Leadership / 05.20.24

Millennials Are Today’s Leaders. What Is in Our Future?

Bruce Mayhew

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Bruce Mayhew in advance of a workshop he is presenting to OPTA, the Ontario Professional Ticketing Association.

Not too long ago, whenever I delivered a Generational Differences training workshop, I shared a slide that read, “Millennials Are Our Future Leaders.” But times have changed and now that slide reads, “Millennials Are Today’s Leaders.”

This ongoing generational shift at our leadership levels and in the C-suite, which in large part ensures the organization stays focused on their vision, mission, values and policies, is what I want to share with you in this article. I’d also like to share what Millennials (and some Gen Zs) are doing differently as leaders and how we can all support and benefit from this important monumental change.

Times Have Changed / Are Changing

Throughout my career I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Millennials and now Gen Zs. I have found their positive attitude, creativity, willingness to pitch in and desire to share unique ideas and perspectives refreshing. Additionally, I have felt many of them have received a bad rap by their Boomer and Gen X bosses who have thought they were entitled and lazy. And sure, some Millennials are entitled and lazy, but I know people from all generations who fit that bill.

There are a few other things I found were often true about Millennials. They do not want to be bored, and they do want an opportunity to share their opinions and contribute. They are often uncomfortable or unwilling to sit around for two years doing the same routine work to “pay their dues.” What is the source of all this impatience? For most Millennials, their Boomer parents (isn’t that ironic) taught them as children to ask “Why?” if they were curious. Boomer parents also often encouraged them to go after their dreams if they wanted something and to not listen to people who might tell them they do not deserve it.

But all that is history, right? What impact are Millennials having now that they are moving into leadership roles? This is a great question.

Because Millennials are today’s leaders, they are having an important influence on corporate cultures. Millennials often bring a fresh, more casual perspective to our workspaces. And perhaps more lately than I have ever seen, Millennials feel comfortable with flat organizational structures. But don’t let their casual exterior fool you — they are very focused on being productive, successful and proud of their work. A Deloitte study found that 62% of Millennials say work is part of their identity. And because Millennials are community driven, most of them (there are always exceptions) are very comfortable sharing that pride and success with their team.

If Millennials have shortcomings (don’t we all), a big one is they often need to unlearn many of the leadership skills they saw (and learned by accident) as they were growing up. Yes, even though they resist that style of leadership, there are learned biases they must unlearn, like hierarchy, silos, the need to try to control, and the need to try to know everything. With the support of mentors, coaches, and teachers or trainers, they are learning how to be leaders focused on traditional leadership qualities. These include results and accountability. At the same time, they are also learning it is OK to embrace softer skills and encourage people, including themselves, to be their whole, unique, vulnerable, compassionate, forgiving, learning, evolving selves at work. Hurray!

But let’s get back to how Millennials (and Gen Z) are changing leadership. To do that, let’s start by looking at some general profile characteristics that have always been part of the Millennial profile. For example, they want to:

1. Feel their unique experience and abilities have value and are respected.
2. Feel their unique experience and abilities have impact and make a difference.
3. Contribute to a conversation.
4. Feel safe and respect each other’s individuality.
5. Collaborate, be mentored, mentor others, and still have opportunities for autonomy.
6. Be recognized for their contribution.
7. Learn new skills and embrace continuous learning (a growth mindset).
8. Enjoy work-life balance, which now includes some work-remote opportunities.
9. Be friends or friendly with the people they work with (enjoy approachability).

I really respect this list. These characteristics all lead to a wonderful mix I have seen in action. In team meetings, I have seen firsthand that decisions are more thoughtful and impactful when everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives. Buy-in and follow-through are also so much better. Put all of this together and we get a big impact on building long-term trust for both the individuals and the team.

What Is in Our Future?

