Do
Generation Millennials (Gen Me’ers) frustrate you? You’re not alone! Born between 1981 and 2000, it is said unlike
any generation before, this driven, sheltered and technologically savvy group
views the world in a way us Boomers and Gen X’ers find difficult to comprehend.
A truly colour blind and inclusive group, we need to take time away from
what frustrates us and understand what drives and motivates this incredibly
productive and highly educated generation.
In order to
understand Millennials, it is critical we take a moment to appreciate what
factors have influence their emotional and sociological development. Do
not be surprised if some of it looks and sounds familiar, especially to those
of us who have children which fall into this generation.
1. Special
Have always
been treated as special and important. This generation of children has been the
most wanted. Every milestone was marked with celebrations and praise.
They may carry a sense of entitlement about them and have an expectation of
frequent positive feedback. It’s been instilled in them that they are vital to
the nation and to their parents’ sense of purpose. They feel they are here to
solve world problems that older generations have failed to solve. They may
claim they want privacy, but they crave attention.
2. Sheltered
Highly
protected as children. Grew up in a time of increasing safety measures (car
seats, baby on board signs, school lock-downs). They were rarely left
unsupervised. They were sheltered from having to take care of their own
conflicts as parents advocated on their behalf, and “spared” them from
unpleasant experiences. As college students, they may expect faculty and staff
to shelter, protect, and nurture them – and resolve their conflicts for them.
Millennials are the focus of the most sweeping youth safety movement in
American history.
3. Confident
They are
motivated, goal-oriented, and confident in themselves and the future. They
expect college to help launch them to greatness. They may brag about their
generation’s power and potential. They have high levels of optimism and they
feel connected to their parents. They are assertive and believe they are
“right”. In Canada the Millennial generation is called the “Sunshine”
generation or “Generation Me”
4. Team-Oriented
They are
group oriented rather than being individualists. They may sacrifice their own identity
to be part of the team. They prefer egalitarian leadership, not hierarchies.
They are forming a tight-knit generation. While they are group-oriented within
their own cohort, they may “politely” exclude other generations. They do not
want to stand out among their peers, they want to be seen as part of the group.
They dislike selfishness and are oriented toward service learning and
volunteerism.
5. Achieving
Grade points
are rising with this generation and crime is falling. The focus on getting good
grades, hard work, involvement in extracurricular activities, etc. is resulting
in higher achievement levels. They see college as the key to a high paying job
and success, and may miss the bigger picture of what a college education is all
about. They are pressured to decide early on a career – and have been put
on a career track orientation since grade school. Their focus is more on the
world of achievement rather than personal development. The Boomer generation
made their mark in the humanities and arts, whereas the Millennials prefer math
and science fields.
6. Pressured
Tightly
scheduled as children and used to having every hour of their day filled with
structured activity. This generation may have lost a sense of pure spontaneous
play. They may struggle with handling free time and time management in general.
In elementary, middle, and high school, have had more hours of homework and
less free time than any of the previous generations. They feel pressured to
succeed. They've been pushed hard to achieve, to avoid risks, and to take
advantage of opportunities. They may take on too much, and then think others
should be flexible with them when they want to negotiate scheduling conflicts.
They think multi-tasking saves time and is a smart thing to do, but aren't
usually aware of the poorer quality of results.
7. Conventional
Respectful
to the point of not questioning authority. They are civic-minded and believe
the government knows what’s best and will take care of them. They fear being
considered non-conformist. Their clothing, music, and cultural markings will be
very main stream. They value their parents’ opinions very highly. They support
and believe in social rules, and are more in line with their parents’ values
than most other generations have been. They are trying to invite rules
and norms back into the culture.
But don't
allow your lack of understanding millennials get the better of you. Instead,
consider the following five tips, which will make managing them easier while
engaging them more in your company, brand or department.
1. Reinforce
the positives
Millennials
need constant affirmation and positive reinforcement in order to feel like they
are doing a good job. Thus, on a regular basis managers should tell their
millennial staffers that they appreciated their input, liked their thinking or
were effective in their execution. This will make them feel needed and valued.
2. Recognize
that each person is different and must be managed differently
Like any
group, not all millennials are the same. Therefore, it's important to not
implement a "one size fits all" approach to managing them. One
millennial might like constant direction while another prefers to do it all by
themselves. The rule of thumb is millennials want to believe that you
understand them and are not going to try and "old school" them with
the ways something used to be done when you were a young executive.
3. Be
flexible
Millenials
by nature don't really like rules. They grew up in an environment where parents
asked their opinions, allowed them to make decisions, and rarely pushed
something on them that they didn't like. As a result, current college recruits
are not used to the rigidity of most workplaces. If you press too hard on them
to comply with the company's position on things like hours or attire, you could
very easily find yourself losing a good employee.
4. Allow
as much ownership as possible
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| MSDN - Relationship Paradigm |
The best way
to handle a millennial's feelings of entitlement is to provide them with a lot
of responsibility. This doesn't necessarily mean handing them an entire
project, but clearly defining areas that they can own so they can flex their
knowledge, expertise and decision-making ability. When doing so, you will find
them embracing not only the work, but you as a manager and the company overall.
5. Don't
be vague
Millennials
are not good at interpreting what you meant and rarely succeed when put into a
situation to "wing it" themselves. Though they want responsibility
and authority, they are uncomfortable without having some sort of framework for
the task at hand. The best scenario is good instructions and a lot of
flexibility in how you get there.
Though
managing millennials can certainly be challenging—particularly for managers who
have no experience in this area—it is not a lost cause and can yield many
benefits as they are smart, creative, tech-savvy and resourceful workers.
However, since they grew up in the "everyone gets a trophy" culture,
you must be extremely sensitive to what makes them tick or you might find them
moving back in with mom and dad, who still think they are too young to be
committing to a career!
Resource:
Millennials Go To College (2003) by Neil Howe and William Strauss.
