Managing the younger generation
A different style of management is needed to bring out the best of a young workforce.
There’s a strong, tech-savvy generation that’s been knocking on business doors for several years now. The Millennial generation, also known as Gen-Y, will make up 75% of the world’s workforce by 2025.
For most senior executives and managers across the globe, the new generation spells a shift in management mind-set and corporate culture. The millennial kids – those born in the early 1980s to 2000 – grew up in a world of technological explosion and the birth of the digital age. Their parents taught them that they could do or be anything they wanted to be. Many were encouraged or pushed to achieve and taught that education could open doors to wealth and opportunity. Other millennial kids grew up with absent, working parents, or in single-parent homes after their parents divorced. Millennials are exceptional multi-taskers, able to swiftly find better, faster and smarter ways of doing things.
The two preceding generations, the Baby Boomers and Gen-X, have a number of perceptions about Gen-Y. They are often seen as spoilt, entitled, self-centred and lazy young adults. In her book: ‘5 Millennial Myths: The Handbook for Managing and Motivating Millennials’ (2014), founder and CEO of The Millennial Solution, Gabrielle Jackson-Bosche debunks a number of misconceptions about millennials. These include myths surrounding the perceived inability of millennials to work hard, remain loyal and contribute meaningfully to a company. Jackson-Bosche says that through her research she believes the generation has much to offer in the modern workplace. She believes millennials are forward thinkers, able to bring creative solutions and a fresh perspective into the workplace.
Managing younger employees
Samia Andersson, a culture change and empowerment coach, also believes the generalisation of the millenniums as a ‘lazy and spoilt generation’ is incorrect. “Yes, it applies to those young employees who choose to float on their good looks, but most young people are focused, determined, goal-centred and driven to success,” she says. “Their downfall is impatience and immaturity where they have no sense of delayed gratification – they want it all and they want it now. This makes them unstable in their decisions and actions and more likely to give up or move on quicker than a mature worker would.”
Anderson shares six important points for managing a younger generation:
- Be a mentor
Developing talent requires your personal investment of time, effort and energy. There are no short cuts to helping your people shine. This is what true leadership is about. - Know your team
Senior managers must know their teams in order to apply the best leadership style. Age and experience are just two of the variables to be considered. To best manage a young workforce, they must be open to changing their ways of thinking and learn to do things differently. - Welcome new ideas
Idea generation and open consultation works well and creates the space for young workers to make their contributions without fear of being shot down. This builds individual and collective trust and improves the team. A crucial mistake that should be avoided, is treating young workers as if they know little because they are new to the workforce or the business. - Encourage dialogue and debate
Bring youthful, off-the-wall ideas to your team. This may be uncomfortable for some but these discussions tend to stimulate new and alternative ways of thinking and doing that one can easily overlook. - Be empathetic and patient
Think of your young workforce as the diamond in the rough. Challenge them, but equally consider their fears, worries and anxieties about their own abilities and create space and time to talk about these. - Acknowledge talent when you see it
Personal affirmation remains the number one reason why people stay or leave a job.
References
- Samia Andersson, Culture-change and empowerment coach
- www.Amazon.com
- www.BuzzFeed.com