Managing the Millennials - Revised in my new format - Page 3 of 3

Managing the Millennials – Revised in my new format

The Millennials have been nurtured by boomer parents who have been more nurturing than their parents. They have thus created a challenge for society by wanting to make their children suffer no negative consequences, from the environment or from their own actions. Millennials, therefore, expect special attention because the believe that they are special. Their parents have told them so. You need to develop relationships and take an interest in them. Empathy and genuine caring count for a lot. But don’t make the mistake of trying to be like them. Telling them about your own mistakes will help build trust. If you must criticize, do it in a manner that lets them know you care. One study showed that the quality of one’s relationship with one’s immediate supervisor accounts for 50% of job satisfaction.

Millennials tend to be myopic. Your job is to broaden their awareness. Prioritize time to participate in their learning. Share the information you get about the organization. It is a great way to build trust and a sense of partnership. Share the organization’s culture by becoming a story teller.
Consequential thinking is another skill you need to foster. When you face a decision, have them come up with multiple possible outcomes for each possible solution to a problem.
They hate ambiguity more than being micromanaged. With insufficient direction, they often exhibit a lack of focus, indecisiveness, and insecurity. Just don’t be condescending.

Millennials are not apathetic, they are just indifferent until they find a reason to care about something. In this respect, they are easy to motivate. They want to know why before what. Try to make them see that the organization’s goals are an extension of their personal goals.

Each of the main points in the book are emphasized with a scenario that you can use yourself or with a group you facilitate. This makes the book a viable textbook for leadership courses.
Each chapter ends with an “In a Nutshell” paragraph. You can quickly reread these at any time to refresh your understanding of the main concepts.
The book gives you access to the author’s Generational Report Inventory. This will allow managers to determine their developmental level with respect to the core competencies dealt with in this book. It will measure your thinking, your self-reported behavior, and the thinking of your direct reports. This will let you know if you need to adapt or change some behaviors to promote success for all.