Workplace evolution (change) is only going to speed up, and this includes options on how we all work and communicate. Workplace acceleration is going to continue to shine a very bright spotlight on the importance of excellent communication for everyone. As work continues to speed up, timing and accuracy will become even more critical, especially as more and more of us work in a remote or hybrid environment (and hybrid is not going away). We are going to have to intentionally and mindfully take some opportunities to slow down. And when we slow down, we have to be thinking about:

1. Why we communicate. Pausing for a moment to fully grasp what our goal is and what needs to happen to move our goal forward should be an easy first step. But it’s amazing how many times we write an email (for example) and as soon as we hit send, we notice we have something more to say or something else we need.
2. How and when we communicate. We now have many options on how we communicate — everything from the traditional ways of being in person or using the telephone, to using countless software apps to message, video call, email or update a shared file. These choices are a challenge. I say this because there are many ways to share information or get updates, even in the same company. Ideally, we should all be using these ever-changing tools in the same way, store information in the same way, and adopt the seemingly never-ending upgrades and new functions in the same way.

Getting back to something I mentioned earlier in this article, Millennials (and Gen Z) want to feel like they are being heard, having input, making a difference, and being recognized. In short, they want to be acknowledged. And really, don’t we all? I have yet to meet a Boomer or Gen Xer who doesn’t want the opportunity to share a good idea they have or be recognized for a job done well.

I know successful Millennial leaders who have figured this team culture thing out for themselves. They know their actions are more important than what they say. So, not only do they share the importance of community, responsibility and values (for example), they also demonstrate these qualities every chance they have. They talk about community, responsibility and values when they send group communication to their team. They share community, responsibility and values in meetings. And they demonstrate this when one employee is going through a difficult personal time and may need a few days off. But these Millennials also demonstrate hard work, taking charge and being responsible. They encourage everyone to do their best, give their teams opportunities to shine, and give them recognition when they do great work and work as a team — especially when they work to break down silos.

The successful Millennial leaders have also figured out that when there is a quiet person in the meeting, this is their time to shine as a leader. It is up to them to gently engage the quiet person by perhaps going around the table (or screen) and asking everyone a final open-ended question. For example, they may ask:

• What do they see as the greatest opportunity?
• What do they think is the most important milestone or requirement for the project or the team to succeed?
• What are they most excited about in relation to the overall project, or perhaps how the team is working together?
• How do they see the project (or a decision that had been made) is meeting the strategic goals or the values of the team and/or company?

The difference between Millennials and Gen Z from many of their Gen X or Boomer colleagues is that if Millennials and Gen Zs don’t feel they are part of a shared, supportive corporate culture or able to build one, they are likely already looking for that culture somewhere else.

In closing, let’s not forget that we humble humans are social animals. Well, most of us are. Take every opportunity to be face-to-face with the people you work with, especially if your work requires any sort of teamwork, collaboration, creativity, problem (or opportunity) solving, learning or development. If you are not in the same city and/or your hybrid workspace means frequent video calls, turn your camera on. Let people see you. Seeing someone nod their head in agreement with you even when you are sharing an idea in a virtual meeting can do wonders for building trust.

If you are a leader or hope to be a leader in the future, my recommendation is to start right now to find ways to build trustworthy relationships with the people around you — from family to friends to co-workers.

Conclusion

As I end this article, I want to give a shout-out to our wonderful Gen X leaders and co-workers. Gen Xers have been among the heroes in our workspaces for the last 20 years. They have had to put up with a lot. First, they were promised that when Boomers retired at 55 (does anyone remember the commercials for Freedom 55?), they would have their pick of exceptional opportunities. Then, a few recessions, market downturns and global instability arrived, and Boomers kept working longer than anticipated.

I believe that Generation Xers have been quietly helping to hold things together. Sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials, Generation Xers are able to bridge the gap. And Generation Xers whole existence as adults in the workforce has been one of constant change.

Bruce Mayhew is a professional development trainer, executive coach and conference speaker who has spoken at a number of INTIX Annual Conferences. Mayhew specializes in soft skills like leadership and new leadership development, motivation skills, generational differences, difficult conversations training, change management, time management and email etiquette. Learn more at www.brucemayhewconsulting.com.

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Tags: Leadership , Millenials