Millennials in the Workplace: How Do Managers Inspire Them?
Trabajo de investigación realizado por Alan Randolph y Ashley Randolph
The Millennial Generation (born 1981 – 1995) is 76 million strong, and many managers seem to have great difficulty understanding and inspiring them. And that creates a problem, because they comprise 36% of today’s workforce, a percentage that will grow to 46% by 2020.
Millennials are tech savvy, ambitious, fond of work in teams, have a desire to make the world a better place, and like to do things their own way. Unfortunately, some managers see them as lazy, entitled, self-focused, and impatient – hence difficult to manage (White, 2015).
The truth is that Millennials offer a set of skills and a mindset that fits well with the challenges facing organizations today. It is essential for managers to understand how this generation thinks, what they are looking for in the workplace, and how to inspire them to contribute their unique talents.
Millennials have a lot to offer to their organizations – in short, they are a trusting and optimistic generation that is tech savvy far beyond earlier generations.
They can absorb large amounts of data, and they place high value on social causes where they can band together with others to achieve change.
They are highly educated and want to make a contribution, though they do get impatient at times. Hence, it is imperative that managers understand this generation of associates and how to inspire them – not manage them and just deal with them.
Managers who learn how to truly inspire Millennials to contribute their talents to addressing the many challenges facing organizations today may very well far outperform their competitors.
In this paper, we will provide a deeper understanding of how Millennials think and how this relates to workplace demands today. We will describe a research project that focused on determining what it is that managers can do to inspire Millennials to make their best contributions.
Understanding Millennials
Millennials have been raised in a time of relative prosperity by Baby Boomer and Gen X parents who wanted to give the best to their children (Frish, 2011).
However, they have been raised in a time of increasing domestic and international terrorism and violence. Hence, they have developed a big picture view and a desire for things to be better in their world. They have a reputation for ambition, efficiency, fondness for work in teams, and a mix of audacity and casualness in relationships at work.
They can also be impatient having been raised with highly stimulating technology defining their way of being. They are a generation in search of meaning in their lives – they want to know they are making a difference through their work, their volunteer activities and their lives in general. In short, they want to do meaningful work and to embrace new challenges on a regular basis.
They have a unique prowess with technology having been raised with computers and later the internet their entire lives. They have a zest for innovation and an ability to utilize information to create innovation. They tend to view coworkers, and even their managers as people with whom to collaborate – they do not like to feel subordinate to someone, but rather prefer to be treated as a colleague who has something to contribute.
Below we summarize the key attributes of Millennials (Raines and Arnsparger, 2010):
- Trusting, optimistic and ambitious
- Tech savvy (it is in their DNA)
- Collaborative by nature
- Relaxed about authority (want colleagues not bosses)
- Cause oriented (big picture focus)
- Loyal and inclusive
- Socially responsible and civic minded
We may ask, how do these attributes fit with the needs of today’s organizations?
The world today is more complex than ever, and our organizations need people who, like Millennials, can absorb large amounts of information and make sense of it. Furthermore, complex challenges require teamwork if they are to be solved, and Millennials seek and thrive on teamwork.
Their technological prowess is a valuable resource for organizations, because organizations that do not make good use of technology and its ever changing nature will certainly fall behind their competitors. Finally, there is a need today to see the big picture and to ensure that organizations are socially responsible – something that seems to have been lost over the last few decades.
Millennials desire meaningful work and want their efforts to matter. Overall, it is clear that the needs of the world and our organizations are quite consistent with the hopes and abilities of Millennials.
What remains vague is how to best tap into their capabilities. In short, how do managers of Millennials inspire them to make the contributions of which they are capable and which our organizations need?
What Managers Can Do to Inspire Millennials
In 2014, we began to explore what it is that managers do to inspire Millennial workers.
We began with a survey of open ended questions to see what they would say without any prompt except to ask what managers do that inspires people to put forth their best effort.
We asked “What does the manager do that inspires people to use their knowledge, experience, and internal motivation to the best of their abilities?” We asked them to provide us 2-3 things leaders do to inspire people.
