A few weeks ago Steve Woodruff and I hosted a Leadership Chat focused on “Leading GenY,” with Guest Host Greg Hartle. In my preparatory interview with Greg, and throughout the Chat, the question, “What do Millennials really want?” was raised and answered by young leaders of today, as well as by those who are currently leading them.
Here is a very small but insightful sampling of their responses:
From my preparatory interview with Greg Hartle:
Gen Y leaders do not feel nearly as entitled as previous generations label them. They care. They just want to go about life differently.
Given the connectedness of the world, they tend to move through the egocentric (“me”) – ethnocentric (“us”) – world centric (“all of us”) stages of consciousness faster than ever before. This is why their social graph is much larger and more diverse than previous generations. And why their social graph matters more to them.
Gen Y leaders also want previous generations to know that just because they reject your lifestyle doesn’t mean they reject the principles, values, or history from which it’s foundation begins. In the end, they value similar things. They just want to arrive at the results in a way that serves more people, better.
[Additionally] Gen Y has grown up with unprecedented access to information. This access has allowed them to shorten their learning curve, make quicker decisions on what’s important to them, find like-minded individuals in far-away places to collaborate with, and develop a deeper and wider vision for imagining a world they want to live in and be a part of creating. Access to this level of information will be both empowering and powerful for Gen Y leaders.During Leadership Chat:
Jess Ostroff: Give us ownership and let us work on our own terms! We’re efficient and adaptable. Know that and use it.
Greg Hartle: Too much directing. Leadership is about empowering, not directing. Stop trying to direct Gen-Y and start empowering them.
Greg Hartle: Stop “knowing about” Millennials by reading or listening to others, start “knowing” them by working directly with them.
Daniel Newman: We are seeking the balance of security & dream seeking. we as #millennials do not settle we want it all! and that’s ok!
David A Lee: Empower AND mentor Gen Y!
Sam Fiorella: Gen Y staff are from Mars. Boomer Managers are from Venus. 2 types of communication.
Taylor M Somera: I am Gen-Y I love to be empowered. triggering what gets me excited, empowering me and mentoring me is the best was to LEAD ME
Jess Ostroff: true, we’re seeking guidance through mentors. my mentor has been more valuable to me than anything.
Greg Hartle: Empower through part autonomy, part mentoring.
Mark Babbitt: Key to Boomers managing/motivating Millennials… Stop parenting. Start mentoring.
Caroline Di Diego: Ditto ~ I learned a lot from my summer intern ~ both leading & following 🙂
Caroline Di Diego: Most enjoyable collaborating w a GenY over the summer ~ they do have vision & REALLY want to make a difference
Helena Music: Mentoring is important We WANT to learn! People who say we think we know everything aren’t really listening
Judy Martin: My newsroom is literally filled with Gen Y – quite creative, but they still come to me for guidance.
Helena Music: @judymartin8 As they should! Experience is still highly valuable, and it’s something we just don’t have yet.
Judy Martin: @helenamusic I have a great relationship with them – there is still respect. I think it’s because I show them the same.
Helena Music: @judymartin8 Yes. “Respect” that isn’t mutual is usually based in fear, and that doesn’t get you very far.
Greg Hartle: The grew up with technology. They know how to tap social networks. They have a deeper worldview.
Claire Crossley: I agree and to do this, you must engage with them! Speaking from mom and manager hat 😉
Jeremy Meyers: what makes big business think that GenY needs even one of them to ‘lead’ them. such hubris.
David Christopher: @greghartle agree but top execs are scared to empower for fear of losing power
Leonardo Souza: (re: empowering) Wouldn’t that be true for all? I don’t think people changed. What changed is the way people see work
Jess Ostroff: We like getting feedback, it drives us forward. An opp. for mentoring right there.
Greg Hartle: And the best way to learn is to come to together and learn from each other across generations.
Dan Verhaeghe: I wouldn’t accept anything less than having responsibility versus not.
David A Lee: Gen Y will actually accept position w/ company w/ mentors for less pay…its that important.
Helena Music: Let us do the work our own way. We’re very efficient & work well with deadlines & concrete expectations.
Daniel Newman: Yes – we constantly seek knowledge – mentoring over dictating every time!
