Managing Millennials For Dummies - Arbit Debra

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quotes from managers of Millennials and Millennials themselves. To support this notion that Millennials are tired of their stereotypes, here’s a sample of what we heard:

      “Everyone says we are lazy, entitled, we get bored and just switch jobs for the sake of switching jobs, and that we are impatient.” – Michael S., Millennial

      “We want to be CEO day one is the most obvious thing I hear about Millennials. We have a sense of entitlement and need to be in charge.” – Kara F., Millennial and Manager

      The good news? Millennials also view themselves as idealistic, tech savvy, and socially accepting. These are great traits they’ll bring with them as leaders who will have their own work to do accepting a younger generation of workers.

      

Ask the Millennials you manage whether they like being associated with their generation. Then keep asking questions to uncover the reasoning behind their answer. It’s also helpful to tell them what you have loved or admired about the Millennial generation. That may make them more likely to feel proud of the moniker rather than cower away from it. Remember that just because a generation sees themselves one way doesn’t mean that others view them with a similar lens.

      GEN X AND BOOMERS HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT THEMSELVES, TOO

      In Pew Research Center’s 2015 survey, the older the group, the more positively they saw themselves. Maybe you become more generationally proud with age. Maybe the younger generations are more self-critical (we hope this isn’t the only case). For your purposes, here are two things to know:

      1. Fifty-eight percent of Gen Xers embrace their generational label. We find that if Gen Xers learn more about their generation, they are more willing and prouder to align themselves with their own cohort (Pew Research Center, 2015).

      2. Boomers love being Boomers. They did in their youth, and they continue to love it today. To them, Baby Boomer does not equal old or out of touch. Unfortunately, other generations can view them that way.

      "Most Millennials Resist the 'Millennial' Label" Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (September, 2015) http://www.peoplepress.org/2015/09/03/most-millennials-resist-the-millennial-labe1/9-2-2015_01/

Steering clear of stereotypes

      The Kryptonite of understanding generational differences is stereotyping. As best you can, avoid thinking about or focusing on any common stereotypes that Millennials are

      ❯❯ Narcissistic

      ❯❯ Lazy

      ❯❯ Entitled

      ❯❯ Trophy-obsessed

      ❯❯ Needy

      ❯❯ Impatient

      ❯❯ Overly sensitive

      ❯❯ Distracted

      Don’t let us be the only voice; hear from some Millennials themselves about what they really think is true about their generation:

      “I think our generation is so global. We study abroad, we travel, we grew up in a very global society with the Internet, so many things are at our fingertips. I think our perspective is open-minded.” – Alexa S., Millennial

      “[I think we’re] tech savvy [and] eager to do well. I think it’s naïve to say we want to be a manager without doing anything. We know what we want and … are more realistic than other generations.” – Kara F., Millennial and manager

Combating Millennial fatigue

      Millennials are a hot topic. Google the word “Millennial” and 12 articles will pop up from the past hour – or at least it’ll feel like it. The challenge is that the media hasn’t really decided how it feels about Millennials. Does it hate them? Love them? Think they’re the corporate plague? Or the corporate miracle? Regardless, the word “Millennial” has oversaturated media’s conversation.

      Have you fallen victim to the Millennial fatigue epidemic? Take this quiz:

      Do you cringe every time someone says the word “Millennial”?

      Do you groan when you see your organization has decided to conduct a generational training?

      Are you tired of reading information about Millennials that doesn’t align with the people you work with?

      Would you rather hear nails on a chalkboard for 5 minutes than sit through a 90-minute presentation on Millennials?

      Are you wondering when you’re going to hear any information about Generation Xers or Baby Boomers?

      If you answered yes to any of the preceding questions, we feel your plight. Consider how you can cure your fatigue:

      ❯❯ Seek out information and articles that avoid negativity, lack bias, and tell the story behind the statistics.

      ❯❯ Ask the Millennials you manage to lead the Millennial conversation.

      ❯❯ Spread your generational reading to Gen Xers and Boomers.

      ❯❯ Hire BridgeWorks to do a generational training that’s actually entertaining and helpful (a little self-promotion never hurt anyone, right?).

      ❯❯ Read this book in chunks, as it’s intended to be read.

Recognizing that not all Millennials are the same

      Sociology is a powerful way of viewing the world, if you can find the right moments to separate sociology from psychology. There are usually two reactions to studying Millennials:

      1. “People all must be looked at as individuals, not as the masses.”

      Rebuttal: That is true! That’s why there are millions of people dedicated to the study of the individual. However, studying the masses in turn can influence the masses. Arguably, you will have a broader reach and more sustainable lens with which to view the world if you have a scope of how a mass demographic acts and reacts at work or in times of change. It’s not the be-all and end-all, but it is the foundation with which to view those around you.

      2. “This doesn’t describe me or the Millennials I work with.”

      Right. As the previous point mentions, generational theory is a study of the masses. Furthermore, we don’t believe that all Millennials are the same. Segmentation is at times critical to understand the generation for certain purposes – see Chapter 13 where we split the Millennial cohort into two: Old Millennials and Young Millennials. Further segmentation can be done for whatever market information you’re attempting to uncover, but this is a good start. Mass trends are still a helpful tool to serve as your control in the science experiment of “What kind of Millennial are you?”

Differentiating a bad employee from a Millennial

      Are you sitting down? We have some big news … sometimes, Millennials aren’t good employees. Just like every other generation, there are good eggs and rotten ones, but the challenge at times can be separating your own bias and stereotyping from the truth about the Millennial employee whom you work alongside. If you answer yes to two or more of the following questions, there’s a good chance that you are dealing with a bad employee, not just a Millennial:

      Yes/No Do you keep making excuses to keep him there?

      Yes/No Do you find your greatest challenges to be with just one Millennial versus many of them?

      Yes/No Do his Millennial colleagues struggle to work with him?

      Yes/No Does he fulfill one too many stereotypes of the Millennial generation?

      Yes/No Is he oblivious to the way that he fulfills those stereotypes? Even after you’ve spoken to him about it?

      Yes/No

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