Lay Off the Millenials

by Julie Jakopic  - August 8, 2014

7K0A0223I am so tired of hearing how impossible it is to manage Millennials.  I literally just got an email to join a webinar to learn how to do the impossible.  The email started with “Millennials are disrupting the status quo in nearly every arena – from the music and food industries to politics to how we interact socially. Nowhere is their influence more keenly felt, however, than in the workplace – especially because it’s impossible to manage them.” Says who? It seems just about everyone. But it’s just not my experience.  The Millennials I have the honor and pleasure of leading, or more accurately, working with are deeply committed, smart and creative.  And contrary to popular opinion, willing to do the detail, small stuff often thought of as grunt work. They just want to know it matters and want flexibility in how they meet their goals. In letting them figure out the how, I often learn faster, easier or dare I say more fun ways of getting to goal. The email went on to say, “In just over a decade, Millennials will make up nearly 75% of the workforce. That’s why it’s essential for companies and their leaders to understand who Millennials are and what makes them tick. Or, in other words, how to keep them engaged.” And that’s the point — engagement.  Which is an important leadership skill for all managers to have.  After all, if the manager doesn’t care, why should the people on the team. In the end, I think we’ll look back and see that Millennials were a gift that not only made us better leaders but the catalysts for creating workplaces that work better for those who work in them and for the customers they serve.

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