Greg Hartle: If you’re looking for a model of company culture leading Gen-Y, study @DigitalRoyalty. I do.
Helena Music: Like banning Fbook. If the work gets done on time & well, micromanaging how I spend my time is overkill
Helena Music: Of course, this requires us to prove ourselves first, which is understandable.
Jess Ostroff: @helenamusic I think we’re better at working in our own space at the time we want. We know how we work best.
Leonardo Souza: The whole world is changing faster than ever. Everyone need to go through constant learning, in business and in life
Tom: don’t threatened by them, embrace some of their ideas. Some of their ideas are damn good
Greg Hartle: And both sides should use the phrase “Let’s” more often.
Leonardo Souza: I’d say: “let me do my job and held me accountable for results, instead of telling me what to do”
Jess Ostroff: @leonardocsouza or *how* to do it. that’s key. we work best on deadlines.
Alan Berkson: Career path is a factor. Boomers raised to expect it. GenX raised to want it. GenY knows it doesn’t exist anymore
Jan Wong: There’s that n I also know of Gen Ys that feels under appreciated even w a thank you. Seems sincerity counts too.
Angie Schottmuller: Gen Y excels at continuous improvement ideas. Top execs should embrace this and ask for input.
Jess Ostroff: Yes. I want to foster collaborative communication & solution-finding. Lose the dictator mentality.
Greg Hartle: Also, I find that Gen-Y leads by the formula 1+1 = 3. Instead of me directing you, let’s collaborate. (not always good)
Mark Babbitt: For the most part, Millennials more than willing to fit into existing culture. Also willing to help change for the better.
Jess Ostroff: Gen Y likes a good challenge. We’re happy when you say jump so we can say how high. it’s not just work ethic, it’s feeling respected and valued too for Gen Y I think.
Greg Hartle: Most importantly, be an example of possibility. There is no greater gift you can give the world.
WHAT RESONATES MOST WITH YOU?
To Hire me and Steve Woodruff to moderate a Live Leadership Chat on this topic – or any leadership topic – at your company email Lisa@CLevelStrategies.com
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RELATED POSTS:
Leading GenY: The Secrets Every Leader Must Learn
Leadership Advice for GenY: 12 Golden Nuggets from Leadership Chat
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13 Response Comments
Great exchange.
I bristle at the assumptions from both sides that “our way is the only way.”
There is nothing new about young people wanting independence and the opportunity to prove themselves — and I don’t think our current batch of young people is any more or less capable on the whole than any other generation. They just have more avenues to vocalize their discontent.
There is also nothing new about “the establishment” thinking that it knows best and that the status quo is there for a reason. In a sense, they are right — understanding what has worked well in the past is a necessary part (but not the only part) of planning for the future.
Success lies somewhere in between.
The best Millenial employees are the ones that are comfortable taking direction, learning what their employers need, and understanding that they need to prove themselves (as Helena Music points out in your post). No employee, no 20 year old and no 60 year old, is entitled to absolute trust upon walking in the door. Trust is built over time. You want me to treat you differently? Prove you deserve it.
On the other hand, the best Millenial employers are the ones who are open to new ideas and approaches. They help Millenials see the big picture and understand that the status quo *is* there for a reason but that it’s not carved in stone.
Neither employers nor employees will succeed without the help of the other. It’s important to keep that in mind.
Tom,
What a brilliant summary of the best in both perspectives, and how our generations – with such diverse life experiences – can best work in harmony. Thank you so much for this tremendous comment.
When I managed a group, because of the nature of the work, they were mostly young people often right out of college. I think managing them would be the same as managing any other different generation. Young people want a vision and guidance. Once they are competent in their job, the manager has to let go.
Here we are again: the process of letting go. The manager has to maintain that trust that the person can do the job.
Then there is a second step. After the new hire has proven they are competent in their own job, the manager must mentor the person and develop them further and beyond the job they are doing.
So I think no matter what the generation, the environment remains the same. Help them when they need help, and when they don’t need help any more, help them move to the next level.
I found working with very young people so stimulating. You learn so much from them if you just leave yourself open to doing so. And it is so rewarding to have them come back to you years later and tell you how much you meant to them as your first manager. Managing people from a different generation can be a terrific experience! Make adjustments yourself. You may find you like it.