Over several months we collected these surveys from 92 young employees. A content analysis of the responses yielded an 18-item questionnaire using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “Not at all Important” to “Vitally Important.” The items in that survey are included in Appendix 1.
Next, we collected responses to the questionnaire from 640 Millennials in the workplace. Our analysis showed that of the eighteen important items, five were most vital for managers to use to inspire Millennials. The five items found to be most vitally important are:
- Item #2 – “Inspirational leaders trust and empower employees.”
- Item #8 – Inspirational leaders provide regular feedback to everyone – both positive and corrective feedback when and where appropriate.”
- Item #14 – “Inspirational leaders make sure that goals AND expectations are clearly stated and then they hold people accountable for achieving outcomes, while helping them when and where needed.”
- Item #15 – “Inspirational leaders are open to hearing my new ideas and my input.”
- Item #17 – “Inspirational leaders do not micro manage. They make the vision and goals clear and allow their employees flexibility in how to achieve the goals.”
Overall these results tell us that Millennials want to be treated like valued colleagues, who are given clear definition of expectations, regular feedback, and an openness by managers to listen to their ideas.
They do not want to feel micro managed, but rather to feel trusted and empowered. In short, they value clarity and accountability and the opportunity to contribute their ideas to the collective good. They embrace transparency from their managers and want the opportunity to contribute.
Below we take a closer look at these five items to provide a more in depth understanding. We will share comments from respondents that elucidate the thinking behind the rating of each item. The item numbers refer to the 18-item survey found in Appendix 1.
Item #2: Trust and empower employees
As one respondent put it, “when my manager trusts me, it makes me want to do an extremely good job so I do not let them down and so that trust increases.”
Millennials like leaders who believe in them enough to trust them with significant responsibilities, and to empower them to use their experience and knowledge. They believe they have something to contribute and they respond well to managers who acknowledge this belief.
Millennials are a very well educated generation, and as such they have a lot to offer companies in the 21st century, especially in areas that relate to technology utilization and to innovative thinking.
An annual survey conducted at Deloitte (2014) of 7800 Millennials in 26 countries finds Millennials want to contribute their ideas, and that fostering a culture of innovation keeps Millennials motivated and helps to drive company growth by generating game-changing innovations.
The flip side of these findings is also true. As one respondent noted, “If I am not trusted to do my work, I will never complete it to my full potential, and I will feel that my work is unsatisfactory.”
Millennials set a high bar for managers if they are to be inspired. One respondent succinctly noted, “Without trust there can be no empowerment, and without both trust and empowerment, there is no inspiration.”
Item #8: Provide regular feedback to everyone
As one respondent noted. “Taking the time to give feedback for a job well done as well as constructive feedback on how to improve makes people feel valued by the manager and to want to grow and develop into a top notch worker.”
Another respondent noted simply, “I want to know what I can improve upon to be a better team member.”
Millennials have a strong desire to continually improve in their work.
Yes, they like positive feedback when it is deserved – for example when they show advances in learning a new task or when they offer ideas that benefit the company. But they are not just about positive feedback. They want to know when they make mistakes or do things wrong – but they want the corrective feedback to respect them as a person who wants to grow and get better.
Millennials want to contribute without fear of criticism, as this leads to a decline in motivation (Brack, 2012). There is a difference between criticism, which comes across as just negative, whereas corrective feedback comes across as explaining shortcomings and then showing an employee how to improve.
Millennials want coaching that helps them grow and feel engaged. Managers may perceive it as arduous and unnecessary to attend to seemingly needy Millennials, but if they provide regular feedback, they will open up the possibility of Millennials achieving extraordinary results through productivity, creativity and a vigorous work ethic.
Item #14: Set clear goals AND expectations and hold people accountable for outcomes
As one respondent put it, “People do not like surprises – make expectations clear up front.”
Another one said, “When the manager explains goals, the employee can take ownership.”
Millennials fundamentally want clarity of expectations. They feel it is unfair and ineffective not to define goals and expectations up front. They want to be held accountable but with no surprises.
