the expertise in writing about various topics of lifestyle, beauty, fashion, yoga and a lot more she has launched her own blog at thewebaddicted.com. She enjoys diving into new aspects of the life, learning as much as possible from the business world, marketing and branding. She likes sharing her thoughts and ideas to the world and helping people to get an easier access to the secrets of the world.