Henry,
You have clearly been blessed in your career to have the freedom to be a great manager and leader, and to have genuinely appreciated the freedom you were given. You have clearly learned so much from your varied experiences and I appreciate how you share them so thoughtfully and openly here. Thank you!
Lisa,
Sorry I have missed a few of the leadership chats. This one is near and dear to my heart. Since I am a boomer and have had to manage the 3 generations that were in my teams. I have to agreed with Henry that it really does not matter what generation it is – getting work done – is pretty much the same. Set a solid vision, great goals, trust them and watch them do amazing stuff.
I have had to change myself a bit. I have to stay on top of my game… Each generation has helped me be a better manager. I get to grow..
Steve,
I love that you talk about how working with each generation has challenged you to be your best, and that it’s enabled you to grow. The recognition of this – and true openness to growth – is a sign of an enlightened leader. Thank you for sharing your personal experience and know that you have been missed…
As I read my boomer brothers (I, too, have managed three generations) I see that the main point can be easily missed or forgotten. You pointed to it right up front:
“Gen Y has grown up with unprecedented access to information. This access has allowed them to shorten their learning curve, make quicker decisions on what’s important to them, find like-minded individuals in far-away places to collaborate with, and develop a deeper and wider vision for imagining a world they want to live in and be a part of creating. Access to this level of information will be both empowering and powerful for Gen Y leaders.”
My youngest daughter, who was born in 1982 and has always clearly been on the leading edge of this new generation, has given me a more intimate view of what the future might have in store because of them. In the course of the last sixteen years, as she grew from 14 to 30, I have met and gotten to know many of her friends. It is, indeed, a different generation, and your paragraph describes some of the most salient characteristics of this wonderful group of young-uns who are standing on our shoulders.
To state it, we are in the early stage of the next revolution.
The main challenge we all face together is that because of the sorry state of our educational system, we’ll be lucky if 25% of the 4 million who come out of high school every year are equipped with the leadership skills of this group.
Most of Millenials I have met and worked with are dramatically better than we were at that age. They are great at shifting perspective, making novel connections, communicating, collaborating, taking on challenges, thinking critically, sharing authority, making decisions individually and collectively, manifesting their natural empathy in commitments to making the global village a better place to live., engaging their natural curiosity in continuous learning, and directing and controlling themselves toward some goal. But for every one who has acquired these habits and abilities of our new global community, there are many whose education has prepared them for an industrial, authoritarian world that is rapidly disappearing.
Whereas two generations ago these skills were optional even for the leadership class, they are now necessary for full functioning in the world today regardless of what occupation one chooses. (In fact the ability to choose what one does has become a cultural norm and most young people won’t be choosing.)
So thank you for this great conversation. I want to be included as it continues.
Rick,
I don’t think I’ve ever printed out a reader comment before, but I printed this one. Thank you for the tremendous wisdom you’ve shared here, it is moving and affecting. I can absolutely see why you’re focused on bringing out the genius in children. If you haven’t connected with my friend Angela Maiers (http://www.angelamaiers.com/) you absolutely should reach out to her. I believe you share a similar vision that she speaks about in this brilliant TED talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FHdHUzRnms. My very best to you…
Solid post Lisa!
Such a hot and much needed topic to be discussed. I believe that the future workplace will be transformed by the 80 million millennials entering the workplace. And the largest gap I see is when the boomers retire and the millennials have to fill those leadership roles. Will they be ready?
It’s gonna be a turbulent but exciting time to come.
Thx for the insight!
Thank you, Ryan! I agree, it is a topic I continue to hear about with my c-level clients. It’s such a great question about the Millennials being ready…I think they will be if they show enough respect for the Boomers and GenY to genuinely learn from them at the same time they co-create with us. And I love that you see it as an exciting time ahead…such a fresh, inviting attitude! Thanks so much for being here and for taking the time to share your thoughts, I sincerely appreciate it!
Ryan and Lisa,
Most Millenials I have known are not only brilliant, they are not arrogant. I feel like partners with them.
That’s encouraging to hear, Rick. I wish more c-level executives were aware of experiences like yours. I don’t think they’d be as anxious as some appear to be. Thank you for letting us know!