You May Know More About Managing Millennials Than You Think!

New and not so new labels - Baby Boomer, Generation X, Millennial (aka GenY) - are being bantered around our workplaces today and challenging our thoughts about effective management practice.  Baby Boomer and Generation X leaders like you want to know how to lead the new entrants into your workforce and fear that your differences may introduce managerial challenges for which you are unprepared.  You may know more about managing your future workforce than you think!

Let's start with a short review.  Baby Boomers were born between 1945 and 1964, or between the presidencies of FDR and Lyndon Johnson, and make up about 40% of our US workforce. Generation X'ers were born between 1965 and 1981 (Johnson to Ronald Reagan) and make up about 20% of the same workforce.  The remaining 40% is comprised of Millennials (aka GenY), who were born between 1982 and 1993 (Reagan to Bill Clinton).

Dan Schawbel works intensively to help leaders understand how to lead Millennials.  Dan's Twitter profile says that he is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author (Promote Yourself and Me 2.0), is listed in Forbes and Inc. 30 Under 30, and is a Millennial Career and Workplace Expert.  I've listened to him speak and really like what he has to say.  

I found Dan to be helpful in understanding what Millennials want.  Here are my notes from one of his talks to Human Capital Institute members like me:

1. Millennials want you to tell them how they are doing and what they can do better - and they want this feedback to be more about results than behaviors.
2. They want you to be open and honest (i.e., transparent).  It would be really nice if they felt that you knew them as people.
3. They want to be allowed to use their personal electronic devices (e.g., iPhone) at work and to use their technology of choice.
4. They want to know that they can be promoted.
5. They don't want to walk into their cubicle at 8am on Monday, walk out at 5pm, and know that they will repeat this practice every day in every week for the rest of their work life.
6. They want you to recognize them if they are extraordinary, and they don't want to have to show this to too many levels of leaders before it gets to the top.
7. They want to be proud of their company in their community.  They want their company to give-back and they want their leaders to participate.

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In May 1999 an amazing book was published called First, Break All The Rules. What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently.  This is on my list of all time favorites. In this book the authors describe the difference between great managers and good managers. They came up with 12 attributes.

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I compared the list I created from my notes after listening to Dan Schawbel's talk with the list from the book and found a high degree of correlation.  Look for yourself:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? (see Schawbel -1)
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? (see Schawbel -3)
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday? (see Schawbel -6)
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? (see Schawbel -1)
5. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person? (see Schawbel -2)
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? (see Schawbel -4)
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? (see Schawbel -2)
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? (see Schawbel -7)
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? (see Schawbel -2)
10. Do I have a best friend at work? (see Schawbel -2)
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? (see Schawbel -4)
12. This last year, have I had the opportunity at work to learn and grow? (see Schawbel -1)

With the exception of the point about schedule flexibility (see Schawbel -5), there is literally nothing on one list that would be inapplicable to the other.  Meaning, you've known for almost 15 years how to manage your Millennials. You just need to ask one of your best managers to tell you.

Paul E. DuCharme October 2013