SOLUTIONS LAB
THE
Lynn Scott
Challenge:
MANAGING MILLENNIALS
In vision: why everything you do should help move you closer to your vision
N
ow, if you’re in your 40s and the headline of this article was “how to
manage 40-somethings” you’d probably grunt “we’re not all the same, you know”. And yet we are great at putting so-called millennials into one homogenous lump as if they were all the same. They are often described as snowflakes; entitled or narcissistic - and of course “we have no idea how to manage or motivate them”. “We don’t know how they think.” But let’s pause right there. Let’s stop thinking about them as a
“them”’ and think about the human beings in front of us. When leaders ask me “how do I motivate/manage millennials?” I tell them this: ASK them. And listen to the answers. The millennials I know personally and professionally are as different from each other as it is possible to be. However, there are some things we need to understand.
Technology Technology has been part of their world from a young age so they’re used to being connected 24/7. Many of them, we might say, spend too long on social media obsessing about ‘likes’ and either trying to pretend they have the perfect life or worried that everyone else has the perfect life and they are missing out. No wonder mental health issues have soared over recent years – or at least people are more able to talk about them now than the stiff upper lip generations of before. Technology is not going away. Your millennial workforce can teach you a
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If you’re struggling to “get” the millennials in your workplace here are my top tips: One – get to know them
as individuals. These ten questions will help you to make a start: What are the things that motivate you at work and how can we do more of those things? What enables you to do your very best work?
lot about technology – so ask them for their ideas about how you can make your business more effective using technology. Some of them may just have something useful to share.
Social Skills I’ve met millennials with wonderful social skills and 40 and 50-somethings with terrible social and communication skills so I don’t buy into the “all millennials have terrible interpersonal skills” myth. True, if any of your staff is permanently on Instagram when they should be building relationships with your colleagues and customers, they need to learn that their behaviour is not acceptable. Because if no-body’s ever told them...
Balance The common wisdom is that all millennials want to have a great life outside work as well as in it. Well good for them. They are not the idiots working all hours God sends and being unproductive and stressed as a result. More of us could follow their lead and live healthier, happier lives.
Best/worst day at work so far and why? What are your career aspirations? What would you like to learn this year? What could you teach us that would help us grow our business? If you could change just one thing in the business what would it be and why? How could we improve the team meeting/payment processes/ office environment? How do you like to be led? What skills do you think you need to improve and why? Two – be clear on your expectations.
If there are unwritten rules that they need to follow or behaviour that is unacceptable don’t assume they will just know. But frankly, if the rules are petty and rigid, don’t expect talented people to stay with you for long. And if you’re not role modelling those skills yourself then you will have zero credibility. Three – help them learn the social
skills they may lack. We can all learn to be better communicators for example. Let your millennial shadow someone who has really great relationship building or customer service skills, for example. That’s always a great, low cost to help people learn. And maybe some of your 40-somethings could benefit from this too.
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