They feel they have capabilities to apply to their jobs, but those capabilities can only work well for them and the organization if they know what the goals are and what a good job looks like.
Another respondent said, “There is nothing more frustrating than to not know what you are doing and how to do it. Such confusion leads to poor results, frustration and employees looking for another job.”
Millennials want to feel that their work is meaningful in a larger world view, and clear expectations tied to clear goals and a vision make this possible. They want to feel they can achieve goals in their own way, but at the same time, they want help when they are unclear on how to achieve the goals.
So, set clear goals, hold them accountable, but offer help when it is needed.
However, there is another important element about goals for Millennials. The goals they are working on need to connect with their values and to a clear sense that their work is giving back to society in general. Millennials think of success not just in terms of goal accomplishment and career advancement, but also in terms of contribution to society.
Item #15: Be open to hearing my new ideas and my input
As one respondent stated, “When managers listen to people’s ideas, energy levels can soar – employees feel really important and valued.”
Millennials are eager for managers who will listen to them and their ideas. They appear to be very much in touch with the importance of the basic human need for people they work with to exercise active listening and validation.
Conversely, another respondent stated, “I would feel very unmotivated if I felt my ideas were falling on deaf ears.”
Millennials have been told throughout their lives that they are special and talented, and they want to prove their worth in the workplace, just like in school and in sports teams.
Millennials want active, involved leadership, plus a feeling of collaborative teamwork and unstructured access to information.
Implicit in this finding is that information and ideas flow in both directions – from manager to employee and from employee to manager, which supports the idea that Millennials want their ideas to be heard – not dismissed or undervalued.
Millennials want to work with people who foster and are open to innovative thinking, and if you listen to the ideas of Millennials, you are likely to hear some things that are cutting-edge (Deloitte, 2014). Millennials want to be asked for their input, because they feel they have something to offer – and they do.
Item #17: Do not micro manage – set clear goals and allow flexibility in how to achieve them
One respondent noted, “Leaders need to trust their people to do their jobs but be there when needed to help – as when an employee is new in a task.”
Millennials do not respond well to feeling they are being micro managed (who does?), but it is important not to leave them to flounder with little or no guidance.
Managers have to remember that Millennials may lack workplace experience and seek guidance on how to perform and how to grow in their jobs. They want to succeed and grow.
Managers must find the right balance between guidance and too much managing if they are to inspire Millennials.
One key point that came out of our research is that Millennials are drawn towards having the space for trial and error and subsequent small successes and failures. In this way they have freedom to learn but instruction to avoid huge failures.
Another respondent added, “Micro managing makes me feel insecure in my job and hesitant to use my skills – makes me unsure of myself.”
Millennials prefer authority that is relaxed and polite and that treats them with respect. Further, Millennials want to make their work their own, to be allowed to do it their way and to be treated as individuals who can contribute in new and unique ways.
Millennials want coaching where they can contribute without fear of undue criticism (Brack, 2012). They do not like to be part of a rigid hierarchy. They prefer mentors or coaches to managers – someone who shows them how to get things done when they are learning, but leaves them to get things done their own way when they are ready to contribute.
Overall, it is fair to say that these five things managers can do to inspire Millennial workers may not seem earth shattering. However, taken together they provide clear guidance for managers who may be challenged in leading Millennials.
Similarities across generations – Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers
Certainly Millennials have a different vantage point on the world and the workplace than previous generations, and they have new skills and perspectives that can be very useful today.
In order to tap into those skills and the energy of Millennials, they need to feel a part of something that is bigger than themselves and will have an impact in the world.
They also want to feel that they are part of a collective effort in their work and that their ideas are heard and utilized.
They need a clear sense of where the company is going and how they fit in, but they also want the chance to make an impact in flexible ways regarding how they do their job.
Interestingly, many of these ideas could also apply to Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. A survey of more than 3,000 workers found many similar values across generations (Deal, 2007).
For example:
- Everyone wants respect
- Leaders must be trustworthy
- Everyone wants to learn
- Everyone likes feedback
Our thought is that what gets played up as big differences across the generations may actually relate more to one’s age – that is, to the stage of one’s life.
For example, when the two authors of this paper (one a Baby Boomer and one a GenXer) think back to when we were in our 20’s, many of the things said about Millennials could apply to us at that time in our lives, as well.
The biggest difference would be that we, unlike Millennials, did not grow up in a global and digital world where technology and social connection via technology are taken for granted – we had to learn these things later in life.
However, for us in our 20’s, we too were very optimistic about our ability to contribute in the workplace but wanted to do it a little differently than our older managers.
We wanted to be engaged with others and with our managers in accomplishing work-related goals. We wanted to feel we were working in a place where we could trust others around us, and we had a lot to learn about working in organizations, as do the current Millennials.
Two comments sum up this line of thought. One, while Baby Boomer and Gen X workers and managers have changed, the five things managers can to do to inspire Millennials would likely also be effective in managing Baby Boomers and GenXers. And two, it will be very interesting to see how Millennials change in what they value and feel as they grow older.
It is important to note that there is another generation coming behind the Millennials (who were originally called Gen Y).
A New York Times article calls them Generation Z (born after 1995), and they are just starting to enter the workforce (Smith and Aaker, 2013).
They have grown up in a digital world but one shaped by events like the 9/11 attack on the US and two economic meltdowns in the early 2000’s.
In fact, every generation has its share of challenging times that shape their thinking. The question is, how will managers need to adapt to these new Gen Z workers? Somewhat tongue in check, we wonder what will the generation that follows Gen Z be called, given that we are at the end of the alphabet – will we start over with Gen A?
Conclusion
We hope that this article will help managers better understand Millennials and how to inspire them.
Yes, inspire, not just manage.
Organizations are operating in challenging times, and Millennials have a lot to offer to managers who know how to energize their considerable and relevant talents.
References
Brack, J. (2012). Maximizing Millennials in the workplace. UNC Executive Development.
Deal, J. (2007). Retiring the generation gap: How employees young and old can find common ground. Center for Creative Leadership.
Deloitte (2014). Big demands and high expectations: The Deloitte Millennials survey. www.deloitte.com/Milennialsurvey.
Frish, S. (2011) Millennials in the workplace: The Paradox of the New Generation. LarsonAllen LLP, www.larsonallen.com.
Raines, C. & Arnsparger, A. (2010). Millennials at work. Published in Generations at Work, Claire Raines Associates.
Smith, E. E. and Aaker, J. L. (2013) Millennial searchers. New York Times, Sunday Review, December 1, 2013.
White, G. B. (2015) Do Millennials make for bad employees? The Atlantic.
Appendix 1
Inspirational Leaders Survey
Below are the 18 items in our survey. People responded using a 7-point scale with 1 = Not important at all to 7 = Vitally important. Inspirational leaders:
- Verbalize and show appreciation for the efforts and results of employees.
- Trust and empower employees.
- Take the time to ask about my career aspirations and provide development opportunities.
- Keep employees informed of changes that are coming and explain why the changes are necessary.
- Are passionate about the work we do.
- Define a vision for our future and communicate it regularly and consistently.
- Work right alongside you when things are changing or when you have to learn a new task.
- Provide regular feedback to everyone – both positive and corrective feedback when and where appropriate.
- Encourage and push employees to do their best at all times.
- Are first, and foremost, good listeners when it comes to effective communications.
- Win the respect of their employees because they are people wo deep down respect other people.
- Allow you to make mistakes and then help you learn from them.
- Have expertise in their field and are willing to share it with their employees.
- Make sure that goals AND expectations are clearly stated and then hold people accountable for achieving outcomes, while helping them when and where needed.
- Are open to hearing my new ideas and my input.
- Are candid, sincere and forthcoming with their employees.
- Do not micro manage. They make the vision and goals clear and allow their employees flexibility in how to achieve the goals.
- Use a variety of methods to keep in touch with their people – face to face contact, electronic means, etc. – and they understand that frequency of communications needs to vary depending on the recipient.
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